The war in Ukraine has gone on for eleven months now with seemingly no end in sight. Russian President Vladimir Putin, initially thought that Ukraine would be quite simple to overtake. But despite Russia be one of the most powerful countries in the world, the leadership of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s has prevented the Russian army from capturing Ukraine. President Zelenskyy knew that the Ukrainian army alone wouldn’t be able to stop Russians forces. Therefore, he barred any men between the ages 18-60 from leaving the country and forced them to fight.

On the Russian side, their army had lost at least 80,000 troops due to the misguided war. Citizens of Russia have either been drafted or recruited against their will. Anyone who refused to fight in the war are currently being sentence to prison sentences.  Russia has also gone to extremes about the war being discussed in their own media. It is now illegal to call the war in Ukraine a “war.” President Putin has also blocked any foreign media access to Russia. Members of news outlets in Russia that spread “false information” about the war are sentenced to fifteen years in prison or in some cases death.

President Zelenskyy continues to encourage Ukraine to stand against the might of Russia. On April 1, 2022, Ukrainian helicopters struck an oil depot across the Russian border. It is unclear how much longer this war will continue, but for now only time will tell.