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Some things that I learned from the session today was about how the conflict goes a lot deeper than just the current war we are currently hearing. Going all the way back to when the USSR was a thing and how there are two views on it. Some people think that Ukraine should be apart of Russia and some people think they should be independent. Some say that they are one people when they have two different cultures, but some people make the claim that they have the same culture. Everyone views differently between the Ukraine and Russia involvement with each other.

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The second class i further developed my understnading of the conflict. I realized that the conflict is a lot older than I thought. Additionally, I also learned through the readings that there is a good amount if Ukrainians that are for Russia, as a good percentage of people believe that what happened in 2014 was an illegal milliaty coup that was assisted and influenced by the west.

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I think the way ukraine and russia clashing gives a new view on everything dives in with the way russia is taking over them for money because they want all the power it really connected with me because by ukraine losing all of that money they lost they were not able to repair everything that was destroyed and lost because it looked like the people there were poor after seeing the video watched in class.

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There was a lot that stood out to me today. A lot of convestation became about the economy and how Russia was a major investor in russia. Now it is on NATO and Ukranian allies to help fund the war, I also think it would be better to try and end it rather than fund a war where the longer it goes on the less or Ukraine there is to help. It also came up with how deep rooted the conflict is and how it's not just between Russia and Ukraine but NATO allies and allies of russia. I also like the reference to Greek mythology as a way of showing the differing Ideas

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Throughout my discussions with my peers we talked about how much overall division there is happening surrounding this tragedy. Because of this division that is occurring there is very little stability, so coming up with a solution to end this war will be harder. The conflict has deep roots, and goes back many years. So in order for this conflict to come to an end and to find a resolution, government leaders and the people will have to put their differences aside so this tragedy can come to an end, because once this tragedy comes to an end Ukraine can start rebuilding and become a prosperous country.

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It's very scary to realize that history is written by the winners. The main question at the end is who will pay the debts at the end. There is a feeling of hopelessness and heaviness after the lesson materials. After realizing how closely everything is connected, it is scary to realize what will happen next. People that used to be friends have split into different sides. Families that used to be families have fallen apart. And the trauma that will be for both countries is great. Because our children will remember that. You can't point fingers and cry that it's someone else's fault. Because everything that's happening now is just an accumulation of circumstances that happened and destabilized the world.

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I learned that overtime more and more countries have been helping Ukraine in efforts to keep the war contained. Not necessarily physical help always but we can see many sanctions have been put on Russia to help slower the attacks and it has been seen to work. More countries have also stepped up and not gave up their ground to Russia and what President Putin has to say about his fear tactics. I learned that if all the countries support in areas where support is needed a positive outcome will occur sooner rather than later.

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Today in class we watched a short video which illustrated the war between Russia and Ukraine, outlining how divided everyone is. Specifically, I learned more today about how this war is simply unjust and Putin’s reasoning behind the war is invalid and dishonest. Through the readings, we learned about the great sense of division in Ukraine, most notably between Western Ukraine (Ukrainian speaking) and Eastern Ukraine (Russian speaking). The vast amount of division was throughout the readings. Additionally, another reading discussed the economic state of Ukraine and some questionable decisions they have made with money. Ukraine used to receive lots of $ from Russia, although now that is nonexistent. Because of that, it is clear that Ukraine is relying deeply on their allies which include NATO.

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Based on what we read and watched today in class, I learned that one of Putin’s main reasons for invading Ukraine was to prevent NATO from expanding their influence and military strength. If Ukraine had successfully joined NATO, Putin and Russia would have to deal with the threat of an outside threat that borders their country. Many believe in Putin's context that he plans to “retake” Ukraine since Ukraine was once under soviet rule, but after a long period of civil war and unrest, Ukraine had gained independence from Russia, which essentially makes Ukrainians view Putin’s military operation as a blatant invasion of their homes.

