Since the start of the invasion there has been countless news articles, videos, tweets etc. on the situation in Ukraine.
The Wikipedia post sums up quite nicely the gist of how it started:
On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine, its neighbour to the southwest, marking the largest escalation of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War that began in 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin, claiming that post-1997 enlargement of NATO was a security threat, demanded that Ukraine be legally prohibited from joining the military alliance, and presented irredentist views.[33] A prolonged Russian military build-up and crisis starting in early 2021 preceded the invasion. Days prior to the invasion, Russia recognised two self-proclaimed states within Ukraine’s borders: the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic. On 21 February, the Russian Armed Forces entered the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, and on 22 February, the Russian Federation Council unanimously authorised Putin to use military force outside Russia.
Around 05:00 EET (UTC+2) on 24 February, Putin announced a “special military operation” in eastern Ukraine; minutes later, missile strikes began at locations across Ukraine, including the capital, Kyiv. The Ukrainian Border Service stated that its border posts with Russia and Belarus were attacked.[34][35] Two hours later, Russian ground forces entered the country.[36] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded by enacting martial law, severing diplomatic ties with Russia and announcing general mobilisation. The invasion received widespread international condemnation, including sanctions being imposed on Russia, while anti-war protests in Russia were met with mass arrests.
There are a lot of questions going around and opinions as to what the rest of the world should or should not be doing. In many ways the following meme, while humorous, is quite on point:
One of the prevailing questions that is being asked is why doesn’t anyone jump into the fight to stop Russia. Many nations have brought increasingly severe sanctions against Russia, but the question is are they making any difference and can they make any difference?
From my limited understanding, the reason why the other nations have preferred to go the route of sanctions rather than sending forces to help defend Ukraine is that of escalation. Since the Ukraine is not part of NATO (What is NATO?) the organisation has no jurisdiction to send in a defence force. In that light, another nation sending in their army would be regarded as entering into the war with Russia. If other nations start getting involved on either side of the fight, we find ourselves heading towards a World War situation (in the worst possible case).
Sanctions can be effective in that they reduce what Russia has to gain by invading Ukraine:
And thus if the sanctions are harsh enough they may deter Russia from proceeding with their invasion. That is if Putin thinks about things rationally. Something that seems decreasingly likely since he has surrounded himself with “yes men” advisors who will spin these sanctions as unjust treatment from the west, rather than acknowledge that Russia is bringing this upon itself by its aggressive actions.
The flip side is that the invasion is not going as well as Putin would have hoped. The Ukrainians are putting up a hard fight to defend their homeland whereas the invading Russian forces may be internally questioning the rightness of this invasion. Many would have been convinced by the Russian propaganda, but protests in Russia show that not everyone agrees with what’s happening. Putin is finding himself being pushed into a tight spot. He had general approval for the invasion but that sentiment could greatly swing the other way if the Russians aren’t able to take Kyiv the capital or if he calls off the invasion - leaving Russian with nothing but defeat and a bloody nose.
There’s a lot more to say, so I’ll leave it open to anyone who has come across any helpful info with regard to understanding this whole affair.
