With the Israel-Palestine conflict raging in the Middle East, most of America has entirely shifted their focus towards the atrocities occurring there, turning a blind-eye to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. In order to shed light on the overlooked war, here are some of the most recent, important events regarding the Russia-Ukraine War.
North Korean Missiles in Ukraine? (Late December 2023/Early January 2024)
Citing the waves of airstrikes on Dec. 30, Jan. 2 and Jan. 6, numerous nations accused Russia of using North Korean ballistic missiles and launchers. These countries were the United States, Ukraine, France, the United Kingdom, Japan, Malta, South Korea and Slovenia. In addition to this accusation, the eight countries claim that Russia is abusing their status as a veto-holding country in the UN, warning that, “each violation makes the world a much more dangerous place.”
However, the Russian Ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, stated that representatives of the Ukrainian air force “specifically said that Kyiv did not have any evidence of this fact.” In addition, Nebenzia fired back at America and Ukraine, claiming that Ukraine used American weapons to attack the Russian city of Belgorod, hitting children and the elderly in Christmas markets. While the targeting of civilians by either Ukraine or Russia should be universally condemned, the fact remains that, as a war of aggression on Russia’s part, they attack civilian populations with rockets and troops significantly more than Ukraine does.
Funding Concerns for Ukraine (Mid December 2023)
Throughout the course of the war, America, the UN, and numerous other Western countries have supplied Ukraine with monetary relief, weaponry, and equipment. America alone has given over $43 billion, which is roughly equivalent to 5% of America’s yearly military budget. This has led to Ukraine destroying about 50% of Russia’s military power, causing Russia to spend over $150 billion in military replacements.
Despite the world’s past military and humanitarian support of Ukraine, they still face massive economic shortfalls: over $40 billion this year. While America and the UN was expected to cover around $30 billion of that, issues within the US Senate and Congress, and disagreements among world leaders have caused considerable uncertainty regarding whether or not Ukraine will receive any future support. The main reason for the disagreements within the Congress has been caused by the Israel-Palestine conflict, and migrants at the southern border. Bills clump together funding for some or both of these issues, which make it harder to pass because if a representative or senator disagrees with just one of the fund recipients, they will vote against the bill.
Many Americans worry that our country spends too much money on foreign countries, such as Ukraine. However, people fail to look past the immediate costs and question what may happen if Ukraine fights this war by themselves. Russia justifies their invasion by the fact that Ukraine was controlled by the USSR in the 20th century. By this logic, they can then justify invasions of numerous other countries, potentially leading to a more global conflict, incurring even more costs from the United States and its allies. If this global conflict were to expand, America would not just be funding Ukraine, but any other country that Russia attempted to reclaim, with the potential of American troops being sent to defend countries. All of that could be prevented with America using just 1% of the defense budget on Ukraine.
Ukraine POW Plane Shot Down (January 24 2024)
On January 24, 2024, Russia claimed that a plane carrying Ukrainian POWs was shot down in the Belgorod region of Ukraine. Russian president Vladimir Putin promised to make the findings of Moscow’s investigation of the crash public. He also claimed that Ukraine shot down the transport carrying 65 Ukrainian POWs, 6 crew members, and 3 Russian servicemen. Russia alleges that the planned escort was going according to plan before it went down in Ukrainian airspace. On the other hand, Ukraine claims that a POW escort was called off for the day, and had no notice that Russia was intending to transport POWs into Ukraine.
Neither country has released any evidence for claims they have made. Putin stated that, “There are black boxes, everything will now be collected and shown,” yet many call into question the authenticity of anything either country says. Russia has been known to utilize propaganda to bolster their war effort, and the public perception of Ukraine has been a massive driving force for them to garner foreign funds. While Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for an international investigation, no foreign nation has made any comment yet.
