by Zach Lozevski and Ethan Carraway
Disclaimer: This article was written and submitted for editing two days before Russia invaded Ukraine.
Ukraine is about to fall to Russia in the future with imminent war approaching. If Russia does give a green light on invading Ukraine or possibly sending nukes to the country instead, here are some things someone should know about the current state of NATO and other countries that are involved. Remember not all wars are fought on land but can be fought by weapons or economy.
The U.S. has led a variety of actions to help Ukraine without being directly involved. First off, the USA stationed around 12,000 troops around the border, and President Biden recently approved a $200 million bill for military aid to Ukraine. Though more money is soon to come from the U.S. As, during the last antagonization of Russia, when they invaded Crimea, the U.S. spent $2.7 billion in military aid. The US has also been one of only two nations daring to supply Ukraine with weapons. While the Pentagon has desired a peaceful negotiation between the nations, it is prepared for invasion. In the words of the White House National Security Advisor, “We are ready for an invasion at any time.”
Other nations involved in helping Ukraine are mostly European and members of NATO. It has also led many European countries to reevaluate trade agreements with Russia and offer some military support to Ukraine. First off, Poland has decided to donate 10 thousand drones and other related resources. Second, Germany has sent 5,000 helmets to Ukraine but does not want to donate any weapons as they feel guilty of its wrongdoing in WW2. Those are some of the few, with the rest of the European and NATO countries offering air equipment, anti-air missiles, military advice, and tactics.
Another question is whether Ukraine can defend itself from Russia. If one compares the resources of Ukraine’s army and Russia’s, Ukraine is significantly surmounted by Russia. Moreover, Russia has more than 10-fold helicopters and fighter jets than Ukraine (Margot Buff 2022.) Russia also has 900,000 troops on standby compared to Ukraine’s 150,000 troops (“Inews” 2022.) Since Ukraine is not a NATO nation, NATO has no obligation to defend Ukraine, meaning that Ukraine might have to fend for itself. This could be difficult for Ukraine so the US has ordered all diplomats and representatives to evacuate.
The Russian-Ukrainian conflict has also been developed in pop culture, with many people 'memifying’ it or ‘tweeting’ about it. Even the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted a meme about its aggravation with Russia on its border. If this global conflict escalates to a world war, the state of social media would be in disarray.
Another thing to worry about is what to do if a possible WWIII does break out. What should people around the world and more specifically Americans do? The first thing we should do is stay calm. If Russia tries anything involving the murder of innocent civilians, they will be immediately attacked by the United Nations. In the unlikely circumstance that there is a threat of nuclear invasion, there should be instructions on TV on every station.
We may also have to think about a possible draft that could happen if the reserve we already have isn’t enough. The amount of pre-planning involved in this situation is something to think about.
The possibility of war also can change the economic climate as well as the actual climate in the air. Nukes are very powerful and can change the earth in major ways. So before we go outside, let's make sure we’re not in the radius of a nuclear explosion.
The other climate I want to talk about is the economic climate in which many things could happen. Stock market crashes, businesses going downhill, sales prices going up, and a possible threat of homes being used for military personnel. These things I just listed play another major role in whether we make it through a war. If you want an example of this happening, look back at the end of World War One. A few years after the war, the stock market crash which caused the Great Depression could have been caused by post-war costs.
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