Eva Herczyk, Freshman
Right now, there is a war going on between Ukraine and Russia. On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. As of right now, the war is ongoing. Only Russia and Ukraine are involved right now, but NATO nations and the rest of the world are watching closely. The only way the United States would get involved is if Russia directly attacks the US or NATO territory. Ukraine is not part of NATO. They tried many times to join but the possibility of war with Russia was too high to allow them to join. If NATO territory is touched, all of the countries included have to come to their side. Russia was under the impression that they would take Ukraine in a matter of days, but almost a month later, Ukrainians are still fighting for their country.
Because this situation changes, it can be hard to keep up with all of the facts. While some students fully understood the situation and had been following the news, others were not as caught up. One student I talked to only really knew the basic facts, saying “I don't really know much, but I know Ukraine and Russia are at war.” Another student expanded on this,“I know Russia invaded Ukraine's capital.” Another student had the full story, going as far to say, “I think that the United States needs to step in and stop claiming that we can not make a peace treaty. The world needs to stand by Ukraine and offer the help we can.”
Other students had different ideas about what the US can do to help. One student claimed that “America should help by bombing Russia.” Another student thought that the countries could take a different approach, saying, “The US should rationalize with Putin and get Ukraine’s president to rationalize with him too.” Another student had similar ideas, saying, “I think the countries should have just talked it out instead of invading.”
As I spoke to all the students about the situation, all of them nearly agreed that the war would continue to escalate from where it is now. Most students would agree with one student's claim, “I think that this will end in the war escalating and one side dominating.”
After interviewing these students, we can see that many people are following the situation and are waiting with bated breath for something to change. Everyone interviewed was standing with Ukraine and believed that Russia created an unjustified war. Since the situation is changing so rapidly, many people are following the situation closely and are hoping for a peaceful and quick ending.
Sources:
https://www.vox.com/22970918/russia-war-in-ukraine-explained