During Russia-Ukraine Conflict, Black People Discuss Possibility of World War III 

A photo from the first moments of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. (Courtesy of Twitter user _DeFiDegan/WIONews.com)

The Russian invasion of Ukraine started in February, and the fighting has been ongoing since then.  Many Americans do not want the United States to get involved with this war. They feel that if other countries join the fight, this war will become World War III.

For retired Civil Air Patrol Colonel Richard Cooper, in today’s world where many countries have advanced technology and nuclear weapons, a world war would be much more dangerous and cause many more casualties. 

“World War III would throw the world into chaos because there would be nuclear weapons involved,” Cooper said. “I think no one can win a nuclear war. If anyone launches nuclear weapons this way [in the west], we will be sending nuclear weapons back that way. I think nuclear war is suicide.”

As of late April, the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has confirmed more than 5,000 civilian casualties. Russia recently bombed a steel plant in the city of Mariupol where hundreds of Ukranians have been sheltering. Now many are being evacuated. 

 The Ukrainian military began taking out Russian tanks one by one.  In mid-April, Ukraine sank one of Russia’s military ships. Meanwhile Russia also made attempts to take over the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and failed; Russia underestimated Ukraine’s defense system. In February, Palki Sharma Upadhyay of online news program Gravitas Plus said that Russia wants to take over Ukraine’s land and rule it with imperialism. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin hinted at not wanting Ukraine to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).  If Ukraine joins NATO they will be a part of their military alliance, and their country will be protected, in a way; it will also make Putin’s invasion harder. 

If any other country sent their troops to fight alongside Ukraine against Russia, this could turn into a nuclear world war because many nations now have nuclear weapons. China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States have around 13,000 nuclear warheads in total, according to the Arms Control Association.

The last nuclear bomb to be dropped was during World War II when the United States dropped two atomic bombs in Japan, one on Hiroshima and another on Nagasaki, Japan.  These two bombs killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people in total. 

If several countries started launching nuclear weapons at each other, this would destroy the world. Nuclear warfare would produce large amounts of radiation and contaminate the atmosphere, air, water, and food supply.  

 However, it hasn’t gotten to this point. Instead, the Russians are trapping Ukrainian civilians inside the country.  Domenic Lewis, musician and music arranger said he feels that the bombing and violence is horrible and clearly deliberate. 

“You see the systematic way of how the Russians are destroying bridges and hospitals and universities first, then bombing more buildings such as factories, banks to destroy their economy,” Lewis said. “If U.S. troops stepped foot in Ukraine, I think Russia would use this as an excuse to retaliate against the United States and its allies.” 

 Putin was a part of the Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti (KGB) for 15 years. The KGB was an intelligence, and a security agency in Russia, which existed from 1954 to 1991. They controlled the people of Russia, and did not want Russian civilians to adopt western concepts. The KGB closely surveilled the citizens and kept an iron grip on socialist society and government operations.

Some people fear that as long as this war continues, there will be more Russian and Ukrainian casualties. Antiwar advocates have encouraged American voters to help prevent this war from escalating by electing politicians who support peace.

Meanwhile, there have also been discussions about whether Putin and his government are acting in the world’s best interest by not using their superpower nuclear arsenal. 

Marcia Jackson, a Jamaican IPN nurse who has lived in the United States for 21 years, said she thinks Putin lacks empathy.  

“From a nurse’s point of view, anyone who believes in war is selfish. Putin’s upbringing was not learning how to resolve conflict,” Jackson said. “He could have gone about his business with Ukraine in a different way. Innocent people should not have to pay for a disagreement that Russia has with NATO. Putin could have sanctioned Ukraine instead.”