Every day there are various scales of wars in this world, many of which are not always closely watched, but the one I am going to talk about now has been closely watched and discussed daily from February 24, 2022, until now. Here it is the Russo-Ukrainian War. The reason why I would like to discuss this topic is that I have been following the world news with my parents since I was young. I am a person who loves peace, another reason is that I am studying in the United States now, and I want to try to know more about things in the United States. Today I will talk about the cause of the Russo-Ukrainian war, the impact it brought, and what other countries did during this war. In analyzing this war, I will keep an objective attitude.

This is a major escalation from the 2014 war between Ukraine and Russia, and this Russian invasion of Ukraine is the largest military conflict in Europe since the end of World War II. Everyone has a different view of this war, some are on the side of Ukraine, also known as humanitarian, and some say they can empathize with Russia's act of self-defense. I'm more inclined to believe that this is an act of self-defense by Russia. From 2014 to 2021, the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, and the Seizure of territory in eastern Ukraine by pro-Russia separatists, were minor disputes compared to the Ukrainian-Russian war. This has not affected Russia's security. Throughout 2021, Ukraine's desire to join the NATO alliance. 

This act made Russia on edge, as it undoubtedly placed a time bomb on its own doorstep, followed by a Russian military build-up on the Ukrainian border. That’s why I think it is self-defense, also it is the starting point of this long war. War did not begin without reason - Ukraine offered neutrality in exchange for its own security and the security of its EU friends, but Putin said: (“that it was not enough for Ukraine to remain neutral” BBC), which shows that Putin has already made the decision to let Ukraine choose a side, and this war had to be fought.

The war begins, then the losses will come head-on. In any war, there will be sacrifices and bloodshed and the Russo-Ukrainian war is certainly no exception. (“Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said between 10,000 and 13,000 troops had died.''BBC) And in June, every day between 100 and 200 Ukrainian soldiers were dying. Last month, the most senior US general, Mark Milley, said (“around 100,000 Russian and 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed or wounded since the start of the war.” The BBC's Russian Service has established that at least 9,311 Russian soldiers of all ranks have been killed since the invasion on 24 February while the true death toll could be more than 18,600. BBC)

The growing death toll is proof of how fierce this war is, in the war the soldiers' responsibility is to defend the motherland, but they are also other people's husbands and other people's sons, think about how sad the families of the millions of soldiers who died on the battlefield should be after losing them, how they should straighten themselves out so that they can live strong.

The war had not only a population impact but also an impact on the economy. While the main focus remains as it should on the tragedy of human loss and the destruction of Ukrainian territory, the Russian invasion has triggered sanctions and other obstacles that have restricted critical logistics and trade route operations. The upheaval in the supply and demand of goods is exacerbating the already untenable human toll of the conflict, which shows no signs of easing.  

(“The resulting ripple effects are threatening the supply of key food resources like wheat and raising the possibility of global famine. Simultaneously, disruption to the flow of electronics, raw materials, and parts supplies emanating out of China and other locales has seriously impeded global trade positions, forcing companies to recalibrate and in some cases, wholly reconsider their long-standing supply chain and partner ecosystems.” MIT). If this bad situation isn't coordinated carefully, it could lead to all kinds of the worst influences ever which will affect global supply chains. CTL research affiliate and associate professor at the Luxembourg Center for Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Joachim Artsbull calls these bad influences “Bullwhip”

The war is a bonfire, after successfully striking and lighting the match, strong winds were also a factor in making the flames bigger. We should try to analyze what factors make this war last so long. The Russo-Ukrainian war was not only a battle between two sides but also involved some foreign powers, such as the United States and a lot of other countries. For Russia, because of the failure of the peace talks with Ukraine, Russia will continue to attack but did not expect that this war has been going on for almost eleven months. The Ukrainian people surprised Russia and inspired the world with their sacrifice, grit, and battlefield success. The free world and many other nations, led by the United States, rallied to Ukraine’s side with unprecedented military, humanitarian, and financial support.

Beginning in February 2015, France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine attempted to kickstart negotiations to bring an end to the violence through the Minsk Accords. (“The agreement framework included provisions for a ceasefire, withdrawal of heavy weaponry, and full Ukrainian government control throughout the conflict zone.” Conflict in the Ukrainian-Russo war). Efforts to reach a diplomatic settlement and satisfactory resolution, however, were largely unsuccessful.

Immediately afterward, the U.S. also reached out to Ukraine, and the goal of America is straightforward: (“We want to see a democratic, independent, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine with the means to deter and defend itself against further aggression.” New York Times). And as President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has said, (“ultimately this war will only definitively end through diplomacy.” New York Times). So America has moved quickly to send Ukraine a significant amount of weaponry and ammunition so it can fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.

This shows that there are many foreign powers behind this war, but the one thing that cannot be stripped away is Ukraine's foreign policy. Diplomacy is a country or not lack of things, as the saying goes, weak countries have no diplomacy, a country if diplomacy is not successful, then there is no way for the welfare of the people, diplomacy is not good enough and may not be able to establish alliances with other countries, then when their country is in danger, there is no support without allies.

Think of building a bonfire: piling up the logs is a profound cause; adding kindling and paper is an intermediate cause, and striking a match is a precipitating cause. Poor policy choices were a crucial cause of the catastrophe. Piling up the logs, it is the long-standing unresolved war issues between Ukraine and Russia, and adding kindling and paper is the foreign power. The reason we can live so peacefully and happily with our families is that there are people who are on the front lines for us, guarding us. Even if the Russian-Ukrainian war did not happen in our country, we are all the same as people, the lives of all beings should be valued, and we should pursue peace and be able to solve problems with peaceful solutions to minimize strife.