It has been almost a year since Russia Invaded Ukraine, and the war is still raging on. The annual Munich Security Conference took place from Feb. 17 to 19 at the Bayerischer Hof Hotel in Munich Germany. The war in Ukraine was the main topic of the event. Vice President Kamala Harris attended and used her speech to talk about Russian war crimes in Ukraine. China’s top diplomat, the Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, spoke out with concern for the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke, as well, asking the western countries to send more weapons to Ukraine. Although Russia was the main topic of discussion Russian representatives were not invited.
Vice President Harris condemned Russia’s actions in Ukraine calling them “crimes against Humanity.”Harris stated that “justice must be served,” and those at fault must be held responsible. Harris’s statement is pushing the condemnation of Russian actions a step further than just war crimes by calling them “crimes against humanity.” Harris went into detail by saying, “Let us be clear: Russian forces have pursued a widespread and systemic attack against the civilian population – gruesome acts of murder, torture, rape, and deportation. Execution-style killings, beating, and electrocution.” Harris said that supporting Ukraine and speaking out against Russia’s violent acts and pushing for justice to be served is “[in the US’s] moral interests.” US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke as well stating that Russia is hurting its own citizens with the war it started.
In response to Harris’s comments, the Russian Ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, claimed that the US is working to “demonize” Russia. Russia continues to deny claims of attacking civilians and claims that the gruesome acts Harris mentioned in her speech were committed by Ukrainian forces against their own people to harm Russia’s reputation.
Chinese diplomat Wang Yi spoke saying that China was concerned about the “long-term effect of this war” and claimed that it was in the interest of all parties that peace talks should be seen in the near future. He also reiterated President of China Xi Jinping’s condemning any nation that threatens nuclear violence. The US State Department responded to China by warning that if China helped Moscow with military material it would result in sanctions or worse. The US still fears the Chinese invasion of Taiwan if the relationship with China and Russia continues to grow.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy joined the conference by video call and urged the Western leaders to act instead of talk. He once again said Ukraine is in need of weapons as soon as possible. Ukraine doesn’t have the time to wait months. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen responded to Zelenskyy by stating that European countries must work quickly to produce and distribute weapons to Ukraine.
Although no Russians were in attendance, prominent critics of the Kremlin were invited such as Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of jailed politician Alexey Navalny, and Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an exiled businessman, and opposition activist.
In light of this recent conference, President Biden visited Ukraine on Monday, Feb. 20. This was President Biden’s first visit to Ukraine since the war began. Biden assured Zelenskiy that military assistance is on the way and that the US will be implementing more sanctions against Russia. This is a rare occasion for a US president to visit an active war zone when there is not a large presence of US military personnel. Biden said he risked the dangerous travel because he wanted to declare “unwavering” support for Ukraine and spread the message that “Putin’s war of conquest is failing.”
This past week, President Biden gave the annual State of the Union address. The Speech is given in front of all of Congress. In the speech, the current President will address the state of the country, talk about the administration’s accomplishments of the past year, and speak about his upcoming plans for the next year. On Feb. 7 President Joe Biden gave his second State of the Union address and three important points he talked about were bipartisanship, the economy, and healthcare.
Biden talked about wanting the Democrats and Republicans in Congress to work together. After the historic election of Kevin McCarthy to Speaker of the House, which took 5 days and 15 rounds of voting, Biden repetitively mentioned that he wants to continue to work with this new Congress as it starts a new chapter with McCarthy as Speaker of the House. Biden emphasized that his administration was working to end the zero-sum political game by saying, “and, in fact, I signed over 300 bipartisan pieces of legislation since becoming President, from authorizing the Violence Against Women Act to the Electoral Count Reform Act.” Biden continued “And to my Republican friends, if we could work together in the last congress, there is no reason we can’t work together and find consensus on important thing in this congress as well.”
President Biden talked about the economy and the historically low unemployment rate. He started off by talking about the importance of the middle class in America. He said, “that’s always been my vision of our country, and I know it’s many of yours: to restore the should of this nation; to rebuild the backbone of America, America’s middle class; and to unite the country.” Biden said that working to fix the economy is a large reason why he ran for President. He explained, “[He wanted] to make sure the economy works for everyone so we can all feel that pride in what we do.” Biden went on to talk about his administration’s employment record and his future plans to improve the economy. Biden said, “We’re not finished yet, by any stretch of the imagination. But the unemployment rate is at 3.4 percent – a 50-year low.” He referred to the inflation and high gas prices and supply chain shortages, vowing that it cannot happen again which was why he proposed and passed the CHIPS and Science Act that has “already created 800,000 new manufacturing jobs.”
