Wednesday March 2,2022
Serving The Rio Hondo Community
Vol.64 Issue 1
Russia Invades Ukraine;
US Responds with Sanctions as the World Watches
Graphic by Jasmine Soria for El Paisano Media Lorenzo Arce Copy Editor
lorenzo.arce1393@my.riohondo.edu
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n the morning of February 24, President Vladimir V. Putin announced Russian troops are undertaking what he calls “special military action” across Ukraine. This is the largest invasion of any European country since WW2 and is expected to have long lasting repercussions throughout the world. Cities such as Odessa, Sumy, Kharkiv have come under heavy artillery fire or captured as streams of refugees flee to neighboring countries such as Hungary and Poland. Russian tanks have been spotted surrounding Chernobyl, the sight of an infamous nuclear disaster in 1986. According to Reuters, so far at least 70 people have been reported killed, 50 of them Ukrainian soldiers. However, the true extent of the carnage may not be known since images of Russian incinerator trucks to dispose of dead bodies have been seen in captured cities. Some Ukrainian government internet servers have been hacked; leading many to worry over future Russian electronic warfare tactics. One incident in the Black Sea captured on audio and footage has gained social media attention. Defiant Ukrainian Border guards say, “… go f*** yourself” to a Russian warship that then kills all thirteen soldiers on Snake Island. A Ukrainian soldier live-streamed the moment a ballistic missile decimated him and his outpost.
Putin claims Russia seeks to “demilitarize” and “denazify” Ukraine and to put an end to what he claims to be Kyiv’s eight years of “persecution” and “genocide.” Putin is referencing the fact a sizable portion of Ukrainians initially welcomed or helped Nazi Germany during WW2. While many more Ukrainians fought against Nazism, some felt a greater resentment towards the Soviet Union and hoped to gain national independence and a better quality of life through cooperation with Germany. Putin feels because of Ukraine’s past collaboration they are an illegitimate Nazi puppet state. He also sees Ukraine’s attempt at becoming a NATO member a threat to Russia’s security. Putin also made baseless claims about mass genocide of Russian citizens by Ukrainians in the Donbas region, a part of Ukraine that broke away and was annexed by Russia. The world has reacted sharply to the Russian invasion. The United States as well as several European Nations have announced the strictest sanctions ever imposed on Russia and Putin himself. The sanctions will freeze over 80% of the banking assets in the country and also affect Belarus, a close ally of Russia. President Joe Biden has also discussed barring Russia from one of the largest secure international banking systems, SWIFT, which would stop Russia from completing transactions with other nations. Putin has also faced backlash from within Russia.
Thousands of mostly young people gathered in Pushkinskaya Square in Moscow to protest their country's invasion of it’s neighbor. Russian authorities immediately responded by clearing the square and detaining 600 protestors. Thousands of other protesters have been arrested throughout sporadic demonstrations around Russia. The Kremlin released a statement saying its citizens “do not have the right to organize protest actions" without government permission.
Putin claims-“Whoever
tries to interfere with us, and even more so to create threats to our country, to our people, should know that Russia's response will be immediate and will lead you to such consequences as you have never experienced in your history.” Biden has ordered 7,000 troops to be deployed to Europe, but not to Ukraine itself. US troops will act in a defensive role to support other NATO soldiers. Military aid has flooded into Ukraine during the past few months from across NATO to bolster their defenses. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky banned all 18-60-yearold men from leaving the country to be ready for conscription into the armed forces.
Gas Prices Continue to Rise
Beatriz Martinez
Reporter beatriz.martinezortiz0021@my.riohondo.edu
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alifornia ranks first nationally for having the highest gas price reaching a record $4.82 per gallon on February 24. While the Golden State is known for consistently higher gas prices than other states across the country, the prices hit in recent weeks have Californians hurting their pocketbooks every time they go to the pump. This alarming increase is because the price of a barrel of crude has now reached $99.50, the highest price since 2014, which has caused gasoline to increase by a total of 13.2 cents according to the AAA. Experts and analysts also warn that gasoline will rise to six dollars per gallon by next month or even sooner. Added to all this is the difficult and complex situation between Russia and Ukraine. Russia is the world's largest producer of crude oil, which explains why this conflict is shaking the markets, and if Russia continues to move troops into Ukraine, the economic situation will worsen. The US government has declared itself against this situation and has stressed that it will continue to sanction Russia for invading Ukraine and causing these gas increases to affect the US economy. “I’m going to take robust action to make sure the pain of our
sanctions is targeted at the Russian economy, not ours.” President Biden said during a news conference at The White House last Tuesday. Although the government has not disclosed the next steps to be taken to deal with this situation, they assure that stopping this crisis and relieving the pain of Californians for gasoline is critical. The high demand for gasoline in recent weeks has also affected prices and the possible cause of this is that now many of the restrictions imposed by the government due to the pandemic have been lifted and the population sees in this an opportunity to go out and consume more compared to when these restrictions were still valid. Gasoline consumption compared to 2020 has consistently outpaced production as several refineries are switching to renewables, and the high inflation experienced in recent months not only affects the price of gasoline but also the basket of goods and other essentials for the entire community. Now more than ever it is important to know how to save gasoline, and vehicle maintenance is one of the main ones, changing the oil at the right time, periodically checking, and changing the air and oil filters easily helps save gasoline. Also, trying not to make long trips and combining trips is the best option.