Ever since Russia began the invasion of Ukraine February 14th, 2022, they have faced many hard fought battles, some won, some lost. The origins of this conflict was forged in 1917 after the Ukrainian People’s Republic split from the Russian Empire and was subsequently defeated by and absorbed into the Soviet Union. Ukrainian nationals were punished for resisting Soviet attempts to collectivize within Ukraine.

During the war, Ukraine and its multitude of partners have carried out some of the largest logistics operations since WWII. “The greater the coordination, the sooner the Ukrainian army will drive the Russian army out of the territory of Ukraine, and the sooner peace will be restored in the Euro-Atlantic area,” stated Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Even with heavy advancements in logistics and general operations, Ukraine has still been taking some extremely devastating hits from the invasion. For example, during the months of November 2022, Russian attacks triggered blackouts in major cities such as Kyiv, Lviv, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv. 

These regions have also been annexed by Russia, however, Russia does not fully control any of these cities. President Vladimir Putin has also stated that Russia will be using “all of the forces, weapons, and resources” it has to “liberate” the nations.

Ukrainian soldiers have been able to resist and even push back the Russian squadrons and artillery, delaying the siege exponentially. Ukraine is not in this war alone as NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) has also taken action to provide Ukraine with weapons, soldiers, and ammunition to drive back the Russian invaders. 

However, Russia continues to maintain pressure on Ukraine with their attacks. Currently in the Ukrainian city Bakhmut many bases and various buildings are under attack. The occupation has been going on for months, however recently Russia has decided that the city was weak enough to focus their artillery on and has increased their military presence.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged Monday of last week that, “In the Bakhmut direction – the situation is getting more and more difficult,” (Acknowledge past/middle)  Zelenskyy said in his nightly address.

However with one loss came another gain, the region of Kherson has been unshackled from Russian soldiers, which has significantly set back the Russian front as a whole. In other words, even though the war has been devastating and much blood has been spilled there might just be some light at the end of the tunnel.