The Russian-Ukrainian conflict has not shown any sign that it will come to an end soon. As a matter of fact, within the past week Russian forces have been intensifying their aggression on Ukrainian territory, which has resulted in concerning and catastrophic consequences. Due to the horrible conditions in Ukraine, the United Nations have revealed that more than 2.8 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the start of the invasion on February 24. 

An example of that aggression is the bombardment of a maternity hospital in the now Russian-occupied city of Mariupol on March 9. Images of a wounded pregnant woman being taken on a stretcher to an ambulance has gained international attention. The images have grasped the attention over the atrocities being committed in Ukraine. Unfortunately, 5 days later on March 14, both the mother and the baby were pronounced dead. 

In recent news, the occupation of nuclear power plants inside the country are in great danger. The nuclear power plants, Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhya, are considered to be the largest nuclear power plants in Europe. Many people are concerned over the fighting in the vicinity of these plants because they could possibly cause an accident that can easily spiral out of control, leading to the release of radioactive material.

The killing of Brent Renaud, an American journalist, who was covering refugee activity for the production company Time Studios in the outskirts of the capital city, Kyiv, has also been widely condemned.

The events in Eastern Europe have not gone unnoticed by some students. 

“I have been following it but not too much in detail. I just read whatever I see on my news highlights for the day,” says Oscar Cuica (12). “But regarding it, I seriously hope it ends. Too many innocent Ukrainian lives are being taken.”

Other students simply found it to be a completely unnecessary war started by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I think that it is absurd, inhumane, and horrible that Russia has decided to invade a nation and commit horrendous acts for the goal of greed and false ideals,” says Bryan Garibay (12). “The fact that so many lives have been lost, on both sides as well, because of the desires of a singular person is absolutely absurd.”

In response to the growing amount of casualties, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has requested NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Alliance) countries to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukrainian airspace in order to deter Russian forces from further aggression. Such a move has been immediately rejected by several member states, including the U.S., who stated that policing its airspace would mean shooting down any Russian fighter jets seen in the sky. As a result, this would bring the U.S. into a direct conflict with Russia and further intensify the situation given that they are the two biggest nuclear powers in the world.