Panama City News Herald
Ukrainian students in PCB: Putin has been invading for last 8 years | Guestview
Yaraslava Tsitova and Daryna Antoshko – March 27, 2022
Ukraine is a country with the most fertile soils and mesmerizing beauty and has been independent since 1991. However, Vladimir Putin, president of Russia, has stated that he wants to bring the USSR back, and he is trying to do exactly that no matter the blood, tears, manipulations and death his and other countries have to go through. Putin has been invading Ukraine since 2014, although other nations are noticing it just now.
After the Ukrainian people overthrew their fourth president, Viktor Yanukovich, who worked with Putin throughout his presidency, Putin used the moment when Ukraine technically did not have a leader to order Russian soldiers to go to Simferopol, the capital of Crimea.
When the soldiers arrived, they walked to the Parliament where they forced the deputies of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Crimea to sign paperwork that stated that the Crimean referendum, which talked about Crimea becoming part of Russia, had to be passed. After the document came in place, and the people of Crimea supposedly voted that they would like to be a part of the Russian Federation (which has been proven false multiple times), the peninsula joined as the biggest country in the world, although most of the world refused to recognize it as a part of Russia.
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After getting ahold of such beautiful land, Putin kept taking more property. More soldiers were sent to Donetsk and Lugansk, where they told citizens about a false threat from Western Ukraine, and that they are here to protect them. This information was accepted and the cities started a defense from a made-up enemy. An army of volunteers was organized by the new president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, after Yanukovich got rid of the military, and went to what is now called Donbass to send the Russian soldiers home, which at first went well, but then Putin sent his troops back to Ukraine. And while the cities were getting bombed, Russian media called the “situation” a civil war.
Although the circumstances kept getting worse, and more people were dying daily, other countries did not plan on intervening until a Malaysian Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down on July 17, 2014. After that, sanctions that affected mainly Crimea were introduced by foreign countries. Serious hostilities were stopped on Sept. 5, 2014, after Poroshenko was forced to sign the Minsk agreements, because of Ukrainian troops getting into the enemy ring. However, the fighting did not stop. Ever since, Ukraine has been begging the United States, and European and NATO countries for help.
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On Feb. 24, at 5 a.m., Putin declared war on Ukraine, calling it a “special military operation.” The attack started by air striking the biggest airports in Ukraine located in such cities as Kiev, Dnipro, and Kharkiv. Afterward, the troops were sent to Ukrainian lands. At the moment, Kherson, Donetsk, Lugansk, Kharkiv, Sumy and Militopol are under temporary occupation.
On Feb. 28, the Russian army also occupied Energodar, where stands a giant nuclear plant that they immediately began to shoot. Thankfully, the plant can be fixed. Not only military objects, but hospitals, schools, apartment complexes, and peaceful people are getting bombed daily. Since the beginning of the war, over a million people, most of which are women and children, have left the country to protect themselves, while the men stayed to fight for their homeland. People all over the world show their support for Ukraine through protests, the spread of information, sending money to organizations and collecting donations such as water, food, clothes, diapers, and hygiene products, while their governments help by sending guns, ammo, and other military equipment.
This war also has had a huge negative impact on the Russian economy. Thirty-seven countries closеd their airspace and refused to import and export oil, gas, metals, and other goods. Since the start of the war, the price of a dollar has grown dramatically. Almost all global companies and social media platforms are curtailing their business in Russia. Even though those horrible events occur on Ukrainian land, the people of Russia have no way of knowing the truth because of the media bias and propaganda. They have no access to reliable news sources and information, especially from foreign countries. The government is trying to brainwash the nation to believe it is another civil war.
Anyone can help the peaceful people of Ukraine by sending money to reliable charities, donating important items and spreading truthful information.
Mercy Chefs, an organization that was very helpful to us after Hurricane Michael, has already set up in Ukraine and is feeding people and assisting with supplies. You can find out more about their outreach and how to support their work at mercychefs.com/ukraine.
Yaraslava Tsitova and Daryna Antoshko are Ukrainian students attending J.R. Arnold High School in Panama City Beach.