On February 24, Russia penetrated Ukraine and started to invade cities around the border unprovoked.
What European leaders are calling “Putin’s war” started when President Putin declared Russia could not feel “safe, develop, and exist.”
Airports and Military bases in Ukraine were attacked and tanks rolled in from Russia, Russian Annexed Crimea and Belarus, Russia’s ally.
Ukrainian citizens were woken up in the morning with the sound of explosions and air raid sirens.
Ukraine is surrounded by the Russia and Belarus border north and northeast, because of this Ukraine used to be a Soviet puppet state.
“It’s very complicated, there is a history between those two countries,” explained P-T social studies teacher Tiffany Smith.
“Ukraine declared independence in 1991 and has adopted democratic policies but Putin does not see it that way, the man is out of his mind.”
Russian troops have begun to circle and attack Kyiv the nation’s capital
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for men 18-60 to take up arms and protect Kyiv.
“We are alone in defending our state. Who else wants to fight with us? Honestly, I don’t see anyone” Zelenskyy said in a video for Ukrainians to take up arms.
Zelenskyy has kept morale high and can be seen roaming Kyiv’s streets, talking to soldiers and visiting bunkers.
“I did not think that the Ukraine military would pull down, but they are doing a great job to hold down the Russians,” said Smith.
Zelenskyy, despite western efforts, has not joined NATO and has not fled Ukraine like earlier presidents.
Officials still do not know what it is that Putin wants and some are worried that he wants more than just Ukraine.
Smith said that despite the conflict happening so far away, there could ultimately be an unfortunate impact on Americans.
“I think my concern is an accidental involvement of another country in the war or Putin’s endgame is not just Ukraine,” Smith explained.
Hayden Inman, Photography Manager