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Some lessons I learned from the interview we watched in class is that there are multiple point of views within the Ukraine. Initially I believed that everyone in the Ukraine opposed Russian influence. The interview showed this was false and some invite the idea of Russia retaking the land the USSR lost. Also many in the Ukraine would like to reassert the dominance the USSR once had in the world. In the article we saw how the Southern part of Ukraine may actually not oppose Russia as much as the other regions. Due to these beliefs many there has not been a clear direction for the Ukraine and it is extremely difficult for them to forge their own identity.

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Today in class we covered a good piece of information. We watched a video with a timeline about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. I got some clarity while watching it. We also gathered in small groups to discuss our homework reading and it went pretty well. I got to hear other people's opinions. The group discussion helped me better understand details of the conflict and how it has evolved over time. I was really impressed by the reading and the statistics it had, I feel like it didn’t seem like it was the right information. Class went really well and I learned some new information that I never knew.

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Some lessons I learned that was interesting to me was that the conflict isn’t just 2 sided. This means that it isn’t just Ukraine and Russia but the rest of the world is involved as well. I also learned how every country that supported Ukraine overspent on their aid to try and help, but I believe that it just made it even worse than it should’ve been. Other then that todays class was great and it just keeps opening my understanding on the conflict.

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Todays class opened my eyes to a lot of new information. The video we watched definitely gave me some clarity on how the conflict evolved. I learned that there were many countries involved in helping Ukraine by sending aid. Also, I was shocked to hear about NATO's involvement in the conflict. Originally, I never knew that Ukraine tried to join NATO. I was more shocked to hear that Ukraine coudln't join NATO. The readings also gave me some understanding on the history parts of the conflict. Like mentioned in class, this conflict as deep domestic roots. Overall, todays class brought me new things to think about and understand.

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Some of the takeaways I learned from the circle discussions was how everyone focused on different parts, and it really shows how even us who are not involved have completely different views. Some mentioned that money was a huge factor, and I agree but I’m more focused on the money being taken not lost or used elsewhere. Another thing I took from the lesson is the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is more detailed and has history to it and wasn’t just randomly selected to be taken over first it was plan and organized by the Russians that owned very little of Ukraine which Is how they entered.

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The takeaways I received from this class was that the desire is world peace, but the way of getting it is far too complicated for that. There is so much division even in Ukraine alone when they should be united to try and find a solution against Russia. This tension has been building up for a long time and will continue to build up until one side is either completely destroyed or there is a middle ground met between the countries. Coming together and talking about that history and what is occurring now really helped strengthen my understanding of its background.

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Today we read a poem called Never Shall We Be Brothers! This explores the war happening in Ukraine and the myth of Russia and Ukraine being “brother” countries, which is not true. It is a dark poem about Ukraine's resilience against the Tsar and Soviet Union, and how Ukraine is a strong independent country. We also got some more context of the geographical impact it has all throughout Europe. NATO is the alliance between the western european countries as well as the US and Canada which has been trying to expand towards the east, taking old Russian influenced countries. Ukraine wanted to join NATO which sparked tensions between Russia and Ukraine. I learned that this is not only a Ukraine issue, but other countries as well. Most NATO countries supported Ukraine by sending a budget to help solidify its defense, which only intensified the issue.

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Today I’ve learned about Russia’s longstanding imperialist ideologies and how they shape the way it interacts with the rest of the world and the deep political divide within Ukraine. The many external factors that continued to worsen Ukraine’s domestic and international relations were as much a cause of the war as Russia’s aggression and Ukraine’s own troubled identity was. I still have questions about how there came to be such an even split in Ukraine’s view on Russia among its citizens compared to the other post-USSR countries.

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During this session I learned how much influence the country of Russia has on Ukraine, during the texts we saw some examples of how Russia keeps having a negative impact on things like the election or a Ukrainian everyday life. But at the same time it's unfair to just point fingers and Russia more like to understand the causes and the externalities of each country. since this war is old and built on ancient times. Many multiple parties caused this. Also during this session there was a more of clearer idea on the timeline with the video at the beginning.