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Empoword Explains: Developments in the Ukraine War

Brooke Heneghan
An image of a sign saying "Never Give Up Ukraine"

Brooke Heneghan

Attacks in Ukraine are getting closer to NATO territories, and are having huge impacts on Ukrainian people and the global supply of grain.

Russian attacks on Ukraine’s Danube port

The port of Izmail has been the recent target of Russian forces. It has been reported that attacks on the Ukrainian inland port were less than 1km away from NATO state Romania.

The attacks show that Russia is attacking closer to NATO territories. If attacks were to happen in a NATO state, this would significantly escalate the dangers of the war.

“up to 50,000 Ukrainians have lost limbs as a result of the invasion.”

The damage to the ports’ infrastructure is likely to impact global food security. The Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister, Oleksandr Kubrakov, said the attacks damaged 40,000 tons of grain, intended to be exported to China, Israel, and some African states. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Putin of trying to cause a “global catastrophe”, because of the impacts on global food markets.

This comes after Belarusian helicopters were spotted in Poland airspace earlier this week. In response, Poland has sent 1,000 more troops to their Belarusian border, because Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki fears a “hybrid attack on Polish territory”.

Reported juvenile civilian casualties

Ukrainian citizens continue to be severely affected by Russian attacks. Russian attacks in Dnipro have also injured three people in a 12-storey apartment building. The missile also hit a Ukrainian security service building.

It has been reported that up to 50,000 Ukrainians have lost limbs as a result of the invasion. This is in addition to around 9,000 Ukrainian deaths, including a ten-year-old child, who died after a missile strike on President Zelensky’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih.

Russia’s Defence Ministry claims to have shot down a Ukrainian missile in the city of Taganrog, and local officials reported 20 people were injured. This follows a series of drone attacks across Russian cities, including Moscow, throughout previous months.

The threat of Russian escalation

Russian officials have amended legislation to allow more men to be drafted to fight in Ukraine. The conscription bill will raise the maximum age at which men can be conscripted from 27 to 30, as well as the maximum age at which reservists can be called up. The new measures are set to come into force on January 1st 2024.

Russia also recently held their annual Victory Day parade, promising 30 new naval ships this year. Despite these signs of escalation, Russia confirmed that they will continue Ukraine peace talks with China, Africa, and Brazil.

International responses to the conflict

There remains international concern about the conflict, with the US granting Ukraine $1.25 billion in funds under the PEACE in Ukraine project. The project aims to partially compensate for social and humanitarian expenditures, including wages for government employees and payments under state social assistance programs.

President Zelensky has expressed his hope for a peace summit this autumn, and sanctions against Vladimir Putin for up to 100,000 Russian war crimes.

“there has been international outrage at the thought of innocent Ukrainian children being used as a future weapon of war.”

There is also concern about tens of thousands of children estimated to have entered Russia since the start of the war. Ukraine has continuously accused Russia of indoctrinating these children, with the hope of turning them against their own people.

A ruling back in March of this year by the International Criminal Court (ICC) accused Russia and Vladimir Putin of the “illegal deportation of children” from Ukraine. Following this ruling, there has been international outrage at the thought of innocent Ukrainian children being used as a future weapon of war.

The United Kingdom and their international partners have created some of the toughest economic sanctions ever imposed on a country. This has impacted over £20 billion of UK-Russia trade, and further sanctions could be put in place if the war continues.

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Featured image courtesy of Yurii Khomitskyi on Unsplash. Image licence found here. No changes were made to this image.

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