Biden talked about how his efforts to improve the economy are also a push for improved healthcare prices. He stated, “With the Inflation Reduction Act that I signed into law, we’re taking on a powerful interest to bring healthcare costs down so you can sleep better at night with more security. Biden says he will be working over the next year to bring down the prices of prescriptions in the US. He says, “We pay more for prescription drugs than any major nation on Earth.” Biden used insulin as an example saying that under Medicare, insulin prices will have a price cap of $35 per month for seniors. Biden emphasized his priority of making sure everyone is able to get the healthcare and prescriptions they need at an affordable price.
Based on the State of the Union address it looks as though in the next year the American public will be seeing some increased efforts to bring down inflation which could include some adjustments to the tax code. Many viewers saw the State of the Union address as a signal of President Biden’s campaign strategy should he decide to run for a second term. In particular, Biden tried to draw a distinction between Democrats and Republicans concerning the handling of Medicare and Social Security. His claim that Republicans want to end/or limit both entitlement programs for seniors was met with jeers by the Republicans in the House chamber. Biden used the verbal outrage expressed by Republicans to claim that it looked like both programs would therefore remain untouched since both parties agreed on their ultimate importance. That was a rhetorical moment for the crowds watching on TV that was belied by the President’s actions on subsequent days when he claimed Republicans want to “sunset,” i.e., place an end date on Medicare and Social Security. The race for the 2024 Presidential election may have started at the State of the Union.
The Northern Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)’s once positive and unifying rule of the unanimous vote is now being manipulated to prevent Sweden and Finland from gaining NATO membership. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan voting down the admittance of Sweden and Finland has caused other member states to pick sides and show their support.
NATO was created after World War II in the hope to prevent another world war. According to the US Department of Defense, there are 5 regulations that must be met to join NATO. The country must be a democracy, members must be actively moving towards a market economy, national military forces must be under civilian control, nations must be good neighbors to those on their border and nations must work towards compatibility with NATO forces.
Turkey has voted against Sweden and Finland’s acceptance into NATO. Finland and Sweden petitioned to join NATO in May of 2022 after Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. At that time, Erdogan placed conditions on the US in order for him to give his approval of Finland and Sweden’s membership. Erdogan wants the US military to stop arming and funding the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the People’s Defense Units (YPG) in Syria. Experts have commented that Erdogan has a legitimate security concern about Syria but trying to force the US into abiding by his wishes by attempting to punish Sweden and Finland is not the correct course of action.
NATO is extremely concerned by Erdogan’s actions because of Putin in Ukraine. NATO has worked hard to show a unified front and Erdogan could disrupt that. If Turkey is angered by NATO or prospective NATO entrants, it could choose to launch a military attack into northern Syria against the Kurdish people who were crucial in helping the US defeat the Islamic State in various battles. Although Turkey has helped Ukraine by supplying some drones used to attack Russian forces, it has also increased trade with Russia and welcomed almost 5 million Russian refugees. This leaves room for doubt about Erdogan’s intentions.
The reaction to Turkey’s vote has caused concern for tension on the pact between Sweden and Finland. The two countries originally agreed they would join NATO to ensure the two countries’ safety and continued alliance. When petitioning for NATO membership, Sweden and Finland signed an agreement in June 2022 stating that they would take action against terrorist organizations such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), which are aligned with Turkey. Turkey has stated it believes Finland has fulfilled its obligation of acting against the PKK and FETO but Sweden has not. Erdogan’s reasoning is that during a protest in Stockholm, the Swedish Government allowed the burning of the Quran, the religious book of Islam, offending Turkish citizens who are majority Muslims.
This dispute has pushed speculation that Finland is considering joining NATO without Sweden. However, on Thursday, Feb. 2 the Prime Ministers of Finland and Sweden held a press conference announcing, “I think it’s very important that we send today a clear message: Finland and Sweden applied together and it is in everybody’s interest that we will join together in NATO” said Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin.
Sweden responded to Turkey’s vote by broadening its anti-terror laws and announced the change at the press conference. The Swedish Justice Minister talked about the new laws stating, “It’s a broader criminalization, targeting a large number of activities within a terrorist organization that is not concretely connected to a particular terrorist crime.”
The US has also responded to Turkey’s recalcitrance by postponing the sale of F-16 fighter jets that were supposed to be sold to Turkey. Congress wrote a letter stating they “cannot consider future support for [Turkey until] completing the ratification of the accession protocols.” They explained, “Failure to ratify protocols or present a timeline for ratification threatens the alliance’s unity at the moment in history, as Russia continues its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.” Congress further wrote, “A productive and mutually beneficial bilateral security relationship with [Turkey] is in the interest of the United States, and we are awaiting the government’s ratification of NATO accession protocols for Sweden and Finland.” The US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken “reiterated US support for Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO accession.”
