NEWS OPINION
In addition to being the winter Head of School holiday, Monday, February 24, marked the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Three years since the start of the war, Russia now occupies roughly 20% of Ukrainian territory.
Armed conflict broke out in 2014, shortly after Russia annexed Crimea, a peninsula in the south of Ukraine.
Later, Russian-backed troops captured cities in east Ukraine and proclaimed the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic as independent states. Currently, the so-called “people’s republics” are only recognized by Russia, North Korea, and Ba’athist Syria.
Minsk Agreements, ceasefires signed in the capital of Belarus, failed to stop Russia from attacking the region.
In 2021, Russia built up a massive military presence near Ukraine’s borders, including within Belarus. Russian officials repeatedly denied plans to attack Ukraine. However, on February 24, 2022, President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in order to “demilitarize” and “denazify” Ukraine.
In order to remind the community of the importance of the date and share news on the current state of Ukraine, Ira Buch ’25, Oleh Shtunder ’25, and I were honored to speak during in Chapel on Tuesday, February 25, and Thursday, February 27. We shared our experiences of living with the war, emphasizing the ways in which the community can help the people of Ukraine moving forward.
I spoke about how, after not being able to attend school for nearly two years, my classmates and I spent the majority of our days in the basement of a nearby grocery store, because it was the closest shelter to our school. Sometimes, instead of classes, the entire school would go to funerals of the fallen soldiers from our town.
It is quite a horrifying experience to attend the funeral of your classmate’s father instead of your Algebra class. Still, I was so grateful for at least a few hours of education every day, as my peers in other parts of Ukraine did not have such an opportunity. During my talk, I wanted to remind the school community of what a privilege education is.
Speaking about living in war was somewhat stressful, but it allowed me to share experiences that have had a serious impact on my life and the lives of my family, friends, and millions of other Ukrainians.
