{"id":23664,"date":"2022-02-28T14:46:26","date_gmt":"2022-02-28T19:46:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/?p=23664"},"modified":"2022-02-28T14:46:26","modified_gmt":"2022-02-28T19:46:26","slug":"russia-invades-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/2022\/02\/28\/russia-invades-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia Invades Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Image courtesy of Petko Ivanov.<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Russia has invaded Ukraine. How did we get here and what happens now? In April of 2021, 100,000 Russian troops were sent to line the Ukrainian border for what was allegedly described as a \u201cmilitary exercise,\u201d with the caveat that Russia would withdraw those troops at the end of the month. Sensing an imminent threat towards its sovereignty, Ukraine\u2019s president Volodymyr Zelensky met with President Biden in an effort to fast track its membership status in NATO (The North Atlantic Treaty Organization), an intergovernmental organization consisting of 26 European countries and 2 North American countries. In August, President Biden reiterated the United States’ commitment to Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of potential Russian aggression, however, he stated that Ukraine did not meet the requisite requirements for NATO membership.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In November, Russia renewed its troop presence by the Ukrainian border, warning nations, such as the United States, of Russia\u2019s capability to invade the country if that was its desire. In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin outlined a set of demands that if fulfilled, would effectively prohibit Ukraine from gaining NATO membership while also forcing NATO troops to withdraw from Ukraine’s neighboring countries, leaving it vulnerable to attack. Diplomatic efforts were launched by the United States, Russia, and various European countries to avoid potential catastrophe.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are two dynamics to pay attention to: Russia making demands to prepare Ukraine for invasion, with the threat that if these demands were not met, they would invade Ukraine, and the second, the United States and its NATO allies refusing to give in to Russia\u2019s demands. With Russia signaling a desire to cut off Ukraine from any potential support from NATO or its allies to prepare for an invasion, and with the United States and European allies’ reluctance to give in to those demands, Ukraine saw itself on the brink of war by January\u2019s end.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This brings us to more recent events. On Feb. 21, President Putin officially acknowledged and recognized the two breakaway republics of Luhansk and Donetsk in Ukraine’s Donbas region, officially designating them as the Luhansk People\u2019s Republic and Donetsk People\u2019s Republic. On Feb. 24, Putin introduced his plan to invade Ukraine, and not long after, the Russian invasion commenced.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In response to the Russian invasion, Conn held a teach-in event in Blaustein, helmed by Professors Petko Ivanov, Eileen Kane, Eric Fleury, David Patton & Laura Little. In a packed Ernst Common Room, the professors discussed the context for the Russo-Ukrainian War and stayed for a Q&A session afterward.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Professor Little began, greeting the room and quickly emphasizing how the majority of Russian people do not respect nor support the current military occupation before handing the mic off to Professor Ivanov. Ivanov spoke on Putin\u2019s meeting with his security council on Feb. 21, where Putin delivered an hour-long speech regarding his grievances with NATO and reiterating his stance that Ukraine was not a sovereign nation. At 5:50 am, Feb. 24, Putin announced an outline for invasion, highlighting two key concepts:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Destroy Ukraine\u2019s military infrastructure<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Take down Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy\u2019s government, who Putin deems as \u201cNazis\u201d and \u201cdrug users.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Putin has also issued a number of allusions and veiled threats towards his use of nuclear weaponry, exacerbated by Russia\u2019s military taking control of the abandoned Chernobyl nuclear plant, site of the infamous 1986 disaster and meltdown.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aside from the fact that President Zelenskyy is actually Jewish, Professor Kane wanted to clarify that Putin\u2019s comparisons of Ukraine to the Nazi regime were baseless and \u201cmade up.\u201d Kane further refuted Putin\u2019s claim of a historical precedent for invasion, as if this war was akin to Russia\u2019s efforts against Hitler in the 1940s, by citing Putin as the real aggressor: \u201cThis is not about history, this is not a historical problem – this is about violence and land.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Professor Fleury echoed much of this sentiment with an impassioned speech, emphasizing the complications of the situation, and how many feel about it, stating \u201cwe want to understand this issue, but we are also mad about it,\u201d and \u201cwar is a tragedy, even when you win.\u201d Commenting on Putin himself, Fleury quoted Tolstoy, saying \u201cthe king is the servant of history,\u201d and Putin and his legacy would bear the mark of this maneuver: \u201cHe is not a chess master. He is a coward.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Professor Patton spoke on the U.S and President Biden\u2019s response to the invasion, with Biden announcing personal sanctions on Putin and Russia\u2019s wealthier oligarchs, referring to the President’s response as \u201cquite unusual.\u201d Biden\u2019s response has been criticized as too little considering Putin\u2019s goals are stopping NATO\u2019s expansion and possibly calling for regime change in Ukraine entirely.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The event also featured Conn student Olha Vasyliv \u201823, a resident of Kyiv, zooming in from Paris to share her thoughts. Sporting the Ukrainian flag on her cheek, Vasyliv spoke on a phone call she made to her family once she had heard the news of the invasion, and how waiting for a call back was \u201cthe worst and longest ten minutes of my life.\u201d She further commented on the lack of response from international leadership, citing that \u201cthe United Nations has done zero to support Ukraine as of now,\u201d and that her parents \u201cfeel abandoned.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Vasilyv expressed worry over the conditions of her homeland, saying \u201cthis hybrid war is working, even on those who are not there\u201d and that everyone still in Ukraine is encouraged to take up armed resistance. This being said, Vasyliv still commended her country\u2019s resilience despite the worsening conditions: \u201cMy president and the entire country is doing a tremendous job.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As of now, Ukrainian resistance is inarguably high. Days ago, Ukrainian soldiers on Snake Island, told to surrender by a Russian warship, responded \u201cRussian Warship\u2026 go f**k yourself\u201d before being killed. President Zelensky has refused to flee from the invaded territory, stating \u201cI need ammunition, not a ride.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The question still stands for many of us, however, including at Connecticut College, what can we do? In response to the flood of support she has received, Vasyliv has thanked everyone for their kind words and offers, but now urges people to do more: \u201cConsider donating. Consider calling your local representative – If there is anything that you want to retain from today, please call local representatives to preserve Ukrainian democracy\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vasyliv\u2019s Instagram, @olha_vslv, contains a link to many different resources to support Ukraine including ways to donate directly and indirectly to the Ukrainian Army, links to contact your political representatives, and ways to organize rallies for Ukrainian democracy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"tmnf_excerpt\"><p>Image courtesy of Petko Ivanov. Russia has invaded Ukraine. How did we get here and what happens now? In April of 2021, 100,000 Russian troops were sent to line the Ukrainian border for what was allegedly described as a \u201cmilitary exercise,\u201d with the caveat that Russia would withdraw those troops at the end of the …<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":62475,"featured_media":23662,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"","source_text":"","source_url":""},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/IMG_6918.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62475"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23664"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23665,"href":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23664\/revisions\/23665"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecollegevoice.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}