On February 24, 2022, Russia's President, Vladimir Putin, gave the green light for his military to conduct what they called, a "Special Military Operation." In reality, it turned out to be a full scale invasion of their slavic neighbor, Ukraine. What the Kremlin thought would be an easy weekend excursion to remove the head-of-state from Kyiv, turned out to be a bloody war of attrition.
After over a year of war, there are currently over 14 million Ukrainians who have been displaced. Six million of them have fled to neighboring countries. Thousands of citizens have been confirmed killed by Russian missiles and shelling, many of them being children. These are only confirmed figures but the death toll could be dramatically higher in the south and east of Ukraine, however, due to active fighting, it will be impossible to further estimate numbers until Ukraine reclaims more of its territory.
Many nations have begun to provide large economic stimulus packages, humanitarian assistance and military aid to keep Ukraine functional for its people and so that Kyiv may continue to stand up to Moscow. Mass demonstrations are taking place globally, and there are many new reputable nonprofits in which the average citizen may contribute to. Aside from attending gatherings, raising funds and even meeting with the office of my local congressman, I have produced images in which depict Ukrainian girls wearing traditional dress. These images may contrast what you see of Ukrainians in the media because there is mostly coverage of destruction and war but despite all this, they continue to have large glowing spirits in which cannot be pacified. They love their home and what they stand for. So we honor Ukrainian patriotism with the photos on this page.
