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On the morning of Feb. 24, by land, air and sea, Russia launched a full-scale military invasion on Ukraine, bombing major cities such as Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa; invading from Russia, Belarus, Crimea and the Black Sea, ultimately leading to a spread of refugees.
Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine is unethical and unjust. Ukraine did nothing wrong to begin with and all of Putin’s claims against Ukraine where he called them Nazis and talked about them committing genocide, are false.
The invasion was something many saw coming due to the build-up of troops on the border of Ukraine, Russian ultimatums to the United States and The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) , negotiations with the U.S. and European leaders and U.S. warnings of Russian invasion plans and was preceded by Moscow’s recognition of two separatist enclaves in eastern Ukraine as an independent.
For several months, Putin denied that he would attack Russia’s neighbor Ukraine, but in the end, he did. The Russian forces pushed into Ukraine’s north, east and south causing the deaths of innocent people.
Putin’s reasoning for all of this comes from a television broadcast where he implicitly states that Russia could not feel “safe, develop and exist” due to the threat of Ukraine. The President of Russia also elaborates on how his goal is the protect and free the people of Ukraine from genocide and demilitarization, along with de-Nazification of Ukraine. But the fact of the matter is that there has been no genocide in Ukraine and is also a highly animated democracy led by a Jewish President.
This pointless war is causing innocent Ukrainians to lay down their lives in order to protect their country when they shouldn’t have to at all. Ordinary citizens are joining arms to fight against the Russian forces and look to carry them to victory. One of these hopes is the so-called “Ghost of Kyiv.” It is known that stories of bravery and heroism often inspire people and help them get through tough times. During Ukraine’s attempts to deter Russian tanks and jets from taking over, a Ukrainian pilot has received praise for their actions and efforts to do so, including him or her shooting down six Russian aircraft. Former president Petro Poroshenko labeled this pilot in a tweet saying, “None other than the Ghost of Kyiv. He causes terror among enemies and pride among Ukrainians. He has six victories over Russian pilots! With such powerful defenders, Ukraine will definitely win!”
With hope displayed, encouraging people to fight, this does not stop the Russian forces from committing heinous war crimes, injuring and killing the innocent people of Ukraine. A video has gone around social media recently showing the devastating effects this war has on the innocent. In the said video, it shows a 14-year-old girl riding a bike through her neighborhood, and then moments later, a missile strikes her and blows everything up. Later on, pictures started to spread of the aftermath of the explosion, and it was confirmed that the girl was killed. In another video, there is an old man driving a car, and in an instance, a tank charges toward him running over the car. Luckily, the old man did not receive any life-threatening injuries. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg of all the things Russia is doing to the innocent people of Ukraine.
The number of civilian deaths is growing by the day. It has been reported that as of March first, a total of 227 civilians had been killed and 525 injured, but it has been noted these numbers are most likely undercounts. What exactly did the people of Ukraine do to lose their lives? Putin selfishly took away the lives of the innocent for his own personal good. Took away the lives of children, mothers and the elderly. All for nothing.
The killing of innocent Ukrainian citizens is not all Putin is responsible for. Since the invasion started, a total of 498 Russians have been killed according to Moscow. Putting his own people on the line to accomplish what? There is nothing to be accomplished except for a major ego boost for Putin.
Claiming that his actions are for the safety of his country, President Putin sure is trying his best to hide what is actually happening in Ukraine. The Russian government has issued an order to all media organizations to delete news that relates and describes the nation’s actions in Ukraine as an “assault,” “invasion” or a “declaration of war.” It is said that if the media refuses to listen to the demands of the Russian government they will be blocked. Why would they want to hide what they are doing? Maybe because it is unethical and doesn’t make sense at all. They are trying to hide what is actually happening in Ukraine in order to get their people to side with them, but there is resistance within their country with people protesting, but they too are getting shut down and silenced.
It has also been said that some Russian soldiers were completely lied to about why they were there. This all happened after a video of 5 captured Russian soldiers explaining how they did not even want to be there. When asked what purpose they came to Ukraine, the soldiers gave varying responses while suggesting they had been lied to and tricked into it. So how many other people are being lied to about why they are in Ukraine? Is President Putin really lying to his own people, putting them in harm’s way just for a selfish goal of his?
It is very clear to people all around the globe that everything Russia is doing is unethical, from lying to their own soldiers to hurting the innocent people of Ukraine for false reasons Putin has made, Russia is clearly in the wrong.
