The war in Ukraine continues to rage on in its second year of conflict. While the United States has sent billions in aid in the form of monies and military equipment to the nation, the conflict continues to take a heavy toll on the people of the battered nation. On Friday, August 25th two Ukrainian L-39 training aircraft collided in a mission in the countries western Zhytomyr region. Three pilots perished, including one that was sort of a celebrity internationally named Andriy Pilschykov.
Pilschykov had been a vocal individual calling for America to send the country F-16 jets. In his nightly address to the nation, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy paid tribute to the fallen pilot.
The situation in Ukraine is precarious for the nation which only received its independence in 1991. The Russian military continue to move deeper into the country, targeting central and northern regions. In the area surrounding Kyiv, missiles had been launched overnight, wounding two. But not all is lost for the country, as taking into account the situation in the present state compared to the beginning of the war, its military forces have stabilized and regained ground lost.
The war began on February 24th, 2022, when dozens of Russian missiles targeted cities across the country. Following this, Russian forces advanced rapidly, gaining large swaths of territory. Within weeks, they had advanced to the suburbs of the nation’s capital, Kyiv, and had begun to bombard Kharkiv. This was as close as the Russians would get to dealing a fatal blow to Ukraine thus far in the conflict, as following these early successes, Ukraine mobilized and began a stiff resistance, pushing back the invaders. This renewed fighting spirit, paired with the fact that the Russians experienced significant logistical problems which resulted in food shortages and poor troop morale changed the situation. By the end of the fall, Russia retreated from the north, and focused eastward. The conflict remains stalemated.
