Current Situation for the Russian-Ukraine War

By 여준엽

After months of posturing and mobilizing troops and weapons at the Ukrainian border, Russian troops illegally invaded Ukraine on February 24. This Russian war of aggression is causing millions of refugees to flee Ukraine, hundreds of civilian deaths, and devastating damage to Ukrainian cities.

The Russian government feels threatened by the NATO military alliance’s expansion to, and significant military presence in, eastern Europe. The United States has sent thousands of troops to nearby nations like Poland and Romania and has provided weapons and other military gear to Ukraine. The U.S. and other countries have also responded with sanctions. 

Ukraine, in addition to the immediate threat to its people posed by the invasion, has concerns about its national sovereignty and undue Russian influence on internal affairs. Many Ukrainians want strengthened political and economic connections with Western nations, and potentially membership in the NATO military alliance.

The United States and NATO partners want to maintain military dominance, support Ukrainian sovereignty, and to protect Western interests in the region, including Russian-supplied gas. 

The deaths and the damage done

In early March, the Russian defense ministry admitted that 498 Russian soldiers had been killed in action and 1,500 wounded, a large number after just 10 days of fighting that pointed to the danger of its attempts to take Kyiv in a lightning raid.

“According to Russian defense ministry data … 9,861 Russian soldiers had been killed in action and another 16,153 had been wounded.”

Both Russia and Ukraine are losing a huge number of soldiers and citizens. The damage done to the Ukraine cities is critical and cannot be undone. More than 600 buildings have been destroyed in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second city in the east of the country, since the start of Russia’s invasion. Innocent citizens are suffering and some of them have lost their family and friends. 

Russian officials have said their forces are fighting for the "complete liberation" of the Donbas, which broadly refers to Ukraine's eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, where Russian-backed separatists held significant territory before the invasion.

Russia has made slow but significant advances in the east, and now controls over 90% of the Luhansk region. 

Russian forces have suffered heavy losses since the invasion began.

The UK Ministry of Defense says Russia is likely to have suffered devastating losses among its middle and junior ranking officers. It says these losses are likely to contribute to a loss of morale and poor discipline among lower ranks.

Significant quantities of Russian weaponry have also been destroyed.

As a result, Russia has tried to combine some heavily depleted units, forming what some analysts have called 'Frankenstein forces' to fight in the east.

Russian forces are believed to be strengthening defensive lines between Kharkiv city and the Russian border.