By Georgia Skuza
LINKS ON WHERE TO DONATE TO HELP UKRAINE:
UPDATE 2/24/2022: IN THE EARLY HOURS OF THE MORNING ON FEBRUARY 24TH, 2022, RUSSIA INVADED UKRAINE WITH MISSILES, TANKS, AND SOLDIERS. IT IS CONTINUING TO EVOLVE INTO A DANGEROUS SITUATION. PRAY FOR THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE.
Tensions between Russia and its neighbor to the west, Ukraine, have been increasing at an alarming rate over the past few months. As of November 2021, tensions have become increasingly dangerous, not just for Ukraine but for the rest of the world.
Let’s look at the past few months:
In November 2021, Russian President Vladamir Putin mobilized 100,000+ troops, along with tanks and heavy machinery along the border with Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirms Russian war efforts, and called upon the US and their NATO allies to aid if an invasion were to occur.
Three days ago, the Canadian government sent a 120 million dollar loan to Ukraine to aid in war efforts against the potential Russian invasion.
As of January 24th, 2022, Ukraine is attempting to join NATO as the threat of a Russian invasion is growing by the minute. Russia has threatened that if the United States and its NATO allies were to aid Ukraine, they would launch a cyber attack.
Before moving forward, it is vital that we understand the countries within NATO and the agreements they hold.NATO stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organization and was founded for the purposes of collective security after WWII. As of 2021, there are thirty countries in NATO, and there was only one instance during which Article 5 of NATO was invoked, which means that if one country is attacked, it is an attack on all allies. This invocation came after the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the United States. It is not certain as to whether other countries in NATO would join if the US were attacked in the cyber field by Russia.
The United States is sitting in an extremely vulnerable position, and the timing could arguably not be worse. President Joe Biden’s approval rating currently sits at 39 percent and is actively decreasing. Our inflation rate is seven percent, and the country is falling into a 2009-like recession. Russia is monopolizing the situation occurring in the US, which indicates we may not have a leader who can effectively counter Russian efforts if he cannot effectively handle the issues at home.
President Biden has amassed 85,000 American troops currently on standby to be deployed to Eastern Europe if the Russians advance on Ukraine. The US and other countries have sent machinery reinforcements. However, the time is nigh to deploy American troops. Ukraine currently has 405,000 active military members compared to Russia’s one million, hence the potential deployment of 85,000 US troops.
Sweden, who is not a member of NATO but rather a partner, and a relatively quiet, neutral country, deployed troops to one of its Baltic Islands, Gotland, on January 21st, over the threat of Russian advancement.
The next couple of days will be crucial for the future of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, one that can change the world forever.
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