Imagine that you are a citizen of Ukraine, fast asleep, with no worries in your state of peace. All of a sudden, you’re awoken by the sounds of gunfire, rockets, and screams. Russia is invading the town you have lived in your entire life!
On February 24, 2022, Ukrainians woke to the sounds of Russian troops invading towns, bombing military sites and airports, and creating general chaos throughout the European country. Two and a half years after the first invasion of Ukraine, the Ukraine conflict continues, but not without some pushback from Ukraine. In 2022, The Nationalist created a two-part series explaining the conflict and providing updates. This feature story will continue where the second part left off, and give brief summaries of what has happened since then.
September 2022:
Almost seven months after the initial invasion of Ukraine, Russia had a strong hold on many different regions of the country, one of them being the region of Kharkiv. On September 1st, a Ukrainian counter-offense took place, partially sweeping Russian forces out. Russia nearly lost all of the northeastern region but still retained some parts. Not long after, on September 21st, President Putin of Russia delivered a speech to his troops after the embarrassing losses in Ukraine. It was there that he announced Russia’s first mobilization since World War II.
This decision sparked commotion throughout Russia. This caused thousands of young men to flee the country to avoid being drafted. According to CNN’s timeline of the war, they described the result of the mobilization as this: “The partial mobilization was beset by errors and produced fighters that were poorly equipped and largely untrained. However, it significantly increased Russia’s troop numbers.“ Unfortunately for Russia, another blow was soon to come.
Crimea Bridge Explosion (October 2022):
Back in 2014, Russian forces illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. Four years later, Putin created the Crimea Bridge to connect the Russian region of Krasnodar to Crimea. The bridge was an important part of transporting goods from Russia to the peninsula, supplying everyday goods, but also military supplies.
On October 8th, 2022, a huge explosion on the bridge caused part of it to collapse. Officials from Russia’s National Anti-Terrorist Committee claimed that the explosion was caused by two Ukrainian maritime drones. At first, Ukrainian officials neither confirmed nor denied the claims. Eventually, Ukrainian Security Service spokesman Artem Degtyarenko said that the agency would reveal the details of how they organized the explosion after Ukraine wins the war, therefore, confirming that Ukraine was responsible for the explosion. While Ukraine was successful in destroying the bridge, sadly, three people died in the explosion.
A New Phase of War (October 2022-February 2023)
On October 10th, 2022, Russia launched the first of several waves of missile attacks on Ukraine’s power facilities, causing 30% of Ukraine’s power stations to be damaged. This left large parts of the country without power for quite some time. Fortunately, the darkness wouldn’t last forever for the citizens of Kherson.
After eight months of Russian occupation of Kherson, Ukrainian forces took back the city, pushing Russia out and into the East, and Kherson was freed from Russia’s control. Locals took to the streets to celebrate their newfound freedom with songs and chants. Although the power was still out, with no water, or internet, it didn’t stop them from celebrating.
Over a month after the liberation of Kherson, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy paid a visit to Washington, D.C. on December 21st to meet with President Joe Biden, as well as address the US Congress. This trip was significant for Zelensky because this was his first time going on a foreign trip since Russia crashed through Ukraine’s borders only 300 days prior. It was here that the conversations about the next 300 days would take place. This wasn’t the last historical visit to take place over the next couple of months.
On February 20, 2023, almost one year after the conflict started, President Biden made a surprise visit to Ukraine for the first time since the war began. This monumental visit to Ukraine showed to President Biden that “…Ukraine stands. Democracy Stands.” (And according to CNN, “The Americans stand with you and the world stands with you.”) Zelenskyy said Biden’s visit brought Ukraine “closer to victory.”
June 2023-February 2024
As the war continued on for both countries, something unexpected happened on June 23, 2023. Russia’s Yevgeny Prigozhin and his hired soldiers seized a military headquarters just south of Moscow, and then began a march towards the city. Their goal was to oust the Defence Ministry’s leaders and confront them about starving his force of ammunition in Ukraine.
Hours after the start of their “march for justice”, Yevgeny Prigozhin and his soldiers called off the demonstration, but the rebellion left quite a blow on President Putin and his communist government. Since the beginning of Putin’s presidency, this has been the biggest challenge against his communist reign since 2012.
Fast forward to February 2024, President Zelenskyy replaced his top general, previously Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Zelenskyy’s reasoning for the sudden switch is that he felt that Ukraine needed a change in strategy and approaches in fighting gridlock against Russia. The new commander is Oleksandr Syrsky and the hope for him was to boost morale in the Ukrainian army.
Today
This week, President Zelenskyy has been visiting the US with the intent to present his victory plan to the White House this weekend. The specifics of this plan has been kept under wraps, but the idea of the plan is this: fast action that can end the full-scale war against Russia. Zelenskyy has also said that he will seek permission to launch long-range weapons into Russian territory. This plan comes in response to growing pressure from Western allies and war-weary Ukrainian citizens to negotiate a cease-fire.
This victory plan hopes to give relief to everyone who has been affected by the war during the past two and a half years. Although, the conflict hasn’t come to an official stop, Ukraine has come a long way in fighting back against the offending Russia, and President Biden has urged everyone who backs Ukraine to stand firm. “We cannot grow weary,” he said. “We cannot look away.”
Credits:
https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2023/02/europe/russia-ukraine-war-timeline/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/08/europe/crimea-bridge-explosion-intl-hnk/index.html
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/11/17/world/europe/crimea-bridge-collapse.html
https://apnews.com/article/crimea-bridge-russia-explosions-eafa1696fc5f2377cb83ac4b317c5386
https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/12/europe/kherson-city-ukraine-russia-intl/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/18/europe/russia-ukraine-power-stations-energy-attacks-intl/index.html
https://www.npr.org/2024/02/08/1230053272/ukraine-zelenskyy-replaces-army-leader
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