What's Happening Between Russia & Ukraine?

What's Happening Between Russia & Ukraine?

Russia is the biggest country in the world in terms of territory. It’s located in eastern Europe. It borders Ukraine, which it has now invaded.​

​Russia declared war on Ukraine on Thursday 2.24.22.

The conflict between the two countries has been bubbling for several years and has come to a head.

​The attacks were orchestrated by Russia’s leader, Vladimir Putin, who first became president in 1999.

Some experts say that Putin is doing this because he wants Russia to regain the power that it once had.

But Ukraine and other world leaders say they don’t want to start a war because it could be devastating to the Ukraininans, their military and people around the world.

Multiple Choice

Russia is the

• Smallest country in Asia.

• Largest country in the world

• smallest country in the world.

Multiple Choice

The current president of Russia is

• Mikhail Gorbachev

• Vladimir Putin

• Joseph Stalin

• Ivan the Terrible

​Russian forces invaded Ukraine by land, air and sea on Thursday morning, with Russian missiles raining down on Ukrainian cities and reports of troops pouring across the border.​

Putin said he ordered the attacks “to protect people, including Russian citizens,” who have been subjected to what he called “genocide” in Ukraine. He claims that his goal is to strip Ukraine’s military power, not to take over the country.

​What's Happening Right Now?

​Countries in the West say this is absurd propaganda and that Putin is creating artificial reasons to justify invading Ukraine. This will make more sense further down in the article. 

The West includes countries like Canada, the United States and most of Europe.

Almost all of the world — but not China — disapproved of the attacks and vowed to stand with Ukraine.​

​The United Nations is warning of “devastating consequences” of Russia's military action in Ukraine and is calling on neighbouring countries to open their borders to refugees.

​To understand this conflict, we need to go back to just after the second  World War, which ended 77 years ago.

At the time, Russia was a lot more powerful and was aligned with many other countries as part of the Soviet Union, which included Russia, Ukraine and a handful of other republics.

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The Soviet Union, which helped the U.S. and other European countries in the Second World War, didn’t agree with how to reorganize territories in Europe after Germany was defeated.

This disagreement, along with other factors, led to decades of tension and morphed into something called the Cold War.

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​For decades, Canada, the U.S. and many allied European countries were on high alert, fearing the Soviet Union would escalate another war, but it never happened, which is why it’s called the Cold War.

The Cold War ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

​The main reason the Soviet Union fell apart was because Russia, the center of its power, could no longer afford the military and other costs associated with maintaining such a large union.

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After the Soviet Union ended, many countries that were a part of it, like Ukraine, became independent.

New allegiances were formed.

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Many of those countries turned toward the West, which they saw as much more prosperous than Russia.

Multiple Choice

Ukraine and Russia were both part of the Soviet Union for many years.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

When did the Soviet Union fall

• 1922

• 1990

• 1991

• 1992

Multiple Choice

After the Soviet Union divided, Ukraine became an independent country .

• True

• False

​For security and protection, many joined an alliance called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which includes Canada and the U.S.

Since 1999, many more countries have joined NATO, and Ukraine has expressed interest in joining for protection. 

Multiple Choice

The citizens of Ukraine wanted their government to become allies with the US and European countries. (NATO)

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

What is the main purpose of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)?

• Provide for the mutual defense of its members

• Provide for an open market for its members

• Establishes a free trade zone

• Sign treaties across the Atlantic

​One reason that Russia is invading Ukraine is because as Russia has struggled since the Soviet Union collapsed, NATO has continued to grow, and Putin sees that as a threat.

Although Ukraine hasn’t joined NATO, NATO countries like Canada and the U.S. have bolstered Ukraine’s military and have provided other resources in the country since 2014.

​1. Putin is worried about NATO forces

​Why? In 2014, Russia invaded and took over Crimea, a part of Ukraine, and NATO has seen that as a huge concern.

As a result, NATO has also bolstered its military presence in some countries around Russia.

Upon announcing his invasion of Ukraine, Putin accused NATO of threatening “our historic future as a nation.”

Multiple Choice

Russia invaded Ukraine in -----------

• 2014

• 2015

• 2020

• None of these

Multiple Choice

What is one reason why Russia is threatening to invade Ukraine?

• To re-establish the Soviet Union

• To prevent them from joining NATO

• To stop them from giving oil to Germany

• To ally with Belarus

Russia sees Ukraine as being historically and culturally part of Russia.

In a television address earlier this week, Putin said that Ukraine is a key part of Russia’s history and that parts of Ukraine are ancient Russian lands.

​2. Russia wants Ukraine to be aligned with them

Putin, who is nearing the end of his political career, may be trying to distract from all the problems happening in Russia, such as the toll the COVID-19 pandemic is taking on the economy.​

​3. Putin is creating a distraction

​NATO has made it clear that it has no plans to send troops to Ukraine itself.

However, it has put warplanes on alert and has sent NATO troops to surrounding countries like Poland.

NATO is also sending weapons and medical support to Ukraine.

The major response, however, is coming through what are called sanctions: limitations that countries make in order to put major stress on Russia’s economy.

The U.S., for example, said it will cut off Russia's government from accessing banks in the West, among other limitations.

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On Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a new suite of “severe” sanctions, including measures that will stop the export of goods from Russia.

That, among other sanctions, will negatively impact Russia’s economy.​

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​As Biden told NBC News earlier this month, "That's a world war when Americans and Russia start shooting at one another." In other words, the U.S.' entrance into the conflict has the potential to touch off a global war.

​Why won't Biden send U.S. troops into Ukraine?