For those that read headlines concerning the protests for Tyre Nichols, it may be just another black man who fell victim to police brutality which the public is outraged over. But to his grieving mother and son, it was a loved one who would never come home from the hospital, nor be able to see his 30th birthday. Nichols’ fate was served to him unjustly and untimely at the hands of five Memphis Police officers at the start of the 2023 new year, on Jan 7., 2023. What first started as a traffic stop by Memphis police resulted in Nichols landing in the hospital where he lay “unrecognizable” even by family members for three days until his death.
wreg.com
On Saturday, Jan. 7, at 8:24 p.m., Tyre Nichols’s car, was stopped by police of the SCORPION unit for suspicion of reckless driving. At 8:25 p.m., Nichols was forcibly removed from his vehicle by police and pulled to the ground where Nichols is recorded by police body cameras saying, “OK! I am on the ground,” and, “You guys are really doing a lot right now. I’m just trying to go home,”. As police officers try to detain and arrest Tyre, he manages to escape the police and run for about 0.5 miles toward his mother’s home before being grabbed again by police officers. The second interaction was recorded by a street camera. It finds an apprehended Tyre being pepper sprayed to the ground. Once in custody, Tyre is pinned down by two officers while one kicks him in the face twice. It is then that a fourth officer comes along and strikes Tyre with a baton twice. The officer who previously kicked Tyre in the face then proceeds to punch him five times before Tyre slumps to the ground where he is kicked a few more times. Tyre is heard on the camera as desperately and repeatedly crying out for his mom whose house is less than 60 yards away at this point. According to the Washington Post, Tyre’s mom, RowVaughn Wells, remarked “to find out that my son was calling my name, and I was only feet away, and didn’t even hear him — you have no clue how I feel right now… My son loved me to death, and I loved him to death”.
It is important to note that during the entirety of the second altercation, a police officer is repeatedly asking for Tyre’s hands although the street camera footage reveals Tyre’s hands to be held behind his back at this point (20:35:16 in Video 3 of the Vimeo). It is speculated that at this point, the police officer yelling for Tyre’s hands did so on purpose for his body cam audio. Considering his bodycam footage would have likely been indistinguishable as Tyre is against him, the audio when being reviewed would be the police officer attesting that Tyre was not cooperating. What the five police officers failed to notice was that the streetlight camera was recording the entire altercation, including the part where the officer asks for Tyre’s hands although they are behind his ABC, and Tyre is repeatedly getting punched and slapped in the face. At 8:41 when the ambulance arrives, Tyre in handcuffs is propped up against a police car but repeatedly slumps over, and although Tyre voices that he has trouble breathing, he is not treated until 15 minutes later. Three parts of the interaction that were released by the City of Memphis to Vimeo on Jan 27 were police body camera video which has audio (videos 1,3 & 4). The other video provided by the street light in which Tyre was beaten does not have audio (video 2). Nevertheless, the streetlight footage remains important as it corroborates the audio of the police body camera recorded at the same time but often which did not have any visibility. <img width=”624″ height=”360″ src=”https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/ZeYrClZrmDgYZaIdCS_QIy73YMCzm-qJdN-M6UdpO3s0wxvPHQeKcBXdGXD8MW1zQ8cgzbqTR8bdPNDh81EkrnR4aaR4EMY15yMHSeLi2Yqv-D4gBxrnlKeVbls–z-x3dOezn1wHbk0AJHot8VFbW0″ alt=”<p>From left are officers Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills, Jr., Emmitt Martin III, Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean
In regards to how the City of Memphis handled what happened to Tyre, on Jan. 7, the five police officers— Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills, Jr., and Justin Smith — are fired from the Memphis police department as investigation concerning Tyre’s death found said police officers to have “used excessive force and failed in their duties to intervene and render aid”(Kennedy, 2023). This failure by officers to render Tyre aid led to his death in the hospital, 5 days after the beating on Jan 11, 2023. On Jan 24, an autopsy revealed the 29-year-old’s cause of death to be from the extensive bleeding caused by the police officers which was exacerbated by his neglect of care once in custody. On Jan. 26th, all five officers were charged with Nichols’ murder. The five police officers are currently indicted on several charges, including second-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, official misconduct, and official misconduct and official oppression. Bond for the five police officers has ranged from $250,000 to $350,000 according to the New York Post. The Memphis Police Department itself has undergone swift action to see justice to the situation. After all, on Jan. 28th issued a statement to the public announcing the permanent disbanding of the SCORPION unit which the five police officers were a part of. Interestingly, while the unit stands for Scorpion unit stands for Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in our Neighborhoods, it has certainly transpired the opposite. The statement described, “it is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the SCORPION unit”.
