March 21, 2022
By Gianfranco Martinez
Staff Writer
Russia began its military invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. This attack came as a result of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s goal of conquering Ukraine and making it a part of Russia. According to Reuters, at least 19,000 have died since the invasion began, and there has been approximately $119 billion of property damage in Ukraine. CNN reports that more than 3 million Ukrainians have fled their country since Russia’s invasion, seeking refuge in Poland and other nearby countries.
History teacher Mrs. Schiraldi said she is concerned about the possibility of Russia taking over.
Ukraine had been a part of Russia until the U.S.S.R.’s collapse in 1991, at which point Ukraine became independent. Schiraldi said Putin ordered an invasion because Ukraine was a part of Russia before, and therefore he believes it should be with them again similar to Adolf Hitler conquering parts of Europe during World War II.
“If other countries do not stand up to this, it will lead to a World War III,” Schiraldi said, explaining that China would come to Russia’s aid.
Schiraldi said if more allies of NATO, an international organization which was formed as a direct result of World War II, do not come to Ukraine’s defense against this threat, Ukraine will not be able to counter the attacks and will once again return to Russian control.
“Let’s just hope it doesn’t happen, let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that,” Schiraldi said.
The U.S. military has assisted Americans situated in Ukraine by helping them reach safety in Poland, though there are some who refuse to leave Ukraine. On March 6, the U.S. also implemented sanctions on trade with Russia.
Schiraldi said this is a good start in deterring further Russian invasions in Ukraine because it will negatively impact Russia’s economy and funding of the Russian military.
History teacher Mr. Tessalone said the tensions between Ukraine and Russia have been long standing, with roots extending back to when Ukraine was part of the U.S.S.R and with the conflict that erupted in 2014 over the disputed land of Crimea and the Donbas primarily located in Ukraine.
Tessalone said Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is calling for more help from the West.
“Ukraine is in an interesting position where they’re bordering Russia and some of them are seeking ties with the West and NATO,” Tessalone said.
“It saddens me to see the lives of millions of Ukrainians being changed drastically solely because of Putin’s desire for control. He does not care about his own economy crumbling, his citizens or the citizens of Ukraine, as he is just seeking power over everyone at any cost.”
Like Schiraldi, Tessalone said he agrees with the United States’ strong sanctions against Russia and believes NATO may need to intervene.
Sophomore Erick Vergara, who said he gets his information on the conflict by reading the New York Times, said he is hoping diplomatic talks will put an end to the war.
“It would not be favorable to Ukraine if Russia took over the capital, neither would it be for Russia if Ukraine is able to fiercely defend itself and cause a waste of resources,” Vergara said.
While he wishes for the war to stop, Vergara said it is unlikely to happen in the coming weeks.
“It saddens me to see the lives of millions of Ukrainians being changed drastically solely because of Putin’s desire for control. He does not care about his own economy crumbling, his citizens or the citizens of Ukraine, as he is just seeking power over everyone at any cost,” Vergara said.
He said both the Ukrainian and Russian economies are being negatively impacted by the war, and Ukraine will have to do a lot of rebuilding after the conflict since bridges, highrises, houses and roads have been demolished by Russian forces.
Vergara said he does not believe sanctions against Russia will be enough to persuade Putin to pull back his troops.
“It appears that he could care less about the effects on his economy as long as he is able to take over Ukraine. Russia happens to be one of the largest exporters of oil and energy in the world. Putin has the ability to suspend the trade of his country’s goods, purposefully sabotaging the circulation of energy and oil, especially in the European Union,” Vergara said.
Following the invasion, the hacker collective “Anonymous” banded together on the side of Ukraine and hacked into multiple Russian websites and Russian media outlets, declaring a “cyber war.”
Vergara said even though “Anonymous” is a decentralized organization of hackers unrelated to the government, Russia may interpret that the American government had a hand in the hacks.
“Depending on how the Russian government interprets the hackings, either a whole cyberwar could start, or they may just disregard the hacks. I believe that there is a high risk of a cyberwar occurring, putting many governments, organizations, businesses and individuals at risk,“ Vergara said.
Sophomore Yulia Dziadiv, who is of Ukrainian descent, has grandparents living in Kyiv and relatives living outside of Kyiv. She said her relatives tell her about the air raids that have been going on and how they have to run to the metro to avoid the attack. They have also been hearing constant firing and shots throughout the city.
“I obviously hope that this can all be resolved very soon, as frankly no one wants to partake in war and many lives have already been lost, people are injured and plenty more are now displaced,” Dziadiv said.
She said she gets her information about the war through news websites, radio stations, social media and from her parents and relatives who call her family frequently.
“Putin does not see Ukraine as a country on its own and believes that it rightfully belongs to Russia. This, however, is not true as the capital Kyiv has a very long history dating back 1,500 years.”
Dziadiv said she believes the war will not end anytime soon and will result in many more innocent deaths and displaced people.
“Seeing places I visited last summer be bombed and torn up completely was shocking…. It was all intact and normal, and only half a year later, I [am] seeing them destroyed through the news,” Dziadiv said. “The infrastructure will take years to rebuild, especially since some of the places were there for a long long time and could be historical landmarks. Russian and Ukrainian relations will probably never be the same.”
