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Russo-Ukrainian War
- Poudre Press Staff
- 4 days ago
- 10 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
In the month of February 2014, Russia invaded Ukraine, and later this conflict grew to a full-scale invasion in February 2022.
September 17th, 2025:
5:22 PM, British Summer Time (BST):
The latest that has happened is that three Ukrainians are dead after Putin targeted Ukrainian railways in an overnight attack. "Russian attacks against Ukraine killed at least four civilians and injured 24 others over the past day, regional authorities said on Sept. 18. A Russian overnight attack targeted railway infrastructure in Poltava Oblast, causing a temporary power outage across parts of the region and delaying several passenger trains" (Denisova). The attacks that are targeted at railway infrastructure also include a strike on an electrical substation, which further disrupted operations. At least 46 trains were experiencing delays on Wednesday, and passenger services were disrupted on routes to Odesa and Dnipro.
3:28 PM, British Summer Time (BST):
"It would be a "big mistake" if the EU does not integrate Ukraine into its defense architecture, Andrius Kubilius, the European Commissioner for Defense Industry and Space, told the Kyiv Independent in an interview published Sept. 16" (Ivanyshyn). Putin has a battle-tested army, much stronger than it was back in 2022, and it has the ability to use millions of drones. The European continent only has the Ukrainian army, which has the same battle-tested capabilities, and that would be a big mistake on our side, not to find the best way to use Ukrainian capabilities, Ukrainian Armed) Forces, and the Ukrainian defense industry to help us.
2:23 PM, British Summer Time (BST):
The European Union (EU) is going to spend billions on a 'drone wall' after many Russian drone incursions into NATO airspace. In order for a ‘drone wall’ to work, it must be coordinated well, to be effective. "Europe will frontload €6 billion in credit, drawn from profits on frozen Russian assets, to support the production of drones for Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced" (Kostina). You cannot have one country's frontline doing one thing, while another country’s frontline is doing something different. Russia will just change its approach based on any weakness present.
1:10 PM, British Summer Time (BST):
Denmark is purchasing long-range precision weapons to counter the threat that Russia may pose to them. After years of cuts to its military budget, Denmark is set to invest in long-range precision weapons. This follows the Russian drone incursions into Polish and Romanian airspace.
11:15 AM, British Summer Time (BST):
This fall, Russia is preparing for two very heavy offensive campaigns, after three failed attempts earlier in the year. In the past two weeks alone, Russia has launched 3,500 drones, 2,500 powerful glide bombs, and 200 missiles at targets inside Ukraine.
11:00 AM, British Summer Time (BST):
Poland starts a military exercise called Iron Defender-25, a few days after Russian drones entered its airspace. Over 30,000 troops will take part in these exercises.
September 16th, 2025:
4:15 PM, British Summer Time (BST):
Thousands of children have been taken from Ukraine to be ‘re-educated’ by Russia. There are some 210 sites where Ukrainian children are believed to have been taken away, for military training by Russia. This research, which has been funded by the USA, has found that the children also took part in drone manufacturing and other forced re-education, as part of the large-scale deportation program. In 2024, Yale's School of Public Health said that Russian presidential aircraft were used to transport children.
4:00 PM, British Summer Time (BST):
Poland is deciding on getting submarines this week, and that will lead to the purchase of the first submarines by the end of the year. The country attempts to bolster its defenses following the incursion of a Russian drone into Poland last week. "Poland will decide on submarine procurement this week, leading to the purchase of the first submarines by the end of the year, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday" (Wlodarczak et al.).
3:00 PM, British Summer Time (BST):
There are drills happening in Belarus, and there are drone incursions into Romania. NATO is providing direct and indirect support to the Kyiv regime, so it can be said that NATO is fighting against Russia. As Russia sends drones into Poland and Romania and organizes drills with Belarus, experts say that Putin is testing NATO’s response, through its more aggressive movements past Ukrainian borders. Romania became the latest NATO member to have to scramble fighter jets after a Russian drone entered its airspace. In Ukraine, rescuers and police search through the rubble of a destroyed building, hit by a Russian drone strike today.
2:00 PM, British Summer Time (BST):
European countries remain unsettled, following Russian activity in Polish and Romanian airspace this week, and Italy is not ready if Russia attacks. President Trump and President Zelensky could potentially meet next week, in New York, as the UN General Assembly holds its annual high-level session, also in New York. President Trump is going to try to do anything to end this war. A journalist was detained by Russian forces in the first days of the invasion of Ukraine, and he was imprisoned for three and a half years.
1:00 PM, British Summer Time (BST):
Members of a feminist punk group called Pussy Riot have been sentenced to jail time for criticizing the war in Ukraine. Ukraine blew up a railway track behind Russia’s front lines, causing two trains to derail, and three soldiers died in the strike. Ukraine's emergency services are putting out fires created by drone strikes in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.
