War on the World

Since 2014, the war between Ukraine and Russia has been ongoing. Though it settled down for some time, it sparked back up in 2022, when Nations sent aid and held conferences in hopes of stopping the war. The New York Times states that the total number of Ukrainian and Russian troops killed and wounded is near 500,000. Russia, outnumbering Ukraine on the battlefield, has raised the age limit for men to be considered to join the army, “And should Russia decide to mobilize more people, its larger population could quickly overwhelm Ukrainian reserves of manpower.” (NYT) “Across Ukraine, in big cities and rural villages, almost everyone knows a family that has lost someone in the fighting.”(NYT)

In an interview with New York Times, Former Pentagon official Dr. Evelyn Farkas said  “Ukraine is a democracy, so the loss of lives could have greater political impact, but even in an autocracy, Vladimir Putin knows that public sentiment can make a difference.”

In 1946, a year after the Holocaust, Palestine accepted the Jews and gave them a place to stay. Since then, the war over who owns the land has been ongoing. (Al Jazeera). Since the Hamas incursion on October 7th, nearly 1,200 Israelis have been killed and 5,431 injured. (Statista). In response, Israel raided The West Bank and Gaza and since then, 42,344 Palestinians have been killed, and 99,013 injured. As Christmas and Hanukkah near, the Palestinian Christian Community worry on where to take shelter as Gaza’s oldest Greek Orthodox Church was bombarded by the IDF in 2023. The Times of Israel states that “Some Jews who oppose the war are using the holiday to call attention to their cause. A group called Rabbis for Ceasefire is holding a Hanukkah candle-lighting in New York City on the first night of the holiday,” To settle their differences, the United Nations have been attempting many peace plans. “In 1947, the UN adopted Resolution 181, which called for the partition of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states, handing over about 55 percent of the land to Jews.” (ALJ). This year, they proposed a permanent ceasefire which was rejected by Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s Prime Minister.

Since the 1600’s, Taiwan has been struggling to claim its independence. Taiwan is a small Island off the coast of China, between Japan and The Philippines. In 1644, Dutch forces invaded Taiwan in hopes of taking control, but were driven out by the Ming Dynasty of China who established authority over the Island. Despite Taiwan’s small size making them vulnerable, they refuse to accept defeat. The National Interest says, “Economically, Taiwan’s higher living standards than mainland China’s make Taiwanese people believe that their institutions are superior,” explaining Taiwan’s set belief to be independent. In October of 2024, China decided to hold military drills near Taiwan’s waters as a warning after the island’s President, Lai Ching-Te, made a speech rejecting Beijing’s claim over Taiwan. China’s exercises risk raising tensions with the United States, whose support for Taiwan has been clear through their dependence on Taiwan’s supply chains, technology, and education.