Tyre Nichols Photography
Tyre is remembered as being a vivacious and friendly person all around. Tyre moved from Sacramento during the pandemic to Memphis where he worked with his step-father as a FedEx delivery driver. Tyre was often regarded by his mother as “an honest man, a wonderful son, and kind to everyone”. He loved sunsets, he loved his son, and he loved his mom. But Tyre also had a creative side. Tyre was a wonderful skateboarder and had a large passion for photography. Tyre liked to share his passion for photography with the world during the time he was alive, especially through his website. When opening the website, Tyre addresses a message to his views, saying…
It is my hope that Tyre may at least rest in peace knowing that in the end, the world did see what he saw through his eyes. And what people have seen is making them take to the streets for justice.
Tyre Nichols Photography
In reaction across the country, protests have resurfaced demanding justice for Tyre in cities such as Memphis and Philadelphia as well as justice for the countless other lives taken by police brutality. The reaction to Tyre’s death by the American public, while unsurprising, is certainly not as predictable as the reaction by political representatives. Although many political figures agree that what happened to Tyre was wrong, they often stick to just that… Tyre’s situation was an example of where policing can go wrong rather than a signal of something more. Other politicians find that there needs to be more general reform to the policing system to end this repetitive story. Vice President Harris and President Biden released a statement on Jan. 27 on the need for Congress to review the George Floyd Policing Act initially introduced to the Senate in 2021. Ben Crump, the Nichols’ family lawyer, echoed this need. Other political representatives aside from agreeing that what happened to Tyre was a crime, are unable to come to a sound resolution on whether this scenario requires widespread change.
Many will argue in the face of what happened to Tyre and many other victims of police brutality that “they should have cooperated”. But as clearly demonstrated from the street camera footage, even when rendered defenseless, Tyre was treated with unnecessary force simply out of the frustration of police officers. Furthermore, a lack of cooperation without any threat of violence against the officers did not constitute that Tyre should have had to die. Neither should have any other victims of police brutality. The difference between should and will, however, remains up to our elected politicians.
New York representative George Santos’s credibility has been under a magnifying glass since his appointment to represent New York’s 3rd congressional district back in November 2022. Santos was just one Republican of the many elected to the house across the state of New York, however, he is certainly not as common. After all, George Santos is the first openly gay Republican representative elected to the House of Representatives. However, Santos has made it clear through his political stances that he opposes practically everything about his own identity by supporting anti-LGBTQ legislation such as the “Don’t Say Gay Bill” in Florida. For example, in 2020, Santos was remarked as saying in an interview with conservative podcaster John Stubbins, “children who are raised by single parents or gay and lesbian couples tend to grow up ‘troubled,’ … the family unit has been under attack for decades in different ways…the flavor of the decade is same-sex couples. They’re teaching in schools that kids don’t need a mommy and a daddy, you can have two mommies and two daddies. That’s an attack on the family unit.” Santos’s comments are jarring considering Santos himself is gay. Santos has aligned himself with his Republican counterparts who worry about the LGBTQ+ grooming of America’s youth, such as through having “drag queens as teachers.” Interestingly, however, it’s possible that the call is coming from inside the house. Although Santos has admitted to fabricating a large part of his resume, one aspect he has avidly denied is an alleged past career in drag. On Wednesday, Jan. 17, a journalist for MSNBC, Marisa Kabas, tweeted a photo of what looked like George Santos dressed in drag alongside another drag queen. The photo reportedly was from a 2008 drag show. The drag queen Santos allegedly stood beside Eula Roarard and Santos as “Kitara Ravache.” Kabas goes into further detail about the interview she conducted recently with the other drag queen Eula Roarard who confirmed that the same Kitara she stood beside in Brazil was now house representative George Santos after seeing him on the news recently. Eula automatically knew it was her old friend, George, stating that the two of them met when he was a teenager interested in the drag scene in Niterói. At that time, Eula was well known in Niterói, establishing a name for herself in the drag scene. Interestingly, Eula described how when she knew Santos, he was as much of a fabricator then as he is now. Eula stated in the interview, “George always lied about everything. He used to create stories, usually involving money—like that his dad was rich. But then people wondered why his mom was a cleaning lady. There’s nothing wrong with being a cleaning lady, but if his dad was rich, then why?” (Kabas, 2023). Furthermore, Eula explained that he would not have considered Santos as having a drag career because “he didn’t have what it takes.”Santos denies that it was not a drag career. In fact, it wasn’t until Saturday Jan. 21 did Santos acknowledge he dressed up as a woman before. Walking through the LaGuardia airport Saturday being confronted by reports, Santos finally acknowledged that he had dressed up as a woman before, stating, “No, I was not a drag queen in Brazil, guys. I was young, and I had fun at a festival. Sue me for having a life,”. However, just days prior on Twitter Santos described the allegations of him having a drag career to be “categorically false.”
