History Teachers Offer Analysis as Ukraine War Continues

by ZOE ADLER

With over a year since the beginning of the war between Ukraine and Russia, the conflict has had many implications for both countries as well as the foreign powers involved. On Feb. 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. The ensuing war has led to millions fleeing from Ukraine, hundreds of thousands of deaths and billions of dollars worth of property damages. At the moment, Russia controls one-fifth of Ukraine’s territories, but Ukrainian forces have held strong in the capital city Kyiv and neighboring towns.

The Russian military has targeted civilian areas in an attempt to terrorize Ukraine into submission. “Those tactics [of] targeting civilian populations continue. [...] One doesn’t hear about it as much, which doesn’t, by any means, mean that it’s not happening,” history teacher Sabahat Adil said. “I think to some degree, the strengthening, or flexing, of political muscles by Russia, to me, aligns with how different parts of the world right now, like authoritarian governments, are not feeling as held down by codes of international conduct, and they’re feeling more brazen to act in ways that would allow them to gain power.”

However, with the dangerous landscape in the region, it can be challenging for Ukrainians to leave. “These are people who are living ordinary lives like anybody else and then all of a sudden they’ve had their whole lives turned upside down,” Adil explained. “It’s also hard if you are given the opportunity to leave, because then, you have to create a whole new life for yourself.”

With Ukraine receiving aid from a host of different countries including the United States and the European Union, the regional conflict has had a significant global effect. For example, according to the Associated Press, the war in Ukraine has sparked a new arms race mirroring the Cold War. In an Associated Press article, Patrick Bury, senior lecturer in security at the University of Bath, remarked that many assumed militaries would be less reliant on tanks or artillery and focus would be shifted to more advanced warfare; however, the war in Ukraine seemed to change that viewpoint. “It is, for the moment at least, being shown that in Ukraine, conventional warfare — stateon-state — is back,” Bury said.

“The battlefield in Ukraine right now, today, is starting to look like a meat grinder,” history teacher Charles Hanson said. “The tanks are newer, and bigger, and faster and more modern, but it is still basically trench warfare. It’s basically a war of attrition, [a question of] who can replace the men and the bullets fast enough.”

Not only has warfare reverted back to its old ways, but so have international alliances. A wide range of countries have banded together in their sanctions of Russia. “The EU is taking sanctions, quite serious sanctions, in the way that it should,” said Michael Clarke, former head of the Royal United Services Institute think tank, according to ABC News. Despite this, according to the Associated Press, more pressure will be put on Western alliances as the war continues. As stress is applied to alliances, changes are beginning to occur. “I definitely feel like there is a shift in the world order,” Adil said.

History teacher Sabahat Adil

The war itself has pointed out many deficits on the European system. Hanson explains how the Ukraine crisis has highlighted their reluctant reliance on U.S.’ military strength. “Well, guess what [the Europeans] found out? They are still relying on the American military for basic security,” Hanson said. “Understandably, it doesn’t feel great, 70 years, 80 years, after the Second World War, to still be relying on the Americans. [...] The Europeans have found out, ‘Well, we do rely on the Americans, and it’s going to cost us a lot to defend ourselves.’”