With more than 175,000 Russian troops’ military equipment positioned at the Ukrainian border early Wednesday morning, the long-anticipated invasion commenced at the order of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The tense standoff ended as Russian troops proceeded into eastern Ukraine toward the capital.
President Biden’s administration has been closely watching Russia’s agenda for Ukraine since late last year. Ten days prior to the invasion, Biden warned Putin that the United States and its allies would respond “decisively and impose swift and severe costs” on Russia should they decide to proceed with the invasion.
Putin broadcasted threats of his own minutes before the chaos ensued.
“Whoever tries to interfere with us, and even more so, to create threats for our country, for our people should know that Russia’s response will be immediate and will lead you to such consequences that you have never experienced in your history,” warned Putin.
The arrival of another European war is imminent, but what has yet to be revealed is the certainty that U.S. soldiers will not be deployed into Ukraine.
This evening, several activist groups collaborated and organized a ‘Say No to War’ protest at Cascades Park.
Tallahassee-based activist groups: Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC), Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), Tallahassee Democratic Socialists of America (TDSA), and Food Not Bombs Tallahassee (FNB) gathered to express their grievances about potential war with Russia and to aid Ukraine.
Regina Joseph, 28, an FRSO demonstrator, believes that the U.S. government has prioritized other countries’ issues above the unresolved troubles currently hindering American citizens.
“I’ve seen time and time again how the U.S. doesn’t care about black people or brown people or poor working-class people,” said Joseph. “So, I find that it’s very odd for us to flame the fans of war and try to go to Ukraine.”
Local activist and organizer for Tally CAC, Delilah Pierre, explained that even though the current reality for Ukrainians is “horrible,” she doubts that the U.S. will intentionally do anything to help them.
“I think that it’s pretty consistently proven that every time the United States intervenes in a war, their purpose isn’t to give humanitarian aid, but to prop up their own profit and resources,” said Pierre.
The protest was held at the Korean War Memorial, which took 33,686 U.S. soldiers’ lives. Former President Truman ordered U.S. forces to fight in South Korea to “send a message that the U.S. will contain communism and come to the aid of their allies.”
Alex Carson, 21, a demonstrator and member of FRSO, also contributed to the organization of the protest. Carson is particularly passionate about this war because he describes himself as an “anti-imperialist and Marxist-Leninist.”
“It is my responsibility to be up to date on the actions of the U.S. when the U.S. is planning to invade and plunder other countries,” said Carson.