September 11th, 2025: This is the 1,295th day that the Russo-Ukrainian war has been happening. Today, Russia launched a drone attack across Ukraine, using 415 drones and 40 cruise and ballistic missiles. Ukrainian forces destroyed more than 380 Russian drones, and Russian forces shot down 225 Ukrainian drones and a guided missile in a 24-hour period. With the situation in Poland, with the drone incursions on Polish airspace, “Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that he has received “proposals for concrete support for the air defense of our country”, after speaking with the leaders of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Ukraine and NATO” (“Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1295”). Canada’s minister of national defense, David McGuinty, said that his country delivered eight Armored Combat Support Vehicles (ACSVs) to Poland, which are then going to Ukraine.
September 10th, 2025: One of the drones hit a residential building in the Lublin region, but no one was injured. The Lublin region is in the east of Poland, and it borders both Belarus and Ukraine. Eight strike drones were aimed towards Poland, and Russia launched around 455 drones and missiles towards Ukraine, targeting 15 regions, and one person was killed in the Zhytomyr region. Kaja Kallas describes the incident as the most serious violation of European airspace by Russia since the war began. Polish F-16 fighter jets, Dutch F-35 jets, and Italian G-550 CAEW aircraft were all involved in the overnight operation of shooting down the Russian drones. The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, said that it is "simply unacceptable" and condemned it in the "strongest possible terms." The president of Finland, Alexander Stubb, warned that the situation "underlines the gravity of the security situation and is unacceptable." Lithuania's president, Gitanas Nausėda, accused Russia of "deliberately" expanding its aggression through Europe. Edgars Rinkēvičs, the president of Latvia, said that the incident was a "clear testimony that Russian aggression in Ukraine affects us directly." This is most likely referring mainly to Latvia, but also all of the Baltic. Czech Republic's prime minister, Petr Fiala said that it was "hard to believe" that the overnight incident was a coincidence." Antonio Costa, who is the president of the European Council, said the incident was a reminder that "the security of one is the security of all." The US senator, Dick Durbin warned that the these "incursions cannot be ignored." Belarus claimed that the Russian drones that entered Poland had "lost their track," after the impact of "electronic warfare." This statement from the military of close Russian ally Belarus, appears to be an attempt to excuse Moscow. Belarus also adds that its air force destroyed some of the "lost drones" over its own territory." President Donald Trump is going to help defend “every inch of NATO territory." On Wednesday, tensions rose as many Russian drones flew over Poland in an aerial incursion of a NATO country. This assault shows a new level of aggression by Russia. “Asked about the state of the war in Beijing, Mr. Putin said that Ukraine’s reserves of soldiers were dwindling, and he claimed that Ukraine’s combat-ready units “are currently staffed at no more than 47-48 percent”” (Troianovski). The bottom line for Ukraine is that Kyiv should take whatever peace terms are being offered, because any future deal will be worse. Mr. Putin is displaying growing frustration with European countries that are trying to form a coalition to defend Ukraine from future Russian attacks.
September 9th, 2025: Russian drones violated Poland’s airspace, and this is the largest scale of drones crossing the border yet. This is Poland’s first engagement in this war with Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This first strike on Poland was in 2022, when a Ukraine drone hit a village. Poland's Chopin Airport was closed for 2 hours because of this violation, and the Prime Minister (PM) of Poland, Donald Tusk, has informed NATO of this event.
September 4th, 2025: President Donald Trump has said that he remains committed to pursuing a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. "I've been watching it, I've been watching it, and I've been talking about it with President Putin and President Zelenskyy," president Trump said in a phone interview. "Something is going to happen, but they are not ready yet. But something is going to happen. We are going to get it done” (Costa). President Vladimir Putin of Russia joined the leaders of China and North Korea for a grand military parade in Beijing. “President Trump has claimed in recent weeks that he should be credited for ending six or seven wars during this term and that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. White House officials have pointed to a list of seven conflicts the president is referencing: Israel and Iran, Rwanda, and Democratic Republic of the Congo, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Thailand and Cambodia, India and Pakistan, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Serbia and Kosovo” (Costa).
February 14th, 2025: The UK will help support Ukraine if Ukraine decides not to join NATO, and UK citizens need to leave Ukraine immediately, while there are still commercial airlines and roads open. Greece is also warning its citizens to leave Ukraine if they are there, along with the US and UK telling their people to leave. Germany is sending troops to support the Baltic countries, mainly Lithuania. Wizz Air is still flying people in and out of Ukraine, while other airlines, such as Dutch airline KLM, have cancelled flight routes until further notice. The German chancellor visits Ukraine before continuing to Moscow. The UK will not militarily airlift people out of Ukraine; they MUST get out themselves. Germany is setting aside a hospital and €150 million ($175.8 million) to support Ukraine. Russia and Belarus are conducting a military exercise together, and there are an estimated 130,000 Russian troops on the border of Ukraine.
