Today: Mar 29, 2024

Russia invades the Ukraine

Sofia RositaniEditor-in-Chief

We are living through history, this is something I have been hearing for four years now, and I am getting tired of it. First a pandemic, now a war.  

While this invasion into Ukraine is not directly impacting the United States, or even the university, it can. 

“Exact death tolls are unclear, but the U.N. human rights chief said 102 civilians have been killed and hundreds wounded in five days of fighting — warning that figure was likely a vast undercount — and Ukraine’s president said at least 16 children were among the dead,” according to AP news. “More than 500,000 people have fled the country since the invasion, another U.N. official said Monday — among millions who have left their homes.” 

This could be the United States, but many people do not want to think about that, instead they want to live in ignorant bliss, like done with everything else that does not directly involve the United States. While we can donate and we can share on social media, it does not change the fact that people are dying in a country that has been independent from Russia for 31 years.  

“U.S. and British officials played down Putin’s nuclear threat as posturing. But for many, they stirred up memories of the Cuban Missile Crisis and concerns that the West could be drawn into a direct conflict with Russia,” according to AP news.  

While the United States is not being impacted directly there are still issues in the country happening due to Russia starting this invasion.  

“President Biden, meanwhile, has said he would consider measures to blunt the impact of rising oil prices on Americans, including the sale of more oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. He warned energy companies not to opportunistically jack up prices, while acknowledging that the economic consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would be felt by Americans,” according to The Washington Post.  

This means the gas prices will skyrocket more than they already have been. And what does President Biden have to say about this.  

He added that the government is “closely monitoring energy supplies for any disruption” and raised the potential the U.S. could further tap its petroleum reserves if conditions warrant. The president also fired a warning shot at oil and gas giants themselves, adding they “should not exploit this moment to hike their prices,” according to The Washington Post.  

The university is known for being a commuter school and with gas prices going up it will make it harder for some students to be able to come to campus. So, while the United States is not getting bombed, we will be facing major inflation in the next couple of months, due to this invasion of Ukraine.  

“I can barely afford my groceries now. Like, I’m literally walking in there with my last hundred dollars,” Sammy Yelle said in an interview with NPR.  

Due to Russia invading Ukraine many Americans are taking Russian made products, including vodka, off their shelves. I have also seen many restaurants that are Russian putting the Ukrainian flag in their windows or other areas of the building to show that they stand with Ukraine.  

“Maybe I’m cynical, but it seems like with the divisions that we’ve been seeing just in our own country of nationalist ideals that the world is a ripe ground for this kind of conflict,” Heidi Kretser said in an interview with NPR.  

While we can send money or we can post on social media this will not help the current status of Ukraine, the fact is yes, this can be used when it is all over, but will they have a country to rebuild once it is over. 

 I know President Volodymyr Zelensky is doing everything in his power to save his country, even going as far as saying he will die to make sure that his country and people are not taken by Russia, but there is always a worry that it can be taken over any minute.  

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Latest from Blog