Thursday morning, before dawn, the sounds of explosions are heard outside of the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv, home to just under 3 million people. The Ukrainian Defence Ministry had posted an official statement, announcing that the Russian government “launched a new military operation against [their] state.” Many popular perspectives stated that the invasion of Ukraine instantly solidified the doubts, fears, and questions of the international community.  Through his “rewriting of history” to justify his aggression, millions of innocent Ukrainians may suffer the consequences of an armed attack.   

Stating that  “martial law will be imposed on this “unjustified” and “deceitful” action, The Ukrainian Defence Ministry warned Ukrainians to stay home. Though over those following hours, countless citizens took shelter in more secure locations or fled their hometowns for safety. With over 400,000  Ukrainians heading westward as refugees to be safe from Russia’s attack, Kyiv faced many hours of heavy traffic. Cars and trains were packed with people who fought to leave the capital city as soon as possible. 

As cities all around the country, including the largest ones (Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv), had alert sirens blaring throughout the cities for hours, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had no hesitation in who to blame. He claimed, “All responsibility for all the consequences connected with these decisions lies on Russia’s political leadership,” undoubtedly referring to Russian President Putin. Mr. Putin was also condemned on CBS Face The Nation by U.S Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, who said that “He’s [Putin] made clear that he’d like to reconstitute the Soviet empire,” said Blinken. President Vladimir Putin has shown his ambitions may be to go back in time to “unite” and redraw the boundaries of the former Soviet Union through the seizing of Ukraine, a recognized sovereign country. “You don’t need intelligence to tell you [that’s] exactly what President Putin wants.” 

Mr. Putin has claimed that the invasion is a “military operation,” repeatedly reiterating the narrative that Ukraine’s land is historically and rightfully Russian. Therefore giving him justification for ‘retaking’ Ukrainian land. “Ukraine actually never had stable traditions of real statehood,” he said in one of his addresses to Russian State Television. CNN reports Putin’s plan is to overturn the current Ukrainian government in Kyiv and appoint a Russia-friendly “puppet” government, which would put Ukraine even further away from European membership and western cooperation. The Russians have established themselves on all fronts of Ukraine’s border with Russia and their allies, Belarus, taking Chernobyl, the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster. They are also holding the site’s staff hostage, according to Ukrainian officials. 

Friday night, President Zelenskyy posted a video with his fellow Ukrainian officials, stating they are not going anywhere, determined to defend Ukraine. “We are all here, defending our independence, our state. It will continue to be so.”

A note from the Prospect Staff

The Prospect strongly condemns the aggressions taken by the Russian government onto the sovereign state of Ukraine and its civilians