Beginning on February 24, 2022, Russian forces pushed their way into Ukraine. The invasion began following an escalation in tensions between the two nations following the 2014 Russo-Ukraine war in which Crimea was annexed by the Russians to protect oil interests in the region. From the 24th until the current day (March 9) Russia is continuing to fight its way through Ukraine.

As of March 9, 2022, Russia has still not established air superiority but they have managed to capture the cities of Konotop, Kherson, Melitopol, and Berdinsk. Russian forces are however reportedly surrendering in such larger numbers that Ukrainian soldiers don’t have enough humanitarian services to aid and detain the soldiers. This is due to Russian soldiers not being supportive and committed to the war along with poor conditions on their side including lack of food, command, and not knowing they were invading until it happened.

From a Russian standpoint, it’s reported that President Vladimir Putin is very frustrated with the turnout of the war. He was expecting a lightning-fast war as Hitler had done in World War Two, however, this is not the case. The Russian economy is in rubble after the sanctions imposed by the European Union and the USA among other countries. One Ruble (the Russian dollar) is worth $0.0084 in USD or about eight-tenths of a cent. Visa and Mastercard have also stopped all transactions within Russia. The US also announced on March 8th that they would also stop buying Russian oil. This is good to destroy their economy but bad for Americans as fuel prices will continue to climb.

Currently, the situation in Ukraine is still in favor of the Ukrainians as they’ve resisted the Russian aggression for this long. But as the war goes on and resources continue to diminish only time will tell. You can help Ukrainians by donating to charities like this one here.