Tensions in Russia-Ukraine Conflict Continue to Rise
By Lester Lemus ('22)
It has now been a little over a month since Russia has invaded Ukraine, and recently, the situation has, unfortunately, gotten worse. While the Ukrainians have been intensely repelling the Russians, with both sides taking heavy losses, cities like Kyiv, the capital, and Kharkiv have gone under siege, and more than 1,000 people, including children, have been killed. In the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, human rights have been violated when Russia attacked a maternity hospital.
Some recent updates:
On March 9th, Poland offered to transfer its 23 MiG-29 fighter jets to the United States for free and deliver them to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, with the United States then delivering them to Ukraine. The US rejected the proposition, the Pentagon said that Poland′s proposal was "not tenable." According to Davyd Arakhamia, a Ukrainian negotiator in talks with Russia, more than 40,000 civilians were evacuated from various cities during the day. The following day, March 10th, Antalya and Turkey had a trilateral meeting between foreign ministers Dmytro Kuleba (Ukraine) and Lavrov (Russia) which yielded no results after a difficult exchange. The Russian Defense Ministry announced that they would open humanitarian corridors to Russia, a move which Zelensky dismissed as “completely immoral.”
Photo courtesy of Anatolii Stepanov/AFP Via Getty Images
A senior US Defense Department official claimed that in the west of Kyiv, Russian military had advanced by about 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) closer to central Kyiv, in the vicinity of Hostomel Airport. The column advancing from the east was meanwhile 40 kilometers away from Kyiv. Furthermore, he claimed that Chernihiv was now "isolated." Meanwhile a column of Russian tanks in Brovary Raion, Ukraine, was ambushed by Ukrainian forces and was forced to retreat after several tanks were destroyed and a tank commander killed. Russian forces expanded into western Ukraine on March 11th for the first time, and cities like Dnipro and Lutsk were bombed, causing damage and some fatalities, according to CNN. According to Ukrainian sources, the mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, was kidnapped by Russian soldiers after he defied Russia. A top Russian commander, Major General Andrei Kolesnikov, was killed in action, according to the Ukrainian military, the third Russian general reported to be killed in this war.
Recently, Putin has put Russia’s nuclear deterrent forces on high alert, escalating already dangerous tensions. This move is in general a reaction to what he called “aggressive statements” by NATO and the sanctions that have hit the economy. The U.S. ambassador to the U.N, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said Sunday morning on NBC News that “President Putin is continuing to escalate this war in a manner that is totally unacceptable.” He continued, “And we have to continue to condemn his actions in the most strong, strongest possible way.”
Banner courtesy of Sky News
Cover photo courtesy of NPR
Photo courtesy of CNN