VOL. 1, NO. 7
MARCH 31, 2022
THE YELLOW PAGES BASIS Independent Fremont Journalism Club
THE RUSSOUKRAINIAN WAR By Aarav Kumar
On February 24, 2022, Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, invaded Ukraine. Since then, over 1,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed, and
country. In return, the Ukrainian people agreed to hand over its nuclear arsenal to Russia. While the Russo-Ukrainian
orienting Ukraine toward the European Union, took over. Another major event leading up to Russia’s invasion was the annexation of Crimea. Soon
over 10,000 Russian troops have died in the invasion.
relationship over the next decade was not all smooth sailing, it
after the Euromaidan protests, Vladimir Putin decided that
Additionally, as tensions rise between the countries and their
remained mostly peaceful until the Orange Revolution in 2004.
Crimea should be part of Russia. Russia ended up invading Crimea
allies, so do prices all over the world, creating a bleak and miserable reality for millions of
In the 2004 Ukrainian Presidential Election, westernoriented Viktor Yushchenko and
and made the country their property. Putin demanded “security guarantees” from
people. Watching Russian
Russia-oriented Viktor
multiple countries, proposing
invasions from afar can be confusing and often leads to many questions. What was the
Yanukovych faced off as the two main candidates. Yanukovych ended up winning the election,
that Ukraine must never join NATO, a military alliance of 28 European countries and two
point of this invasion to begin
but it was revealed that there
North American countries. He
with? Why would Vladimir Putin want to invade Ukraine? What led up to such a dramatic
was massive corruption, voter intimidation, and electoral fraud. Due to the controversies
also demanded that western countries must remove their troops from Ukraine. The
confrontation?
surrounding the election, many
western countries rejected
The fighting between Russia and Ukraine is the result of decades of violent and tense history between the two
Ukrainian citizens took to the streets, demanding a rerun of the election. Shortly after the rerun, Yushchenko, the candidate
Putin’s proposal, and in retaliation, Russia amassed troops on Ukraine’s borders. All in all, the main reason
countries. It all started about 30 years ago, on December 26, 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed due to internal rebellion. With the fall of the USSR, Ukraine
favoring western governments, was declared as the new president by an overwhelming majority. A decade later, in 2014, Russia-oriented Yanukovych ran
for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is due to Putins’s demand that Ukraine must not join NATO. With this invasion, Russia directly violated the Budapest
became an independent and sovereign democracy equipped with former Soviet Union resources. Although the country
for president once again and won, starting the Euromaidan protests. The fact that the president had arrested his
Memorandum, breaking their promise of respecting Ukraine’s borders and not using force on the country. Our hearts go out to
had just been born, it already had the third-largest nuclear stockpile in the world. A few years later, in 1994, the Budapest
political opponent and was now strengthening ties with Russia showed massive corruption in the government. Widespread
those in Ukraine as they defend their country against this unprovoked attack.
Memorandum was held, a meeting in which leaders of the Russian Federation, the United States, and the United Kingdom all agreed to respect the sovereignty and new borders of
protests sparked across the country, and 100 Ukrainian civilians were killed as a result of the protests in Maidan (Independence Square). Yanukovych fled from Ukraine
Ukraine, promising to refrain from using force against the
to Russia, and a new government, committed to
UKRAINE & RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVES By Sachit Parekh
UKRAINE With millions fleeing the country in search of safety and millions more deciding to stay, Ukrainians are coping with the conflict in varying ways. More than 3 million people have fled Ukraine (nearly 7 percent of the total population) to the neighbouring countries of Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova. Most of those fleeing are the elderly, women, and children, while able-bodied men and women volunteers stay in the country to fight the Russians. To bolster the military power of the country, President Zelensky ordered that all men of military age cannot leave the country, causing many families to be separated. However, the remaining 40 million people in the country are still staying in their homes, fueled by nationalism and a faith in the Ukrainian army and spirit. Nationalism among Ukrainians is at an all-time high, and many are supporting their country in the effort to retaliate against invasion. The war has brought Ukrainians from all walks of life, everywhere around the world, together, all in support of their country’s efforts, with some even volunteering in the country’s military. There are many phrases used by Ukrainians and their allies to boost morale among citizens such as “Слава Україні!” (“Glory to Ukraine!”) and “Слава героям!” (“Glory to the heroes!”).