When Russia invaded Ukraine, most experts and military officials expected Ukraine to fall within days. However, as the whole world saw, Ukraine managed to hold its ground and recently started to push Russian forces out of their country.

Russian forces entered Ukraine under the command of President Vladimir Putin. Russia never officially declared war on Ukraine, calling it a “Special Military Operation.” They first sought to take over the entire Ukraine, overthrowing the government and replacing President Zelensky. The plan failed due to strong resistance by Ukrainian forces and Russia settled for the eastern region of Ukraine where Russian support was high. Russia resorted to Plan B, which aims to connect eastern Ukraine with Crimea. Since then, the war has been somewhat of a stalemate, with neither side managing to achieve much. 

This brings up the question of President Zelensky’s leadership. The world praises him as a brave leader who stayed back in his country despite multiple assassination attempts by Russia. However, he seems more interested in getting global sympathy than he is in ending the war. Ukrainians have fought valiantly, but the truth is that Ukrainian casualty is higher than that of Russia, including many civilians. Overall, Ukraine has suffered greater damage compared to Russia. 

One of Russia’s biggest concerns with Ukraine was Ukraine joining NATO, a military organization created to initially oppose the Soviet Union, present-day Russia. Ukraine insisted on joining the alliance despite growing protests from Russia. It is true that as a sovereign nation, Kyiv has every right to decide. However, the government and the President also must be realistic and find a peaceful solution, so that fewer people would have to suffer. Kyiv refused to back down, resulting in the biggest military conflict since World War 2. Thousands of people died, and millions were forced to flee their homes. Did Zelensky and the Ukrainian government decide the right thing? As the leader of a nation, whose job is to protect its citizens, did President Zelensky ultimately take the best action by pressing hard?

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