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The War in Ukraine: A Highschooler’s Perspective
- Simon Story
- Sep 29
- 3 min read
(Image from the BBC)
Russia and Ukraine have been fighting since 2014, but Russia launched a full-scale invasion on Ukraine in 2022.
The most recent event that has taken place, on August 21, 2025, was a drone and missile strike on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. One person has been killed, and there are 15 people who have been reported as wounded. As the attacks took place, the US president, Donald Trump, has spearheaded a diplomatic move to halt this war. President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Ukraine is ready to meet Vladimir Putin “in neural Europe,” being either Switzerland, Austria, or perhaps Istanbul (Khalil).
The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin has demanded that Ukraine give over the entire region of Donbas to Russia before Russia stops fighting. One big question is “where to draw borders, that both countries will accept?” (Abraham). Finding a solution will be hard and may lead to undesirable outcomes. The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected Russia’s proposal, and has invoked Ukraine's Constitution, which states that Ukraine's territory cannot be divided or broken. Ukraine has had a longstanding goal, and that is to restore the borders that it had, before Russia invaded them, 10 years prior. Currently Putin has shown no desire to give up his control of Donbas. If a new border were to be formed, it would require a 750-mile front, whose possession has been shifting back and forth for the past few years.
Russia seized Crimea in 2014, and later that year, more territory east of Ukraine got taken as well. One-third of the Donbas was occupied by Russian-backed forces, and they declared breakaway republics, and then a full-scale invasion was launched in February of 2022.
Russia tried and failed to capture Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, and they withdrew from northern Ukraine in April of 2022. In the same year, Ukraine launched two big counteroffensives, and they pushed Russia back to the Dnipro River. Since Russia got pushed back, they have tried to retaliate and push forward, and the 750-mile front, and they have seized over 200 square miles in July of 2025.
Russia held territory = red/pink (Picture by the NYT)
Volodymyr Zelensky has also said that Russian forces are massing on the front lines of the Zaporizhzhia region, which Russia has claimed as its own. "We can see that they continue transferring part of their troops from the Kursk direction to Zaporizhzhia," (Khalil). Ukraine armed forces have struck a Russian oil refinery, and bloody fighting continues, but the front lines have not moved in the past months.
In conclusion, there have been plans for both Russia and Ukraine to try to come to an agreement, over a border, and over ending this war. For the past 10 years, there have been attacks from both sides upon the other, and a full-scale invasion started in 2022. The most recent event was a drone strike over the Ukraine capital, and August 21, 2025, and there are many places that are open for a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky, of Ukraine, and President Vladimir Putin, of Russia.
Russia held territory = red/pink (Picture by the NYT)
Dictionary terms
Cede - give up
Fraught - a course of action likely to result in something undesirable
Indivisible - Unable to be divided or separated
Inviolable - never to be broken, infringed, or dishonored
Works Cited
Abraham, Leanne. “Ukraine Maps: A Look at Russia's Territorial Advances and Border Demands.” The New York Times, 19 August 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/08/19/world/europe/ukraine-russia-frontline-maps.html. Accessed 22 August 2025.
BBC News, and Hafsa Khalil. “Russia launches biggest wave of strikes on Ukraine for weeks.” 21 August 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62wj8yje2eo. Accessed 22 August 2025.
“A Timeline of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict.” U.S. News & World Report, 18 March 2025, https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/slideshows/a-timeline-of-the-russia-ukraine-conflict. Accessed 22 August 2025.
Simon Story is a 11th grader at Poudre High School, and this is his first year with the Poudre Press. The column he is working on is about war. He is not currently involved in any school activities, but he has interests in filming, video games, and reading. Some of his plans for post-graduation are either going into a trade, or doing something in the food industry, or in IT.
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