“Attacks on health care are part of Russian strategy, with Ukrainian civilians used as “chess pieces,” Explains World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on March 30, 2022

“Russian forces continued to bombard the cities of Kyiv and Chernihiv Wednesday (March 23, 2022), a day after Moscow said it would “drastically reduce” its military assault there. The mayor of Chernihiv said the city has come under “colossal attack” despite Russia’s claims.”

“Russia said it would scale back in Kyiv; then the bombs started dropping”

These are just a few headlines from the second month of the Russian invasion of its democratic and independent neighbor, Ukraine. This war is not only physical but also deeply political. Specifically, this takeover embodies the direct and real threat of autocracies against democracies. This danger is precisely what Ukraine is facing today.

Although Russia’s plan to swiftly roll over Ukraine failed, Russia’s invasion continued with a massive force of 180,000 troops, convoys of tanks and artillery, and an aim to attack Ukraine on three sides; in response, the Ukrainian people, courageous in defending their land, are pushing back Russian troops towards the Ukrainian-Russian border; however, in doing so, the number of casualties multiplies.

Russia falsely states that it will drastically reduce its forces and war efforts — these lies are another war strategy used against its neighbor. Men aged 18 to 65 are taking up guns, and many women, ranging from young adults to grandmothers, assist the men in combat fights. Millions of women mobilize beyond the battlefield, providing logistics and noncombat support to defend their country.

Russian nondiscriminatory bombing of schools, kindergartens, churches, and hospitals, including maternity words, leaves ruins, grief, and anger as footprints. After eighty years of European peace and prosperity, one autocrat’s selfish desires inflict insurmountable pain, devastation, threat, and instability on the world order. A recently published article in the journal Politico details that the residential districts are uninhabitable after becoming Russia’s military target. But Putin’s war is not a military operation; it is a war against people, and people are responding and fighting for survival.

The brutal attack on Ukraine galvanized independent countries across the world. In the historic vote of the United Nations General Assembly on March 2nd, 141 out of 193 assembly members denounced Russia over the Ukraine invasion. This resolution was unsupported by only four countries: Belarus, Eritrea, North Korea, and Syria; thirty-Five members abstained, including China. This passed resolution is significant because it shows the globe’s solidarity in condemning Russia’s brutal aggression against an independent country and because, more broadly, it sheds light on the existing conflict between democratic and autocratic values.

Russia’s invasion endangers prolonged security and peace on the European continent – a continent symbolically representing peace, cooperation, and democracy for the past eighty years. This waged war worries children and adults about its potential spread to other European countries if the invasion is not stopped.
The invasion of Ukraine is a symbolic reminder of the danger that autocrats pose to democracies worldwide, representing a “battle of freedom versus tyranny.” All four of the abovementioned UN General Assembly members voting against the resolution to denounce Russia were autocracies, where autocrats-dictators rule with an iron fist against their people and aid each other in their aggressive tactics. For example, to cover pervasive joblessness, hopelessness, stagnant development, and lack of plans to provide economic opportunities in their own countries, autocrats send their country’s youth to war in Ukraine in return for compensation of up to $7,000 for deployment – a little more than ISIS offered to pay its fighters.

As the war continues, the unsuccessful diplomatic push for peace is assisted by the heroic defense of Ukrainian land, military and humanitarian aid, and the world’s unity against Russian aggression. However, we mustn’t forget the events that lead to this war. In 1991, more than 90% of Ukrainian people from across all regions, including Eastern Donetsk, and Lutsk, regardless of ethnicity, overwhelmingly chose democracy and independence from Russia. The call was repeated in 2014 and prior to that during the Orange Revolution.

Now is a pivotal moment to resist the constant threat of autocrats to the world’s security, peaceful development, and prosperity. The military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine should intensify to prevent further escalation of casualties and war itself. While working peace and development policies into plans for a sustainable coexistence, respect for the input of people voicing the desired destiny of their countries is also a vital consideration that global leaders must make to move forward in building the world’s future.