Nevertheless, this is not the only aspect of Santos’s political career thus far that is drawing people’s attention. Santos has been alleged as lying about everything from the source of his campaign funds, his resume, and his heritage, to his mother dying in 9/11. Santos’s long list of lies can begin with possibly the most disturbing. In July 2021 Santos published a tweet describing how 9/11 claimed his mother’s life. It is described in further detail on Santos’s campaign website that his mother was “at her desk” in the south tower on 9/11 and was able to miraculously escape only to die a few years later from cancer. In reality, Santos’s mother, Fatima Alzira Caruso Horta Devolder, who died in 2016, was not in the United States from 1999 to 2003 according to green card records produced by the New York Times. As if that wasn’t shocking enough, in a now-retracted quote from his campaign website, Santos alleged to be the grandson of immigrants who fled Nazi persecution to Ukraine, who then migrated to Belgium, and then to Brazil, and then once more to the U.S. In February of 2022 he told Fox News Digital “that his ancestral name is Zabrovsky, but that he now uses his mother’s maiden name of Devolder, which is Dutch in origin”. It was later revealed by a genealogist hired by CNN that Santos has “no sign of Jewish and/or Ukrainian heritage and no indication of name changes along the way”. This comes after Santos described that his mother migrated directly from Belgium whereas CNN demonstrated his mother and grandparents to be natives of Brazil. Santos has been lying about several other elements of his identity, some of which he has admitted to, such as his “embellished” resume. In Santos’ resume released by the New York Times, he reports receiving a 3.89 from Baruch College in New York as well as New York University, both of which deny him ever attending. Furthermore, he claims to have worked at Goldman Sachs before entering a career in politics, a position which Goldman Sachs also denies him ever having. Santos admitted in an interview in December of 2022 that he did not in fact work for Goldman Sachs directly, but rather through his own personal company he did work for the financial firm. Santos claims his resume to have a “poor choice of words.” Although politicians such as Santos being caught in their lies is not criminal, some of Santos’s lies could be. In fact, Santos is under fire for being a serial liar in some ways that may require federal investigation. Especially his shady explanations of how he was able to fund his 2022 campaign. On Monday, Jan. 14, a watchdog organization, The Campaign Legal Center, filed a complaint to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for suspicions around a $750,000 loan Santos received to fund his campaign that he defends as being profits from his company the Devolder Organization. However, the watchdog organization speculates that this large investment was actually from a different corporation or furthermore a foreign national, which would violate the FEC. Additionally, the watchdog organization speculates Santos has been using campaign funds to finance himself personally using up to an estimated $40,000 on flights and rent. The personal use of campaign funds also counts as a violation of FEC standards. Violations of the FEC can result in civil penalties from $6,523 to $76,280 according to the FEC. In Brazil furthermore, Santos was under investigation for fraud after he allegedly used a stolen check to buy $700 worth of clothes in a clothing store. In 2009, Santos admitted to the act, writing on a social media website to the shop owner in Brazil, “I know I screwed up, but I want to pay.” However, in 2023 Santos additionally denied having acted criminally in the U.S as well as Brazil. The Rio De Janeiro prosecutor’s office has presented its interest in reopening the case to try Mr. Santos which would be presented to the United States Department of Justice to inform Santos of the case. If Mr. Santos fails to present a defense to these claims in Brazil, it is possible he could face up to five years in prison and furthermore a fine.
Another retreat by the Russian military, this time from Kherson. This past week Russian troops were ordered to evacuate from Kherson. Kherson is a port city located where the Dnipro River meets the Black Sea, and it was a central focus in Russia’s attempt to control the southern coast of Ukraine.
When Russia initially assaulted and captured Kherson it tried to assimilate the people into its sphere. But the Ukrainians of Kherson fought back and would not accept Russia’s efforts to strip the city and region of Ukrainian language, currency, and education. When Russia claimed to “annex” parts of Ukraine including Kherson, after a sham election, the citizens of Kherson stood defiant. This past week as Russian troops evacuated and Ukrainian soldiers entered the city the people of Kherson celebrated their return to Ukrainian control. One townsman reported to a New York Times reporter on scene, “people walk on the streets and congratulate each other, it’s just a holiday!”
There are a few schools of thought forming over Russia’s retreat. Some believe that Russia is moving to regroup and reposition its soldiers before the incoming winter, and in doing so avoid personnel and equipment losses from Ukrainian attacks and its own inability to adequately sustain forces over an extended battlefield. By moving its troops to the eastern side of the Dnipro River which borders Kherson, Russia is attempting to improve the survival odds for its troops using the river as a defensive barrier.
