Photo courtesy of Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
Elizabeth Murray ’26
Global Editor
Content warning: This article discusses state-sanctioned violence and mass death.
After two years of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, is there still international solidarity with Ukraine?
This question was answered on Feb. 24, 2024, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hosted several world leaders in Kyiv to honor the day that marked two years since Russia’s invasion, AP News reported.
“Two years ago, here, we met enemy landing forces with fire; two years later, we meet our friends and our partners here,” Zelenskyy said, when meeting the four foreign dignitaries. This meeting comes as the Ukrainian war effort currently faces difficult challenges from dwindling supplies to Russia still controlling a quarter of the country, according to AP News.
Ukraine had also lost tens of thousands of people from the war. In a recent press conference, President Zelenskyy confirmed that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since the war started, though U.S. officials believe that number to be much higher, NPR reported.
According to NPR, soldiers are also running low on munitions, with Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umrov claiming that half of military aid has not arrived on time. Currently, Ukraine is trying to develop its weapons industry in the face of low funds. Oleksandr Kamyshin, Ukraine’s minister of strategic industries, has asked NATO members to buy the 1 million drones they have promised to gift the Ukraine from Ukrainian manufacturers to financially assist the nation.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Kyiv to sign a bilateral security deal amongst Italy, Ukraine and Canada, according to ABC News.
Canada declared it would send 3.02 billion Canadian dollars — about 2.2 billion U.S. dollars — in aid, and Italy committed to sending long-range weapons. “We will continue to support Ukraine in what I have always deemed the just right of its people to defend itself,” Meloni said during a press conference, ABC News reported.
The European geopolitical landscape has experienced a shake-up in recent weeks. Sweden joined NATO in February of 2024, CNN reported. Finland also joined the alliance in April of 2023. According to NATO’s website, both were motivated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“One of Putin's chief aims was to prevent further NATO enlargement, and instead he's pushed two countries into NATO, including one, Finland, which has one of the largest militaries in Europe,” said Mount Holyoke College Assistant Professor of International Relations and Politics Christopher Mitchell. “This also demonstrates a greater unity of Western Europeans in the face of a Russian threat, as except for Hungary and Turkey, Sweden and Finland's applications were quickly accepted, and Hungary and Turkey were pressured to join in as well.”
This support comes despite the war’s economic impacts on the rest of Europe. “[T]he EU doesn't have the luxury of thinking that the outcome of the war in Ukraine won't directly affect it much. Energy prices in the EU are deeply connected to Russia,” Mitchell said.
Across the Atlantic in the United States, there is further division over whether to send aid to Ukraine. According to PBS News, the question of sending aid tends to fall along party lines. Democrats are more likely to argue that there is not enough being spent in aid, while Republicans will say that too much is being spent.
In Congress, the Democratic-run Senate passed a $95 billion aid package, of which $60 billion was allocated for Ukraine, but the Republican Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, has refused to bring it up to a vote, PBS News reported..
Andy Reiter is an associate professor of politics and international relations at Mount Holyoke College. “The Republican-led House's decision to block the most recent aid package has had significant battlefield ramifications, particularly by limiting ammunition, especially for artillery. This has allowed the Russian military to make gains where they otherwise would not have,” Reiter said, when asked for a comment on the matter.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a press statement saying, “The United States will continue to stand resolutely with the Ukrainian people in their defense of their homeland.”
Blinked ended the statement by declaring that “The United States will use all available tools to hinder Russia’s ability to access the global financial system, disrupt Russia’s military-industrial-procurement, stand in solidarity with Russians striving for a more democratic future, and ensure Putin’s invasion remains a strategic failure for Russia.”
As for the current situation in Ukraine, on the ground, the nation made some minor gains in 2023, and over the summer, their counteroffensive advanced 30km before being stopped, the Financial Times reported.
The former Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief General Valerii Zaluzhnyi expressed his belief that the war was at a stalemate in November of 2023; President Zelenskyy eventually replaced him. “Zelenskyy is against using the stalemate language that Zaluzhnyi has used and is intent on fighting until all of Ukraine's territory is liberated,” Reiter said, when asked about the general’s firing.
Economically, Russia and Ukraine have grown faster than expected despite Russia’s sanctions imposed by the West, the Financial Times reported. Politically, Putin is facing an election in March amidst increasing suppression of dissent in Russia and the deathof the leader of the opposition, Alexei Navalny, this February, under suspicious circumstances that many have attributed to Putin.
According to the Financial Times, Zelenskyy has faced pushback in Ukraine, especially over the firing of Zaluzhnyi, yet his support remains high. However, elections in Ukraine have been suspended due to the state of emergency.
“Ukraine has demonstrated a strong ability to defend its territory. Without US aid, Russia will likely continue to make small gains in multiple sectors over the next year.” He continued,“With US aid, there will be far fewer advances, and Ukraine will also make some of its own. It is difficult at this point to see either side making any significant territorial gains in the near future,” Reiter said, when asked about the war’s current state.