As many of you may know, Russia has been planning to attack Ukraine for the past couple of months. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24, 2022, that he planned to use “special military operation” to demilitarize Ukraine. On February 25, Ukraine was bombed by Russia at Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. This is what will be considered the start of large-scale war in Europe. Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, ordered general mobilization of men into the army.
General mobilization is the assembling and organizing of military resources to support national objectives in the time of war and national emergencies. During the first days of fighting, Russians forces attacked Ukraine by land, sea, and air and according to British Intelligence, these attacks lead to heavy causalities. Soon after the attacks started, the United States announced it would freeze the assists of four Russian banks and that it will limit high-tech exports. The EU will also hit most of Russia’s banking market and the West has declined to cut Russia off from SWIFT. SWIFT, also known as the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, is the global financial artery that allows smooth and rapid transfers of money across borders. SWIFT links 11,000 banks and institutions in more than 200 countries. Along with banking restrictions, many countries are preparing for air strikes. European aviation regulars have doubled the size of the warning zone that surrounds Ukraine with an impending fear of “mid-range missiles penetrating into controlled airspace.” Controlled airspace is defined dimensions within which air traffic control service is provided to IFR flights and to VFR flights in accordance with the airspace classification. Why are mid-range missiles considered a real threat?
Back in 2014, Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over Ukraine by a surface-to-air missile. Western officials and Dutch investigation believe that current Russian President Putin is responsible, even though he denies all accusations. Poland and the Czech Republic will also close airspace for Russian airlines following the attack on Ukraine. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to introduce new sanctions against Putin. During his call with NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Johnson urged them to “take immediate action against SWIFT to inflict maximum pain on President Putin and his regime.” All of these attacks and precautions are leading political and military experts to believe that we are on the way to a third world war, because that could be the only conclusion to Russian attacks.