President Biden spoke about the Russian retreat during a Press conference on Nov. 9 when he also answered questions about the midterm elections. Biden seemed to insinuate that the timing of the Russian retreat was linked to the US midterm elections. He pointed out that he thought it was interesting that Russia waited until after the US congressional election was complete to announce the retreat. Biden said, “it’s evidence of the fact that they have some real problems with the Russian military.
In addition to this retreat, Russia is having problems on the home front. Hundreds of thousands of men have fled the country to avoid the draft. As of Nov. 4 the Kremlin reported over 700,000 men had left in approximately two weeks. Many believe Russian President Putin’s announcements that new military conscripts will not be sent to the vicinity of Kherson and that college students would be exempt from the military mobilization are an effort to deflect some criticism of the Russian military’s ongoing failures. Despite the tensions in Russia Putin has still managed to fill his military personnel quota to sustain his so called “special military operation” in Ukraine. Putin spoke to the media in early November saying that “mobilization is complete.” Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu also claimed that Putin’s goal of calling up 300,000 reservists had been achieved. However, as Ukraine continues to push back, a portion of the Russian public and military are not happy.
To show his support for ongoing Ukrainian military advances and to celebrate the liberation of Kherson, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Kherson on Monday, Nov.14. Zelenskyy commented that he believes this (i.e., the liberation of Kherson) is the “Beginning of the end of the war.” Zelenskyy continued, “Ukraine was ready for peace, but peace for all of our country, all of our territory.…That is why we’re fighting against Russian aggression.” Now that the Ukrainian flag once again flies over Kherson and Zelenskyy has visited to celebrate the Russian retreat, morale is high in southern Ukraine. Zelenskyy’s presence continues to be motivating to Ukrainian citizens. He is a symbol of the resilience and courage of Ukraine as demonstrated in Kherson when Russia was firing missiles at entrenched troops less than a mile away.
On Monday, Oct. 23, missiles were fired by North and South Korea. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said that they fired in response to North Korea’s recent and continual missile testing. South Korea also reported a North Korean merchant ship entered South Korean waters on Monday. Concurrently North Korea fired ten rounds of artillery shells as a warning to South Korea, because North Korea claims a South Korean Navy ship entered into North Korean waters on Monday.
Vice President Kamala Harris spoke out about the ongoing missile firing by North Korea and expressed the U.S.’s support for South Korea. Harris said, “I talked with the President about it, and it is clearly a provocation, and it is meant, we believe, to destabilize the region and we are taking it seriously, and everyone should.” She continued, “It is destabilizing the region and that is one of the reasons why the visit that I have made to Korea, to the Republic of Korea, is important because it is a statement about the strength of our alliance and our dedication, The United States’ dedication to the alliance in terms of security, prosperity, stability.”
This conflict arose over the Yellow Sea to the west coast of the Korean peninsula. Since the Korean partition in 1945 there have been many disputes in and around the area. Technically, North and South Korea are still at war and tensions remain strong. In 2010 there were two attacks on Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea and 50 South Koreans were killed.
The U.S. has military personnel stationed all over the world, including in South Korea. South Korea and the U.S. conduct regular military training exercises and do missile testing to deter North Korea. North Korea states that it does not see joint South Korean and American military cooperation and exercises as a drill. North Korea believes that the two counties are working together to practice a potential invasion of North Korea.
For its part North Korea does very little to dissuade the US and South Korea from continuing their close cooperation. CBS News reported that, as of Oct.23, North Korea had conducted 24 missile tests in 2022. These tests continue to concern South Korea, the US, and other countries in Asia, most notably Japan.
Isaac Stone Fish, the CEO of Strategy Risk, which is a program that helps corporations and non-profit organizations minimize their risk of exposure to China, talked about how concerned the U.S. citizens should be with the rising tensions between North and South Korea. Fish said, “I don’t think we need to be that concerned. As always for North Korea, the most costs go to the North Korean people. For Americans, the biggest risk is mostly to the 28,00 American troops stationed in South Korea, the troops in Japan and the possibility of an attack on either South Korea or Japan.” Fish speculates that North Korea could be trying to draw attention to themselves knowing that the U.S. has midterm elections coming up.
