Since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the war has slowly dragged on. With Ukraine continuing to lose lives and land in what seems to be an unwinnable war. As of October 2024, Russia has claimed Vuhledar in Ukraine, and Ukraine’s population has fallen by 8 million, a decrease of 18%. Then in November, Biden lifted restrictions on Ukraine using US weapons to strike inside Russia, which led to Russia lowering its threshold for nuclear war. At a time when 52% of Ukrainians wanted to discuss peace with Russia, the US began urging Ukraine to lower its draft age to 18, which would put more Ukrainians in the war.
To increase the amount of soldiers in the war on Ukraine’s side, in December, Zelenskyy said he would open to western troops joining the war in Ukraine. French president Macron floated the idea as well but it was opposed by Germany and Poland for fear of escalation of the war. Later in the month, Russian air defense shot down an Azerbaijani plane which crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people. This led to an apology from Russia where they didn’t claim responsibility for the incident, and in January, Poland accused Russia of terrorism against world airlines. The rest of the month didn’t go smoothly for Russia either, with a Ukrainian drone downing a Russian helicopter for the first time over the black sea, US sanctions for social media interference in the election, and Trump threatening new tariffs if Russia doesn’t agree to peace.
One of Trump’s main promises was to end the Ukraine war soon into his presidency, so he began peace talks with both in February, although being more aggressive to Ukraine, claiming they started the war. Foreign leaders also aim for peace as well, with many visiting Ukraine on the war’s third anniversary and UK Prime Minister Starmer offering to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine. Trump wanted a rare earth minerals deal with Ukraine for further protection, and a plan was agreed upon, but this plan was cut short by a disastrous white house meeting that resulted in a shouting match between the presidents. This led in March to the US cutting aid to Ukraine and halting offensive cyber operations on Russia, with these actions coinciding with the Kremlin’s foreign policy, according to Russian officials. In response to the lost support from the US, Starmer is organizing a “coalition of the willing” of European countries to aid and defend Ukraine.
It’s possible for you to help, with there being many organizations you can donate to. For financial sources, you can donate to Doctors Without Borders, The World Food Program, the UN Crisis Fund for Ukraine, as well as other programs. It’s important to remember that not only is this a war of aggression started by Russia, but also a literal genocide where Ukrainians are being forcibly taken and “Russified”, making it a cultural genocide. Helping in any way can help the people of Ukraine and show your solidarity with them.
