Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is causing chaos for civilians. Russian forces rampage and bombard Ukraine as Ukrainian military forces hold them off from the capital of Kyiv.  

It has been three weeks since Russia first began its invasion of Ukraine. Aerial bombardment, ground assaults, and deploying multiple raiding parties to invade the capital have been attempted as Russia tries to take the capital.  

“Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.  

World leaders and people are equally bewildered by how suddenly Russia began their invasion of Ukraine, it is clear Putin has been watching Ukraine closely and is attempting to bring them back into the Russian state. Ukrainian forces and civilians have spent the last three weeks defending and repelling Russian advances with support pouring in from other countries.  

“Ukraine never had a tradition of genuine statehood, from the very first steps they began to build their statehood on the denial of everything that unites us,” President Vladimir Putin said.  

 The conflict has become so harsh that even President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has joined his troops in defending Kyiv. Peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine have failed with 12 Russian diplomats being expelled from a meeting for allegedly attempting espionage.  

Russia demanded for the surrender of Mariupol on Monday, Ukraine denied their request despite citizens taking shelter from constant Russian bombardment with no food or water. Ukrainian causalities among citizens continues to rise as Russian forces continue to bomb residential areas, hospitals, and schools. 

“There was no need for an invasion of Ukraine, other than the fact that they just wanted the territory,” Economics and Government Teacher Mrs. Surojanie Walton said.  

The conflict in Ukraine is a disturbing slap to the face. However, an equally disturbing trend is taking place, concerning the young adults and teens of the world. The younger generation, instead of viewing the invasion as a terrifying display of war, has taken to laugh at the whole situation.  

“Part of it, is just their way of dealing with the crisis. Sometimes the best way to deal with things is in a twisted way; is to make fun of it,” Mrs. Walton said 

TikTok is a social media platform utilized by young adults and teens alike, to post videos ranging from informational videos to comedy skits and sketches. It has become something of a trend to make jokes about the increasingly dangerous situation in Ukraine. 

“I just think it is so sad like I saw a video of a girl riding a bike and she got shot, it is so upsetting and disturbing to watch,” Junior Sarah Regan Samadi said.  

Since the invasion began, young adults and teens have made it a trend to create jokes and videos revolving around the idea of a draft being put into effect. The videos garnered a massive number of views and likes online, leading to the trend becoming more prominent as the invasion worsens.  

“I feel like they don’t take this seriously, they think that Russia is just going to invade Ukraine and that it won’t progress into a bigger situation and then the draft actually happens,” Sophomore Joseph La Verda said.  

A common topic besides the invasion in these videos is the idea of a draft commencing and the military coming door to door to drag you to Ukraine. Even videos of people fantasizing about killing Russian soldiers, following a hypothetical draft, have joined the stream of videos disregarding the seriousness of the entire war.  

“It really sucks, the whole invasion is terrifying, and I think some people make videos to try and get attention and money from those online,” Joseph La Verda said 

It is common among these videos to also make fun of Russia’s president, Putin, and the war crimes; he has been committing against Ukraine in the last three weeks. The gravity of the crimes Russia has been committing against Ukraine has been lessened by the humorous status that young adults and teens branded them with. 

“And this is one of the ways that they react, they act out, it’s easier to make fun of it than to deal with the possible situation that I may be drafted, it’s scary,” Mrs. Walton said. 

It may seem cruel and disrespectful for them to look at the war in this light, but the war crimes Russia has been committing against Ukraine are growing. The gore and damage of the war is showing, with a lack of stable hospitals and shelters, a substantial number of Ukrainian refugees had to flee from their homes. 

“Russia is in the wrong in this, they have invaded a sovereign nation that had a democratically elected leader, there was no need for an invasion of Ukraine,” Mrs. Walton said.