There are a lot of things going on in the world at the moment. On top of the global pandemic, inflation, and climate worries, there is also a war between Russia and Ukraine. The constant flow of news and information that I absorb through social media and every-day-talk can be overwhelming and discouraging. It truly makes me scared not only for my future, but the world’s future.
For starters, America as well as many European countries are part of an organization called NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). Ukraine and Russia are not part of this organization, however. NATO holds a set of rules that determines how and who can own and use nuclear weapons. Ukraine is a “partner country”, meaning that it has the option to join NATO in the future. Unfortunately, Russia sees this as a threat to its borders and safety, and wants nothing more than to consider Ukraine its property as it once was when the Soviet Union was a conglomerate of many other countries such as Ukraine.
Although there has been an international effort urging Putin to refrain from further escalating the war and involving other countries urging Putin to refrain from invading Ukraine, Putin still decided to station troops on the borders of Ukraine and is now actively trying to take over its major cities and eventually the entire country of Ukraine. Several countries such as the UK have aided Ukraine’s borders with ammunition. However, there are still worries that this could escalate into a full-scale world war.
There is a lot of misinformation and exaggerations embedded in social media, tabloids, and the news, but the tragedies that are taking place in Ukraine are very real. My thoughts and prayers are with Ukraine during this time.