Russia invades Ukraine
On Feb. 24, Russia officially invaded Ukraine in an effort to take over the country. More than a million Ukrainian citizens have fled the country in the weeks following the invasion, but Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has remained in the country and taken up arms against Russian troops. The United Nations committee has condemned Russia’s actions, specifically the careless manner in which they took over the radioactive site of Chernobyl, which could have had severe effects on the surrounding countries. While Russia has taken measures to silence those speaking out against them in the country and to distort the news of their attacks, such as blocking Facebook and taking down dissenting social media posts, heavy fighting has been reported in the Ukraine capital city of Kyiv and international news outlets are able to verify information through photos and videos.
NATO refuses to police no-fly zone over Ukraine
NATO has rejected a request to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine, which could possibly protect the country from aerial strikes by Russia during the ongoing invasion. Under Article 5 of NATO’s founding treaty, the nations involved in the treaty must come to an ally’s defense if they are under attack. However, NATO’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg explained that while Russia’s actions have been disavowed by NATO and the Ukrainian people have their support, the only way to police a no-fly zone would be to shoot down Russian planes in the area, which has the potential to cause a full-fledged war across Europe.
Germany proposes “crisis discount” for gas as oil prices skyrocket
Germany has proposed a “crisis discount” as gasoline prices rise after Russia had essentially been blacklisted from the global market. The discount, proposed by Finance Minister Christian Lindner, would have gas prices lowered 0.2 euros per liter, equating to about eight cents per gallon. The nation’s Green party has also proposed a way to limit fuel usage by implementing a speed limit on highways, which would both reduce the amount of fuel used and better protect the environment. While neither measure has been passed by the three-party government coalition in Germany, Lindner has announced that he hopes to have his crisis discount measure passed this week so that citizens and businesses will not fall victim to the rising fuel prices, but refused to comment on the Green party’s proposal.
