In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and as of December 2024, 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers and 198,000 Russian soldiers have been lost, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Putin has been persistent in trying to control Ukraine, but Ukraine continues to fight back. In August 202,4 Ukraine invaded Russia in an attack that is said to be the most significant attack by foreign powers on Russian soil since World War II. This was the first time another country had occupied Russia since then, and it marked a big accomplishment for the Ukrainian effort. Russia launched a counteroffensive, and according to the Russian Defensive Ministry, they took back ten settlements in Kursk that Ukraine had captured.
A map of Russia and Ukraine labeling the Kursk region
When Zelensky spoke on this, he stated that Russia was taking “counteroffensive actions.” In mid-November, 11,000 troops from North Korea were deployed to Russia in exchange for aircraft to be given to North Korea. The troops have moved into the Kursk region, but there have not been reports of them engaging in combat. Ukraine has been sending out leaflets with Korean writing on them to try to convince the troops to surrender with instructions on how to do so. They previously did the same thing for the Russian forces, and supposedly, 350 of them surrendered.
Around the time North Korean troops were deployed, America began supplying Ukraine with missile systems called ATACMS(Army Tactical Missile System) that were capable of hitting targets from 190 miles away. Since 2022, Ukraine has been requesting ATACMS, but the U.S. has refused to supply them for fear of NATO forces or the U.S. having to join the conflict. The missiles are likely to be used in retaliation to Russia gaining North Korean troops. Biden allowed the missiles to be supplied shortly after a Russian ambassador said Russia is open to negotiation to end the war if Donald Trump is the one they talk to.
Kim Jung Un and Vladimir Putin
During Trump’s presidency(2016-2020), he was known to have a strong relationship with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and refused to speak poorly of him. Trump is also a critic of NATO and has even stated that Russia should “do whatever the hell they want” when regarding NATO allies that don’t spend enough funds. Trump’s fondness of Putin and dislike of NATO makes it unknown how he plans to negotiate peace between Russia and Ukraine. Russia is a country where America has a negative opinion of Putin, while Trump and his team are the opposite and are known to have personal relations with Russia.
It’s hard to tell what will happen shortly between Russia and Ukraine, but for now, the United States is starting to support Ukraine more financially. The government in Russia has an interest in Ukraine that is seemingly not going to stop without a fight. Ukraine is defending its country and border from being taken over while also providing opportunities for soldiers on the opposing side to be free from their country. The situation may change a bit once Trump is in office, but for now, the war is going on.
