The Ukrainian and Russian war began in 2014 and has been going ever since, but the most notable “beginning” was in 2024.
Ukraine views the alliance’s eastward expansions as a security threat. Also, Russia demanded a promise and guarantees that Ukraine would never join NATO. NATO is a political and military alliance that was formed in 1949 to provide collective security against external aggression, primarily connecting European and North American countries; NATO is short for ‘The North Atlantic Treaty Organization.’ Putin has argued that Russians and Ukrainians are “one people” and has challenged Ukraine’s legitimacy as a sovereign nation, aiming to bring it under Moscow’s control. Putin believes that they are “one people” but Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union (USSR) on August 24, 1991, following a failed coup in Moscow. This declaration was overwhelmingly approved by voters in a national referendum on December 1, 1991, and formally finalized with the dissolution of the Soviet Union on December 26, 1991.
In Kyiv, the air raid alarms sounded for nearly 11 hours, from Wednesday into Thursday. Russia attacked many places but one of the many places they attacked was a nine story building. Seven people were killed, 20 people are missing, and 28 people were injured to different extents. In the rubble, where people are being found buried, several bodies were recovered, including a body of a 12 year old girl. Unfortunately, like the many other people caught in the crossfire, a man died due to an injury from the attacks at a gas station. There was also a train locomotive that was hit by drones and airplanes in the Khairiku region.
“I heard a loud explosion. I ran out to the kitchen and saw people running around the yard calling for help. Then I rushed out of the building and saw that the front entrance was gone. I was scared – it’s so stressful for me because I was worried about the children,” said mother of three and building resident Olena Suntocaska, who was brave enough to recall these horrific memories of what happened to her, her town, and what is going on around her in the country and city.
An elderly woman named Polina, 76, said that she woke up to find that the window to her balcony had been blown out. “I never imagined the damage would be this bad; when I went out into the yard, I couldn’t believe my eyes. We don’t have a proper bomb shelter here. There’s only one in a nearby building, not in ours, so we don’t go down (underground) anywhere.” She was only identified by first name, since there was never a recording of her last name.
The President of Ukraine is named Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy is very firm in not backing down when it comes to giving into Russia and their relentless attacks on Ukraine and their people. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he met with his top staff on Thursday about “a massive and virtually nonstop Russian attack that lasted nearly 48 hours.” In all, at least 20 locations were attacked in the capital, including locations such as the residential building, a school, and a veterinary clinic. “This is a deliberate terrorist tactic by the Russians, who amassed drones and missiles over a period of time and intentionally calculated the strike so that its scale would be significant, creating the greatest possible difficulties for our air defense,” Zelenskyy wrote on ‘X.’ What he is saying is that he believes that they attacked Ukraine’s people for 48 hours straight, they lost many people due to it, and many more are missing or injured.
Zelenskyy accused Russia of stockpiling the weapons for the attack to coincide with President Trump’s visit to China. “It certainly cannot be called a coincidence that one of the longest massive Russian attacks against Ukraine took place precisely at the time when the President of the United States arrived for a visit to China – a visit from which is much expected. In this difficult geopolitical moment, Russia is clearly trying to disrupt the overall political atmosphere and draw attention to its evil – seeking to do so at the expense of Ukrainian lives and Ukrainian infrastructure,” the Ukrainian president added. Clearly President Zelenskyy believes that the attack that occurred had to do with Donald Trump’s visit to China and that his occurrence was suspicious.
Russian President Vladimir Putin answered questions from the reports following a Victory Day parade, and made headlines for saying he thought the war may be nearing its close after more than four years. “I think the matter is coming to an end, but it’s still a serious matter. The end of the war in Ukraine, I really think it’s getting close,” he told reporters on the White House’s South Lawn. This matter is extremely important because we do not know if it means that Russia is going to call a ceasefire or Ukraine will finally give in to Russia to end the string of losses caused by Russian attacks.
All in all, the Russians’ recent prolonged drone attack on Ukraine may be the last attack of the war and the end of many lives being lost.
