The state of international affairs is indeed perilous. Over the last two years, two major conflicts have escalated on two continents. In early 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine, bringing armed conflict back to the European Continent for the first time since 1945. Around half a million lives are estimated to have already been lost in the bloody conflict in eastern Europe. In early 2022, Russia made rapid gains after invading the country in the east and the northern areas. But after taking ground and even beginning to besiege major cities, the offensive stalled. Eventually, Russia pulled out of the northern area of the country and fully focused on the eastern portion of the nation. The war has largely stalemated for over a year along this large swath of territory.
The war has been especially hard on many slavs in the region. Russia and Ukraine are closely related in language and in culture, and the sectional conflict is quite upsetting for many in both countries. While Russia has not been able to achieve the swift, decisive victory they had hoped, the war has become one of attrition, and Russia certainly enjoys many more resources and more manpower than Ukraine. In a recent U.S. intelligence estimate, some 315,000 Russians are estimated to have been deemed casualties in the conflict. The veracity of this report is unknown, but it is known that the war is not achieving much of anything for either side and further fighting only continues to cause diplomatic relations in Europe to become more tense. Russia and Vladimir Putin see the conflict as a way to defend the borders of Russia from the encroachment of NATO.
Ukrainian officials recently released a report that claimed that Russia has lost over 5,000 troops and 53 ranks in a single week in early January. Kyivs estimated that Russia had been losing about 600 soldiers weekly since the start of the conflict.