-Saanvi Patra
Let’s not lie, the Ukraine and Russia war is now in passé. It has been going on for almost 11 months now, and the majority of us have already forgotten about it. Vladimir Putin– Russia’s president, declared the brutal war official on February 24th, 2022 and it hasn’t come to an end yet.
Let’s go back in time to see an overview of how it started.
The Russo-Ukrainian War, which started in 2014, saw a significant escalation with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The invasion is believed to have killed tens of thousands of people on both sides and sparked the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. Ukraine is the bone of contention between Washington and Moscow, so Russia wants to occupy it, and it wants to keep Ukraine out of NATO*, so it doesn’t get external support and come close to Russia’s borders. Russia, considering itself superior, and having convenient resources, thought the best way to come through is to destroy Ukraine, and that’s just what they did.
Something that I considered a light of hope in a dark room– the war, was President Volodymyr Zelensky’s courage, which he never let go of. He didn’t care whether he had support or not, he just wanted to fight for his country. Personally, I consider him an inspiration for standing resilient along with his countrymen. There were two options in front of Zelensky, the opportunity to flee to safety or to stay with his people and fight with them; it’s quite obvious which path he chose to take. He said, “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride.”
In its early days when awareness about the war was spreading hastily, we were all stunned by Ukraine’s defiance towards the war; constant posts and stories with #StandWithUkraine were just the talk of the town. We believed it to be a big deal but now, it has just disappeared from our lives. Where did all the empathy go? It looks like most of us have moved on with life, forgetting about the pain and damage a beautiful country has endured just because of Russian ministers’ collective ego.
However, as fellow living beings of this planet, it is our duty to keep our voices raised against the injustice towards other people of the same race– the human race. We can’t forget a matter that is of great importance to many with the blink of an eye, can we? We are obligated to fight for the end of this, the war we never needed. So, continue saying, “ I stand with Ukraine.”
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NATO*- North Atlantic Treaty Organization, an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states.
The Echo 