fgazette.com Community news site for Union Parish Louisiana
By: Tuffy Fields
Five years ago, China was hosting the Olympics. The President of China asked the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, to not invade Ukraine until after the Olympics were completed. He did wait and then invaded with ferocity. Putin had telegraphed exactly what he was going to do and then did it and everyone stood by and watched just as it had done when Russia had earlier invaded Crimea. The world was once again going to stand by and do little to stop the invasion just as it had done when German invaded Poland in World War II. This time it was different as Ukraine valiantly fought back. Then President Biden offered free passage for Zelenski to go into exile. A defiant Zelenski declined and said he would stay with his country. A sign of bravery that every freedom loving man and woman should aspire to. Everyone thought the war would end in two weeks; everyone except the Ukrainians.
As of November 2026, the war between Russia and Ukraine remains one of the most significant armed conflicts in Europe since World War II. Now in its fifth year since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, the conflict continues to involve intense fighting along a lengthy front line, large-scale missile and drone attacks, and ongoing diplomatic efforts aimed at achieving a ceasefire.