Russia trying to complete a full out invasion of Ukraine has gained the world’s attention in the past weeks. Many people are speculating that if Russia is to fully take over Ukraine, they might try to go farther and invade Poland, which just like in 1939, it would lead to the third world war. This is because Poland, along with 29 other countries, are a part of a group called NATO which is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.  NATO already has troops on the border of Poland and Ukraine in case the situation gets worse.

There are many speculations on what has caused Russia to invade Ukraine including, stopping the spread of NATO to its direct eastern border, or to regain the land that consisted of the Soviet Union in hopes to revive it as reported by NPR and Fox News.

But now that Russia has invaded Ukraine, many countries have imposed sanctions on Russia that takes a lot of their money and freezes almost all of their banks. The EU has also cut Russia off from SWIFT, which is very crippling to their economy because it causes huge losses in their banking system, and doesn’t allow them to withdraw the funds the economy needs to survive. Russia has also been banned from the international soccer league following the invasion of Ukraine. Since Russia has invaded, it has had a lot of negative consequences on their economy and people.

People within Russia have reacted negatively with the invasion. As reported by Aljazeera on Feb 27 2022, many Russian citizens have peacefully protested at the capital to hopefully get the government to pull out and stop the invasion. In recent news updates, it has been found that many of the Russian soldiers were lied to and told that they were doing training exercises near the border, but in reality, they were sent in to do a full out invasion. Many of these troops have texted their parents and told them that they were scared and feared for their lives. Some of these soldiers have unfortunately passed away shortly after they sent these texts to their parents. Citizens of different countries have answered Ukraine’s plea for help, as many people have volunteered to go and fight the Russians and protect Ukraine.

Throughout the world, many people have had a lot of positive responses for Ukraine, and have stood by their side. Many countries have also sent help to Ukraine. Germany has sent 1,000 anti-tank weapons, and 500 anti-aircraft weapons, as reported by NDTV. Ukraine is also set to receive 1,000 fighter jets from the EU nations, but those nations aren’t allowed to fly them there, because it has been considered an act of war, and they are unwilling to engage with Russia until they absolutely have to. As of right now, a lot of nations have pledged to help Ukraine but at a distance, and will step in if Russia starts to step foot in places protected by NATO.

Austin Besser, a senior at Sartell High School, said, “The U.S. should keep an eye on Russia after this conflict has been resolved, because they are going to be a huge player with their army proving that they have been active and are willing to use it. I also think that the world should be very cautious about handling issues with Russia moving forward because Putin has told his military to get ready and be prepared to go nuclear, which is concerning with how many nukes they have.”

When asked if he is worried about being drafted, Connor Eischens said, “Nah, because I know that a lot of people are going to sign up and volunteer in response to a war. And I know that there are a lot of reserves between the countries of NATO, which would mean that the U.S. would really only have to re-instate the draft if it’s a last resort situation.”

When asked how he feels about Ukraine getting invaded, Jalen Vorphal responded with, “That sucks, because now they have to live with what Russia is doing, and they are going to feel the effects of this war for years to come.”

The situation in Ukraine right now has been a lot of fighting between resistance fighters, and Russian soldiers, both sides are also engaging in dog fights in the air. Per News Week, Russia is also shooting missiles and bombing major cities, trying to get civilians to leave, and wipe out resistance fighters. In recent days there have been reports stating that people from both sides are meeting for peace talks, but nothing official has been announced. Russia is still trying to take the major port city of Odessa which would cut off the major cities of much needed supplies. Russia is also trying to gain Kyiv which is the capital city of Ukraine. They have sent a convoy of over 100 vehicles including tanks, and trucks carrying soldiers.

Video from The Sun’s youtube shows the aftermath and the effects of the Russian Missiles shot into Ukraine.