The Russia-Ukrainian war has been going on since 2021 but there was a big development in the war occurring recently as President Trump kicked president Zelenskyy out of the White House due to debates over aid for the country in the middle of a war. While Zelensky has made it clear he would like to make amends with the United States, it still complicates foreign relations going forward.
Social studies teacher Matthew Barker sheds some light on the current situation between Ukraine and Russia, and the United States’ role in it.
“The war has been going on for three years now,” Barker said. “It spanned the Joe Biden and now Donald Trump administration. The Biden administration clearly took a stance against what they saw as an invasion. The current administration has taken a traditional adversary and made them an ally.”
Barker explains how this meeting differs from the usual.
“The very continuous meeting was pretty unusual and we have not seen that kind of behavior in a while from a world leader that we are kind of on the same side of,” Barker said. “It kind of makes you wonder if our tone or what side we are on has changed.”
Barker talks about the fluidity of alliances between countries.
“If you look at the long view of world history, alliances change, it’s interesting,” Barker said. “We live in the modern digital age where we have so much at our fingertips. I wonder if this is something that has happened all the time and we didn’t realize how slippery those alliances are.”
Louis Stoyanov (11) expresses frustration at the way the current administration is handling the Russia-Ukraine war.
“I saw a clip of it, and they were yelling at him for stuff that is such a technicality for when you’re in war, and it’s like, he seemed completely disconnected rather than let Zelenskyy speak about what he wanted and needed,” Stoyanov said.
While it’s a very complicated situation as a whole, one thing is clear from the recent White House meeting: Our country is changing rapidly. Our friends are becoming our enemies and vice versa. The countries we have long viewed to be allies are quickly cooling on us, particularly Canada and Mexico, with threats of tariffs looming over their heads. And of course, Ukraine, with our hot tempered response towards them during their last White House meeting. No matter how you feel about America’s current foreign stances, there is no doubt that this will have a major impact on foreign relations for years to come.
