In February 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine, started an all-out war, and now aims to overtake Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. The conflict started in 2014 when Russian troops invaded the Ukrainian republic of Crimea. They also started a conflict in the Donbas region in Eastern Ukraine. It was the first time that a European state took the land of another’s since World War II. 

AHS freshman Aliyah Fada’s great-grandpa lived in Ukraine before dying due to the war.

Fada said, “My grandpa owned a very big business, and my uncle used to work with him, and they just had a lot going on with the business.”

Fada’s grandfather owned a lumber business, and typically enjoyed a peaceful life before the war broke out. 

He lived right beside the front, and unfortunately a bomb went off near his house, killing him.

Fada’s grandfather also lost several friends over the course of the conflict. According to cfr.org, fourteen thousand people have died during the Ukraine-Russia war from 2014 to 2021.

The article on cfr.org says, “After the Soviet collapse, many Russian politicians viewed the divorce with Ukraine as a mistake of history and a threat to Russia’s standing as a great power.” 

Therefore, to look better, Russia has decided to attack Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin, who has been the President of Russia since 2012, is the man behind the decision to invade Ukraine.  In his original speech where Putin declared war, he said, The purpose of this operation is to protect people who, for eight years now, have been facing humiliation and genocide perpetrated by the Kyiv regime. To this end, we will seek to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine, as well as bring to trial those who perpetrated numerous bloody crimes against civilians, including against citizens of the Russian Federation.”

The U.S. has been helping Ukraine during the war by sending them weapons to fight Russia with.