This article covers the Ukraine invasion, between Russia and Ukraine. Although this is still a pertinent and ongoing issue within our international community, here is a summary depicting seven days of the invasion from February 24th to March 2nd.

Before the Invasion:
Russian President, Vladimir Putin, had set a significant goal for his country. Putin wanted to invade Ukraine in order to “demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine.” Putin claimed that during World War II, Ukrainian nationalists had apparently seen the Nazis as an escape from Soviet oppression. Putin had falsely painted the picture claiming that Ukraine is a neo-Nazi country. For the past eight years, Putin has been tormenting the Ukrainian government.

Putin’s hatred toward Ukraine was also caused by an incident in 2013 in which Ukraine’s president, Viktor Yanukovych, wanted to have a neutral and faithful relationship with Russia. With this, Viktor Yanukovych refused to sign a trade agreement that would bring Ukraine closer to Europe. Ukrainian citizens protested, and eventually got President Yanukovych kicked out of office. This worried Putin, for he was convinced that Ukraine would form alliances with the United States and hence a military threat to Russia as a whole.

February 24th, 2022 (The first day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine):
Russia had taken up a full attack on Ukraine with air and missile strikes on Ukrainian military facilities. At least 40 Ukrainian soldiers were killed. This was the first time Russia used harsh warfare in Europe since World War II. This shocked the world, and nationally many countries began growing fearful of Ukraine’s fate. Once becoming aware of the attack, an estimated 100,000 Ukraine citizens fled west for safety. Freeways, airports, and roads were so populated that no one was moving. President Vladimir Putin threatened other countries with a nuclear attack if they interfered with the invasion. Russian citizens protested against Putin’s unjustifiable attack.

In an interview for the Russian human rights media project OVD-Info, a man named Leonid Drabkin speaks about the conditions of speaking up and protesting in Russia.

Drabkin said, “I think it’s changing every day, and over the last three weeks, unfortunately, it’s becoming more and more [difficult] to protest, to say something against the war. And we see that all the people who, for example, go on the street or just post something on Facebook or do something, not in line with the government opinion, are politically persecuted. And the more people see how others are being prosecuted, the more careful for them to continue.”

February 25th, 2022
On day 2, Russian troops begin rushing in, closing in on the Ukrainian Military. Two columns of armored vehicles stem into the north and south, almost slicing the country in half. However, the Ukrainian military took advantage of the fact that the Russian forces were unorganized and slower than anticipated, managing to fight back.

February 26th, 2022
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky stayed hidden in lockdown, while citizens stayed hidden from missiles and war in basements, subway stations, and their homes. President Volodymyr Zelensky set a curfew, which lasted over the weekend. Germany started providing weapons to Ukraine; which ended Germany’s seventy-five-year commitment not to send lethal hardware into conflict zones. By the afternoon, 100,000 Ukrainian citizens had crossed the border into Poland, trying to escape.

February 27th, 2022
Day four was a setback for Russia. Ukraine had fought back, capturing Russian soldiers. Putin had become fearful because Ukraine was holding back. Rallies around the world sparked, and “Pray for Ukraine” became trending. Donations, GoFundMe’s, and more were spread around in support of Ukraine. The largest plane in the world, Ukraine’s Antonov-225 cargo plane, was blown up by Russian air strikes.

February 28th, 2022
Russia had become outraged that Ukraine had pushed them back for the past two days so they started becoming more violent. The use of multi-barrel rocket launchers had been used to bomb Kharkiv. Russia begins dropping fire down to widespread areas. This had caused Ukraine’s president to have a meeting, wanting to open war crime investigations. Although, this did nothing, and violence continued.

March 1st, 2022
Russia had begun using suspicious weapons, like cluster munitions and thermobaric ‘vacuum’ bombs, and attacks and pressure on the eastern city of Kharkiv continued to hold their ground. Although, these violent gestures had Ukraine worried. Seventy Ukrainian soldiers died from one air strike on a base in Okhtyrka.

March 2nd, 2022
Russia continued to make gains, declaring in the morning that it captured the southern city of Kherson – which was the biggest achievement Russia had made so far. Street battles were everywhere, and thousands of Ukrainian soldiers had died. 836,000 people fled Ukraine – not counting those displaced by the war internally.

Throughout the invasion, Russia had become more and more threatened by Ukraine holding its ground, increasing its violence and unhinged behavior. This now the war is still going on months later, and not much has improved or changed.