The Forgotten Struggle in Ukraine

Conflict between Russia and Ukraine.Photo byFutureStock / Adobe Stock

Do you remember what happened on February 24, 2022 ?

Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. The global superpower attacked Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, and attempted to overthrow the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky.

More than two years on, numerous other hotspots on the globe have boiled over and hosted atrocities and new wars of their own.

How many people understood the original conflict in Ukraine, and how many people are still paying attention to that country’s plight?

Understanding what the war in Ukraine is about

The global news cycle now seems to move at the speed of light, andsocial media only seems to amplify the most strident voices (not the most fact-checked or accurate ones). Very few people have the time to find or read nuanced journalism stories about anything before the next headline screams into view.

That can make it extremely difficult to understandthe global forces at play in any war or conflict, particularly when a region has a long history of shifting geographies and political powers (which Ukraine emphatically does).

Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, clearly planned the invasion of Ukraine for some time, encircling the country with 150,000 troops. On February 24 of 2022, many ofUkraine’s citizens woke up to missile strikes and military fights in several of its largest cities. Ukrainian civilians fled and the country’s armed forces mobilized to defend against the Russian attack.

Listing the possible causes and historical movements of the war is beyond the scope of this article, but many speculate thatUkraine’s democratic referendum in 1991 (in which citizens of the country voted in favor of its independence from the Soviet Union) is at the root of Russia’s aggression.

Since 2008it has also been speculated that Ukraine may one day joinNATO(the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and will therefore align politically with Western and European nations against Russia’s interests. Many commentators say thatPutin views NATO as an “existential threat” and is committed to thwart Ukraine’s possible acceptance as a member in that organization.

A long two (or ten) years, filled with casualties and costs

In this age of constant information and the belief that all facts can be found on the Internet, it can be informative to learn about how difficult it is to know with any certainty how many military personnel (from both sides) and civilians have died or been injured in this conflict.

Butthe war in Ukraine has, by all accounts and by many measures, been brutal.

The death tolls in the Russia-Ukraine War often include those deaths that took place before the 2022 invasion. In 2014,Russia annexed Crimea, formerly a part of the Ukraine. Casualty numbers also include war in the Donbas region of Ukraine from 2014 to 2022.

Basically:thousands of people have been killed, while hundreds of thousands have been wounded. The UN Refugee Agency also states that more than 6 million people have fled Ukraine, and more than 14 million people still in the country are in need of humanitarian aid.

The war in Ukraine has also been expensive. Many countries are sending aid and weapons toUkraine, including theUnited States, which has thus far given $175 billion to aid the country. This amount means that Ukraine is the top recipient, currently, of American foreign aid.

Why is the Russia-Ukraine war losing the battle of the headlines?

Here is another noteworthy date: October 7, 2023.

On that date,Hamas“launched a land, sea, and air assault on Israelfrom the Gaza Strip.” This attack resulted in more than 1,200 deaths, and has been referred to as “Israel’s 9/11.”

Since October 7, the Israel-Hamas War has dominated world news cycles. In addition to reports of attacks and counter-attacks, controversies have ragedregarding pro-Palestinian protests on American college campuses, as well as the possibility of charging Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu with war crimes.

Another date that is distracting Americans from the Russia-Ukraine War isNovember 5, 2024, when the presidential election will be held.One of the candidates in that election, Donald Trump, makes multiple headlines every day himself, due to the number of court cases in which he is currently involved.

In the midst of this constant churn of events, many worry that the very serious events in Ukraine are being forgotten. Even Pope Francis has stated his worry that the war in Ukraine is becoming a “forgotten one.”

What happens when wars are forgotten

No matter how far away the war in Ukraine might seem, it’s important to remember that people, includingmillions of civiliansjust trying to live their lives, are suffering every day.

It’s important to remember that wars that are pushed out of the headlines by newer events don’t just end, or disappear, on their own. As infrastructures are destroyed and people internalize the trauma of constant stress and danger, each day of conflict causes more problems in the future.

It may be tempting for citizens to ignore the Ukraine headlines, or for politicians to focus on “domestic priorities.” But often it seems that trying to ignore wars simply turns them into wars that go on forever.