Tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced from their homes because of the Russo-Ukrainian War.  This conflict has been ongoing since 2014, and is only brought to our attention now due to escalations in violence and total warfare. 

The war began after the Russian annexation of Crimea, a southeastern portion of Ukraine, as after Crimea voluntarily joined the Russian Federation, Ukraine fought back. They did not want their homeland taken over by the Russians, and were worried that the annexation of Crimea was just a stepping stone to the destruction of their national identity. Diplomatic measures such as the Minsk Accords were taken, but were largely unsuccessful. 

Tensions escalated when Ukraine made alliances with NATO in 2018, and Russian power was threatened. The war we know today was started by a Russian invasion of many Ukrainian cities that occurred on February 24, 2022. President Vladimir Putin authorized the attack, saying that he wanted to “end the genocide of his people” in Ukraine. Many people across the globe objected highly to the attack and its reasoning, as the Ukrainian people were the ones being hurt, not Russians. 

Ukraine has since made efforts to join NATO and protect their people, but Russia is not backing down. The US and other nations have backed up Ukraine, but only time will tell where this war will lead.