DISCLAIMER: This feature is simply a collection of people’s thoughts and opinions on this matter and should not be considered as factual news. This situation is constantly evolving and everyone is encouraged to do proper research on this issue.

“What Russia is doing is downright horrible. It’s not right on any front. There is no justification for what they’re doing, no matter what they might try to portray,” said a Loyola parent.

The current conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been very prevalent in the news and, to some in the Loyola community, has already begun to affect them or their loved ones personally. There has been ongoing tension between Russia and Ukraine for years, but it has begun to come to a head.

What exactly is happening in Russia and Ukraine and why?

As of this week, Russia has officially launched attacks on and began to invade Ukraine. This is obviously a very complex issue, and there are a number of reasons why Russia is believed to have done this.

According to Loyola AP Political Science teacher, Mr. Barry, “Putin’s ultimate goal is to make sure Ukraine doesn’t join NATO, and the way you do that is you take over the government.” Barry went on to discuss how Putin likely wants to pick a president for Ukraine that is sure to cooperate with his will, instead of having a free Ukraine which might join NATO, which Putin sees as his enemy.

NATO restricts Putin’s ability to expand westward, and his expansion into Ukraine is most probable now, whle it is not a NATO country.

Another reason why Putin may want to expand into Ukraine is because of it formerly being a part of the USSR. Senior Frank Miedema agrees with this rationale.

“I think part of it is that they historically see it as part of Russia, and then I’m sure that there’s a natural resources side of that too, and just getting more land, I mean that’s what colonialism is all about just getting more land, which Russia has always done.”

Senior Lili Forowycz is Ukrainian and currently has family in Western Ukraine’s city of Lviv. According to Lili, many people have begun to evacuate Eastern Ukraine and seek refuge in Lviv.

Lili believes Putin’s reasoning for this invasion is that “he believes Ukraine should not be its own independent country and that it is still a part of Russia, but it is not. And he’s trying to claim it for himself, and trying to cause fear and terror, and trying to claim that Ukraine is not an independent country, even though it is.”

Contrastingly, Senior Max Chruszczyk believes that Ukraine “shut off a pipeline… [which] hinders Russia’s ability to grow their economy in that area, and that’s why Russia wants to take back Ukraine, or at least part of it.”

There are multiple alleged reasons why Russia has decided to invade Ukraine, and with an issue this complex, there is no one right answer.

How has this affected the Loyola community specifically?

“I have a friend who’s in the military… who might get sent to Poland… you don’t see US troops in Europe actively preparing for war, “said senior Frank Miedema. Frank also went on to speak about a Ukrainian friend of his that lived close to Donetsk in 2014 during violent protests where thousands were killed.

“He was really casual about it, he just sort of brushed it off, and I think part of that is just Ukrainian culture and all of the hardships they have had to deal with historically.”

Ukrainian Senior Lili Forowycz states that “we’ve been through this before and we know that Russia has always tried to claim Ukraine as part of their own country.”

Lili also spoke on how it is incredibly frustrating that Ukraine has had to continue to fight for its sovereignty despite being an independent country for decades.

Additionally, when speaking to a Loyola parent, she mentioned a phone call she had on February 24, 2022, with her close Ukrainian friend.

“Her family is in Ukraine, in an occupied city, and she is so afraid for them. They’ve had bomb attacks, they have troops on ground, they don’t know if they can leave the city or not.”

Overall, this is a crisis that is constantly changing and many lives have already been affected by it, outside of and within the Loyola community.