Cheong Seong-Chang, an analyst at the Sejong Institute in South Korea speculated that North Korea knows that the US has a complicated relationship with Russia and China which would make it difficult for the U.S. to work with those two regional powers to find a potential solution for the issues with North Korea. Seong-Chang said, “The South Korean military needs to make thorough preparations to prevent fresh skirmishes from happening on the West Sea and prevent them from causing the worst-case scenario like the North Korean military’s artillery bombardments on the South Korean Border.” While there is currently no direct threat to the continental U.S. posed by North Korea, US citizens should still be aware of the rising tensions in Korea as South Korea and Japan are valued US allies, and potentially a miscalculation in missile trajectory could cause a North Korean missile to impact on South Korean or Japanese territory. Such a mistake, whether an error or purposeful by North Korea could cause the US and its allies to enact additional economic sanctions or military retaliation against North Korea, igniting a conflict which could potentially injure or kill hundreds of thousands of people
On Sunday, Oct. 9, North Korea continued its missile testing by launching two short-range ballistic missiles toward the east. In response, South Korea has boosted its surveillance of North Korea. South Korea reported that the two missiles were launched between 1:48 AM and 1:58 AM from the city of Munchon. These launches are only two in an ongoing military demonstration by North Korea.
The tensions between North and South Korea began at the end of World War II when Korea was divided. The Soviet Union supported the North, and the United States supported the South. A consensus could not be reached on what form of government should rule, so both the North and South created two new governments with the supervision of the Soviet Union and the U.S. The new governments are divided at the 38th parallel. The North became the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, aligned with the Soviet Union and the South became the Republic of Korea, aligned with the U.S. and other Western countries.
In 1952 at the end of the Korean War, the 38th parallel was replaced by a buffer zone named the Korean Demilitarized Zone. This line divides the country in half. Tensions continue today as North Korea continues to expand economically and wishes to demonstrate its power to the rest of the world.
You may be thinking, what is the problem with missile testing? This question is answered by Kim Dong-yub, a professor who teaches North Korean studies in Seoul, South Korea. Dong-yub stated that because the missile traveled an estimated 370 miles, he believes a potential target of that distance could be the South Korean southeastern port city of Busan. Another missile launched over Japan was a new intermediate-range weapon that can travel up to 2,800 miles. Dong-yub speculates this missile is designed to hit targets as far away as Alaska or Hawaii.
October 10th was the 77th Anniversary of North Korea’s Workers’ Party, and profound statements were released by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). KCNA said that the missiles launched from North Korea were in response to naval drills between the U.S. and South Korea because it involved the aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan, which is a nuclear-powered ship. It has not been used for five years. KCNA stated that “Through seven times of launching drills of tactical nuclear operation units, the actual capabilities…of the nuclear combat forces read to hit and wipe out the set objects at any location and any time was displayed to the full.” This indicates a direct threat against Reagan and its support fleet. Many Westerners are worried about the deliberate use of the words “hit and wipe out” as some of the missiles being tested have such a long range.
Kim Jong-un, spoke out making his intentions crystal clear. He states that the recent missile tests were “an obvious warning” to South Korea and the U.S. He also stated that his military would maintain “their strongest nuclear response posture and further strengthen it in every way.”
This year North Korea has launched over 40 missiles. Many believe North Korea will continue to “send messages” until the U.S. formally recognizes North Korea as a Nuclear State which would mean many UN sanctions would be lifted from North Korea. The school of thought that is beginning to gain attention is that the war between Russia and Ukraine is causing a distraction that North Korea is using to its advantage.
BBC Most recently updated Russia/Ukraine Conflict Map
On Sept. 21, Russian President, Vladimir Putin, announced a partial military mobilization of the country by drafting 300,000 reservists throughout the country to support the war effort against Ukraine. This announcement comes after the Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed back in March that the chance for future mobilization to be “nonsense.” It is to be noted, however, that similar statements have been made about the possibility of Russia invading Ukraine. Nevertheless, the Russian President’s calls to mobilize the military has been met with surprisingly more backlash from Russian citizens than the actual war effort itself. The partial mobilization affects those who have previously served in the Russian military and who have experience in combat. Euronews reports that “students or conscripts — young men serving mandatory 12-month terms in the armed forces” (Carbonaro, 2022) will be excluded from this draft for the time being.
Over 200,000 men have fled the country since the Kremlin’s announcement of a partial draft. Russian men eligible for possible military service are reported to be fleeing to Finland, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Turkey. Turkey, a once popular vacation spot for Russians, seems to be standing as a place of sanction for Russian men who are at risk of being drafted. Closer to home, Russian citizens have begun to protest the partial draft at the risk of their own lives. Russian women have been reported to be out in the streets of Moscow, protesting the partial draft of their brothers, husbands, and fathers. It has been reported by human rights organizations that at least 1,300 arrests of said protestors have been made, young men amongst them being served draft papers while being detained. With severe limitations on the right to free speech in Russia against press and citizens alike, demonstrations against the draft account for the large outrage the population have against said order.
