Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Map of Russian occupied territories within Ukrainian borders, specifically the eastern section, to the right of the map, has been fought for decades.

Tensions between Ukraine and Russia rise as Russian President Vladimir Putin assigns thousands of troops to align the border of Ukraine, a part of Putin’s war plan, ready for invasion.

Though the troops are simply aligned across the border, Putin has no clear intent for invasion at the moment.

Simple history that guides Putin’s intent is that he is seeking to redraw the post-Cold War boundaries of Europe, by establishing the position that Ukraine is fundamentally a part of Russia both culturally and historically.

President Putin’s timing on his war plan could be considered intentional because currently it is a time of a world-affected pandemic and a stumbling economy in countries. If war does occur, the economic consequences for both countries will be enormous and deeply damaging.

Russia is put to question on their preparedness and the damage that Putin can complete in Ukraine.

“I think that, even though Russia may be fully ready with weapons and troops to barge into Ukraine, I don’t think that Russia is ready for the damage themselves because with COVID right now, they’re not prepared for fallen troops at this time. Plus, I think that, Russia invades, Ukraine will be completely taken down to a terrible state, both economically, militarily and their people and government all together,” senior Sofie Bernat said.

Questions arise as the situation escalates, leaving people wondering if Russia were to initiate war, are they prepared enough for it? Does Russia have enough space in their hospitals, potentially for fallen soldiers, considering the pandemic and people filling hospitals regarding Covid? Does Russia have enough support and ammunition?

The only thing that students do know is that Russia is fully abundant with weapons of all sorts and trained and prepared soldiers. Thoughts within the student body vary upon the tensions between Ukraine and Russia.

“I believe that Russia has plans to overthrow the Ukrainian government [and so] we can’t trust Russia. Putin is a dangerous man and will cause harm. I believe that President Biden should be deploying troops so the situation won’t get worse. [In addition] Biden should deploy troops in the black Sea to prevent any Russian invasion. Though, Biden has been fine so far in terms of handling the situation,” sophomore Aner Eldar said.

US intervention in the conflict is inevitable as the US is known to be one of the world’s most powerful nations and has been involved in both countries’ conflicts in the past.

The Biden administration, however, does not intend or plan to send US troops into Ukraine on Ukraine’s behalf. Moreover, if any action is taken, it would be the US potentially sending in supplies to Europe if Russia happens to take action and invade Ukraine.

Thoughts on the conflict are different when taking the stance of the countries surrounding Ukraine and Russia.

“Considering the circumstances that the world is in, I think that it would be best for all countries to stay out of Russia and Ukraine’s way and leave them to deal with their issues themselves,” senior Andrea Mendoza said.