Ukraine gained its independence in 1991, and this led to turmoil politically, and especially after “Russian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted in 2014” (Kennedy). Russian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted by Ukrainian protesters, because he refused to allow them to join the European Union (EU). In 2015 there was a ceasefire, but some skirmishes continued thereafter. Several millions have fled to other European countries, and many of those countries have also supplied military aid to Ukraine and have imposed sanctions on Russia. A region of Ukraine, called Crimea, was annexed by Russia and Russia's Black Sea Fleet was located there. During a battle against Russian rebels, there was an airliner hit by a missile, and everyone on board died. This resulted in other countries becoming outraged by this event and insisting that the fighting needed to end. Lithuanian, Poland, and Russian have all had power over the land that is Ukraine, but Ukraine declared independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Ukraine was left with a lot of missiles and nuclear warheads, but there was a treaty signed in 1994, which was known as the Budapest Memorandum, which said that in return for the US, UK, and Russia respecting and recognizing its independence, Ukraine would return the weapons to their respective countries. After the Soviet Union fell, other countries also joined the EU or NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), which included Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania. The president of Ukraine, from 1994 to 2004 was Leonid Kuchma. He did not run for reelection, after he was accused of the death of a journalist in 2000. Viktor Yanukovych was the next in line as president, and his opposition was Viktor Yushchenko. Viktor Yanukovych won, but got accused of voter fraud, and after a third election, Viktor Yushchenko ended up winning. Viktor Yushchenko and his minister Yulia Tymoshenko tried to bring Ukraine into NATO, but they got rejected. Viktor Yanukovych (the other Viktor) was elected in 2010, and in 2013, he refused to sign Ukraine into the EU.
Dictionary
All definitions from (merriam-webster)
Turmoil - a state or condition of extreme confusion, agitation, or commotion
Ousted - to take away (something, such as a right or authority)
Ceasefire - a military order to cease firing
Sanctions - an economic or military coercive measure adopted usually by several nations in concert for forcing a nation violating international law to desist or yield to adjudication
Annexed - to incorporate (an additional geographic area) within the domain of a country, state, etc.
Fraud - intentional perversion of truth in order to induce another to part with something of value or to surrender a legal right
Violation - an infringement of the rules in sports that is less serious than a foul and usually involves technicalities of play
Coalition - a temporary alliance of distinct parties, persons, or states for joint action
Bolster - to support with or as if with a bolster : reinforce
Works Cited
Costa, Robert. “Trump commits to pursuing Russia-Ukraine peace: They are "not ready yet," but "something is going to happen."” CBS News, 4 September 2025, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-committed-to-russia-ukraine-peace-deal/. Accessed 16 September 2025.
Denisova, Kateryna. “Russian attacks kill 4, injure 24 in Ukraine over past day, railway infrastructure hit overnight.” The Kyiv Independent, 18 September 2025, https://kyivindependent.com/russian-attacks-kill-3-injure-22-in-ukraine-over-past-day/?utm_source=chatgpt.com. Accessed 2 October 2025.
Ivanyshyn, Volodymyr. “It would be a 'big mistake' not to integrate Ukraine into EU defense architecture, Kubilius says.” The Kyiv Independent, 17 September 2025, https://kyivindependent.com/it-would-be-a-big-mistake-not-to-integrate-ukraine-into-eu-defense-architecture-kubilius-says/. Accessed 2 October 2025.
Kennedy, Adrienne. “Russo-Ukrainian War | Research Starters.” EBSCO, 2025, https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/military-history-and-science/russo-ukrainian-war. Accessed 11 September 2025.
Kostina, Ivanna. “European Commission president announces "drone alliance" with Ukraine, allocating €6 billion.” European Pravda, 10 September 2025, https://www.eurointegration.com.ua/eng/news/2025/09/10/7219848/. Accessed 2 October 2025.
“Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1295.” Al Jazeera, 11 September 2025, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/11/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-1295. Accessed 16 September 2025.
Troianovski, Anton. “Putin's Message to Ukraine, Europe and Trump: I Won't Back Down.” The New York Times, 10 September 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/world/europe/russia-ukraine-putin-trump-europe.html. Accessed 16 September 2025.
Wlodarczak, Anna, et al. “Poland will decide on submarine procurement this week, PM says.” Reuters, 16 September 2025, https://www.reuters.com/world/poland-will-decide-submarine-procurement-this-week-pm-says-2025-09-16/?utm_source=chatgpt.com. Accessed 2 October 2025.
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