On Friday Sept. 30, President Vladimir Putin announced his plans to annex four regions of Ukraine, the largest illegal annexation of territories since World War II. Putin finds the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya as belonging to Russia. Within said speech made by the Kremlin, the war was once again framed to be of morals between the “Satanic” West and Russia. However, not only 24 hours after such an announcement, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced its retreat of more than 5,000 soldiers from the city of Lyman located in the Donetsk Oblast region, one of the regions Putin claimed to have belonged to Russia. The loss of Lyman may be critical to the future of the Ukrainian-Russian war. After all, winning back the city of Lyman provides Ukraine the opportunity to take back further regions of dispute such as the Donbass region, something of which has been desperately of value to Putin prior to the war.
Although Ukraine has made advances in reclaiming lost territory from Russia, Putin still threatens to use “any means necessary” to annex desired territories, even if those means are nuclear. Such threats have prompted Ukrainian President Zylysky to petition for fast-track acceptance into NATO, which if accepted would seed responsibility for NATO to support Ukraine in its war against Russia which is something NATO is wary to initiate. Currently, the West is replying by applying more sanctions against Russia, Australia, the United States, and other European Nations included. It is important to note, however, that as to whether sanctions are effective in deterring behaviors is debated amongst political scientists. Aside from sanctions, President Biden pledged Friday to support Ukraine with an additional $1.1 billion in their fight against Russia.
Today when you hear about a conflict between Greece and Turkey you might be confused thinking the conflict ended in the 1970s. That was true until this week.
On Oct. 1st Cyprus celebrates its annual Independence Day. In 1960, Cypriot freedom was formally recognized by the governments of Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom (UK) in what is called the London and Zürich Agreement. The agreement was the result of a series of meetings that started in February 1959, when representatives from Greece, Turkey, and the UK met to draft an agreement that would cement Cyprus as an independent state. At the meeting, a constitution was also drafted which was designed to share power between the Greek majority (77%) and the Turkish minority (18%) on the island. Officially, on Aug. 16, 1960, Cyprus was recognized as an independent state. But soon after, in 1963, the agreement fell apart.
In Dec. 1963, Cyprus was beset by violent clashes between Greek and Turkish factions, the United Nations sent in a peacekeeping force to geographically separate the opposing factions. Hostilities simmered until 1974 when Turkey sent their military in to claim almost 50% of the island in the North. Turkey self-claimed the land as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Turkey was the only one to recognize this area. Directly to the south of Turkey’s claimed land is what is called the UN Buffer Zone, and many refer to it as “the green line” which is still occupied by UN peacekeeping forces. The UN Buffer Zone stretches from the west coast of Cyprus horizontally to the east coast across a total of 112 miles. The Buffer Zone, which was established in 1964, was enhanced in 1974 when Turkey invaded. In response to this Turkey built up its own border defenses on the Northern side of the Buffer Zone. Turkey’s line is known as the Attila line which was named after the code name for the Turkish invasion of Cyprus labeled “Operation Attila.” Turkey’s barrier is lined with concrete walls and barbed wire, and it has ditches meant to deter tanks and minefields spread throughout. The UN Buffer Zone and Turkish barricade run right through the middle of Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus. Since the fall of the Berlin wall, Nicosia remains the last capital to be physically divided in Europe. In addition to the Cypriot land that the UN and Turkey occupy there are two areas on the southern coast that are British sovereign base areas. Most of southern Cyprus comprises the Republic of Cyprus and is populated by ethnic Greeks.
Allegedly this past weekend there was a deployment by Greece of dozens of U.S. made armored vehicles to the Aegean islands of Samos and Lesbos. Turkey summoned the Greek ambassador and protested. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan demanded that the island be demilitarized. Erdogan warned that Turkey would not hold back on defending its interests against NATO allies, including Greece. Erdogan is now calling for formal recognition of Turkey’s self-claimed land in Northern Cyprus.
At the Cyprus Independence Day parade, on Oct. 1, Greek Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos said that Turkey’s “revisionist and destabilizing behavior” is undermining security in the east Mediterranean region. Panagiotopoulos disregarded Erdogan’s demands to demilitarize the islands saying, “as if they are not being threatened and as if we don’t have the right to take all defensive measures for them.”
These demands from Turkey increase tensions between Turkey and Greece while leaving Cyprus, in the middle. Greece has stated they can defend the islands despite Turkey’s threats.
Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said that even though Cyprus is being supplied with more military equipment the action is not designed to provoke Turkey, nor should it provide Turkey a basis for bolstering the 40,000 troops it has stationed in the North.
NATO and the European Union want to assist in defusing the current escalation in tensions, but a permanent solution for the ethnic hostilities in Cyprus has not been reached for almost 50 years.
The La Salle Collegian 