As of March 12th, 2022, over two and a half million people have been displaced from their homes in Ukraine due to the Russian invasion, and over 15,000 people (as reported by the UN) have been killed. With the conflict growing more and more intense every day, we can only wonder: Will this war come to a peaceful resolution? Or will it escalate into World War III? Or will it stay confined, but result in loss of lives? At this point, no one can know for sure.
On Wednesday, March 9, 2022, Russian airships bombed a maternity and children’s hospital in the city of Mariupol. This was only a few hours after Russia agreed to a “12-hour pause in hostilities to allow refugees to evacuate a number of towns and cities,” as reported by CNN. The Russian foreign minister claimed that this was an attack on a Ukrainian militia that was camping out in the hospital, but there has not been any evidence to support this. The explosion killed 3 people, including one child, and left at least 17 people injured (Associated Press, March 11).
The global effects of the Russia/Ukraine war have already been felt. Over just a few weeks, the average price of gasoline in the United States surged to over $4 a gallon- because of the global economic attacks from Russia’s invasion, and the global sanctions against Russia- when it had previously been less than $3.50. The average price increase is at a high of 7.9%, the highest it has been since 1980. Yet, gasoline and car prices are not the only things that have been affected by the war in Ukraine. Many massive companies have begun to shut down their locations inside of Russia. Some of the notable names include McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and Starbucks. They have shut down all working locations inside the country, and will not reopen until Russia ends the conflict- which realistically, will probably not happen. Russia knows their goal, and they will do anything to accomplish it, without being deterred by other countries.
As well as companies actively working against and protesting Russia, so too are entire countries. Russia quickly became the most sanctioned country in the world, and currently has over 5,500 sanctions (Al Jazeera, March 3).
The internet has also been getting involved in the issue. Before Russia actually invaded Ukraine, people on Twitter and TikTok were using the #vladdaddy to push the message across that invading Ukraine would be a bad thing to do. Users were saying that “Vladdy Daddy,” or Vladimir Putin, was “not acting like himself”- an actual quote from many users! No one can know for sure whether these were real people, actually trying to make a difference, or bots just trying to make the situation humorous.