On 24th February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion to Ukraine from the north, east & south.
According to Putin, the invasion was a “special military operation” to demilitarise & prevent Ukraine from becoming a NATO member so it remained in the Russian “sphere of influence.”
Russian troops attempted to overtake Ukraine’s capital city Kyiv, but were met with resistance from Ukrainian soldiers & its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In April 2022, Moscow withdrew its forces from Kyiv due to resistance. Instead, it then focused its power to Donbas, where separatists (individuals who support the detachment from larger bodies of state) have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014.
Since then, Russian military has been hitting numerous Ukrainian towns with manpower, air strikes & missiles, leaving many civilians injured or forced out of their homes in Ukraine.
The number of injured civilians in the past year reached almost 12,000 last month. There have also been more than 7,000 casualties, with 438 of them being Ukrainian children.
The invasion of last year is an escalation of an 8-year-old conflict which began after Russia’s illegal annexation (unlawful usage of military force to seize foreign territory) of Crimea.
Crimea’s population is 2.4 million people. In 2014, many of the people began protesting for the removal of Russian-supporting Ukrainian president Yanukovych in Kyiv.
In turn, Russian forces began arming separatists in the Donbas region of Ukraine. Over 14,000 people died fighting in the state since 2014. It was the 1st time since WWII that a European state annexed a territory from another European country.
Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has left many Ukrainian people without basic commodities like electricity & clean water, as well as fearing for their safety every single day.
As Ukraine reaches the 1-year anniversary of the invasion, Kyiv is back to cold winter days that can reach below 0°C even during the daylight. The constant blackouts continue to plunge 40 million people into darkness on a daily basis.
Russia also launched a wave of strikes on Ukraine’s energy facilities on 14th January, hitting an apartment building in Dnipro & killing 45 people.
Despite the strong resilience & unity of the Ukrainian people, Russia doesn’t seem to be backing down yet. Not even against the assistance of Ukraine from NATO states.
The West has continued to demonstrate solidarity with Ukraine, with US President Joe Biden even making an unannounced visit to the country on 20th February, pledging to back Ukraine “for as long as it takes."
However, many observes & locals see little prospect for a diplomatic resolution by Russia & fear that the potential for a dangerous escalation is reaching its tipping point.
"Putin thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided. He thought he could outlast us. He was just plain wrong. One year later, here we stand together - united with the people of Ukraine." - President Joe Biden
