After weeks of military buildup and “exercises” on its border, February 24, Russia officially launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, shocking the world and inflicting terror on millions of Ukranian citizens, civilains and military personnel alike, and hurling the two nations into the first war Europe has seen in decades.

The attacks began in the eastern Ukrainian territory of Donbas.

Following the start of the invasion, Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, declared martial law in Ukraine and cut all diplomatic ties with Russia. He has even gone so far as to declare this invasion, “a declaration of war against the whole of Europe.”

Now, approximately four weeks deep into the war, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has made no move to ease any war conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, despite the constant targeting of Ukrainian civilians, which is a war crime under the Geneva Convention.

Since the beginning of the invasion, it is estimated that at least 15,000 lives have been taken, 3.2 million people displaced, and $119 billion in damage. As of March 14, it is estimated that nearly 600 of the fatalities were civilian lives.

People all across the world have pretty much unanimously sided with the victim Ukrainians and are demanding their leaders to take action in defense of Ukraine, although no such actions have been taken other than donating military and humanitarian aid as well as increasing the number of soldiers deployed to nations surrounding Ukraine.

These soldiers are instructed to stay out of the conflicts but to be on alert for further attacks potentially on their own territory.

The only countries to side with Russia and their president Vladimir Putin are Belarus, China, Syria, India, and South Africa; although China and India have not outrightly spoken in support of Russia, it is assumed so by the majority of the world because of past alliances and economic ties.

It is believed that Putin's sole desire for starting this war has been, according to NBC News, “reordering the post-Cold War consensus in Europe,” meaning that Russia looks to take back the now-Ukrainian territory that was split from them with the end of the Cold War and the ultimate fall of the Soviet Union.

Putin has previously made claims that Ukraine is “not a country,” and that Russians and Ukrainians are “one people—a single whole.”

Sadly, no immediate resolution to the fighting is apparent, and only time will tell if peace can be restored.