In only a couple months, it will be two years since Russia first invaded Ukraine. This war has claimed over 70,000 lives and injured more than 120,000 people. With no end in sight, the numbers continue to rise.
In February and March of 2014 Russia invaded Ukraine and annexed the Crimean Peninsula, conflicts arose but both countries signed Minsk ll, an agreement that settled the dispute. On February 24, 2022, Russia initiated a full-scale attack, nicknamed a “special military operation,” on Ukraine. This “operation” was announced to try and “demilitarize and denazify” Ukraine. Just minutes after this announcement, Russia launched several missiles and airstrikes into Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv, and Kharkov. Since then, over three and a half thousand missiles have been released into Ukraine by Russia.
According to the Center for Strategic & International Studies, Ukraine has lost over 30% of their GDP since the 2022 invasion. Between 2022 and 2023, the U.S. has spent more than $75 billion on aid to Ukraine, triple the amount of any other country’s aid. The amount of money that the U.S is giving to Ukraine is a huge debate among politicians.
The majority of U.S. Republicans are favorable towards cutting the aid to Ukraine while Democrats want to keep or extend it. Some people, however, want to cut it off entirely, such as Rep. Mike Collins and Rep. Mike Gaetz.
The Biden Administration is worried these disputes will impact the flow of aid to Ukraine and if they do not find a solution soon, it can be very costly for Ukraine. If funding doesn’t get to them soon, the U.S. is worried Vladimir Putin will gain the upper hand and win the war.
Putin is obviously hoping for a lack of funding towards Ukraine and publicly stated he wants Donald Trump to win the 2024 Presidential Election in hope that Trump will cut all funding to Ukraine.
According to the U.S. Department of State, Ukraine has slowly gained back more than 50 percent of Russian-claimed territory since their invasion in Feb. 2022. While it is great that they have regained a large percentage, and continue to gain more, many worry that if they do not win the war by the end of the year they won’t be able to win it at all. The 2024 Presidential Election is not only crucial to America, but also to Ukraine. Ukraine’s life is in the hands of Americans, but the question still remains, what will America do?
