CNN Article – “20 Questions: What is Russia’s Interests in Ukraine”
1. In what southern region of Ukraine is there strong support for Russia? What happened there over the weekend? How did the U.S. respond? How did Russia address this issue? (CNN)
2. What unique challenges might face a nation like Ukraine, whose people are deeply divided about their country’s future? Can you think of potential diplomatic solutions to the situation there? In your view, should the international community get involved? If so, to what extent? If not, why not? (CNN)
3. In what different ways might residents respond to a mandatory evacuation of their homes? Why do you think some choose to stay? What risks might they face if they do so? (CNN)
Riceville High School 
I think the reason why people didn’t leave there homes was because they over predicted the storm and they thought it was going to be a major deal but these people didn’t believe them so they stayed there and wanted to protect there home and make sure nobody would come into their home and steal their stuff while they were gone I think that they all should have left when they had the chances to get out safely
1. Crimea. Russian troops invaded Crimea. The US said that there are no options off the table to handle the situation.
2. I think that Ukraine should have to solve the problem themselves. Everything just gets chaotic and turns into a showoff when more countries get involved. They pretty much take a small problem and then the whole world thinks that they need to get involved to “help”.
3. Some people might not have anywhere else to go or just think that it’s not necessary. I wouldn’t want someone telling me I had to leave my house, I’d leave when I felt it was necessary. There are obvious risk if people decide to stay otherwise there probably would not have been a mandatory evacuation. There are also risks in leaving too though. People’s houses and belongings are vulnerable to thieves and traveling to leave the area could also be pretty dangerous.
The country in the southern half of Ukraine is Crimea. Russia invaded Crimea over the weekend without Ukraine’s knowledge. The US is still deciding on what to do if anything goes wrong. Russia wanted Ukraine to surrender or else they will invade more of Ukraine.
Russia is in strong support of kiev. The russian army moved into 3 military bases in the ukraine. The US said that we are not taking any options off the table and russia said there are not afraid of anybody.
1. There is strong support for the Russian’s in the eastern part of Ukraine and as well as Crimea. Over this weekend, over 6,000 Russian soldiers were put in Ukraine to try and minimize the the chaos happening in Ukraine. Many believe that it is a declaration for war from Russia. The U.S. responded saying that anything is still a possibility of happening. Russia said it was just a precaution but will be ready for anything.
1. The region Crimea has a lot of Russians or people of Russian descent living there. That’s why a lot of people in that region want to be closer to Russia than to the rest of Europe. Russian troops invaded that region over the weekend, blocking off the area and taking over some of the facilities there. The US responded to all this by calling out Russia. The US is also meeting with other world powers to try to peacefully end this. They don’t want to take military action. Russia doesn’t feel threatened by any responses. They feel that controlling Crimea is worth any penalties or sanctions.
1. Crimea, ambassador to the United Nations warned Russia against any further violation of its territorial borders, they urged Russia to pull back but they invaded anyways. Obama said any violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity would be “deeply destabilizing, and he warned them that the US would stand by the whole time.
I think one of the unique situations is the Ukraine could get split in half since half wants to go to the EU and the other half wants to go to Russia. Some of the diplomatic solutions would be to split in half. They also could vote on who wants to side with Russia or go to the EU. I don’t the any other countries should get involved because thats their own problems and they have to deal with it just like the US deals with most of their own problems.
1.) It’s an area called Crimea. Russian troops were sent to this part of Ukraine. The U.S. said that there may be some potential problems with Russian forces entering Ukraine.
2.) Civil war on top of another war due to divided beliefs. I think that they should just split the country in two and let the people live where they would like. I think the only reason other countries should get involved is so that there is no major lash-out or war, and to make sure that no one gets unnecessarily attacked.
3.) Their patriots or loyalists would refuse the evacuations and demand to stay in their houses. They might be too proud, stubborn, or they could just be pacifists. If they did not listen to the mandatory evacuation they may be arrested or even killed.
3.) Some residents wouldn’t leave because they might want to protect their homes or their valuables. Some would get out as soon as they can! I think some of them choose to stay because they’re too stubborn. If they didn’t leave they could get stuck or even die, possibly.
2. I think it will be tough for Ukraine to reach one solution. With the country divided so deeply, I think that the best option would be for Ukraine to split into two countries. That way, the eastern portion can be more like Russia, even combining with them if they choose. The western portion can become closer with the European nations. I think it is dangerous for the international community to get involved. If we aren’t careful, we could start another world war due to everyone’s alliances and friendships with other countries.
Looking at similar situations, like North and South Korea, could this possibly end up worsening the situation for a longer period of time?
Yes, because we(the United States) are playing war games in Korea as a whole it is possible that Russia could play war games in Crimea or Ukraine which in a way they are right now.
I think that the two sides will always be arguing and disagreeing. But with so many other countries and world powers involved and watching the situation, I don’t think either side would ever take military action and risk starting a world war.
1. The part of Ukraine that has many people of Russian ethnicity. Russian forces entered the Ukraine. Threatened to freeze some of Russia’s assets. Russia reacted by saying they would not sell their oil.
2.No matter what they decide for a government, not everyone could be happy since they are so divided. The people of Ukraine would need to find a compromise to make everyone in the country happy. I think that Ukraine should settle this by themselves, without Russia’s involvement or influence.
3. They won’t like being forced out of their own houses. They don’t believe in the cause of the Russians invading their country. They could be thrown in prison for not complying or even executed.
3. I wouldn’t want to leave my house unless it was absolutely necessary. Some choose to stay because they don’t think there is any danger. But if they stay and there is a mudslide, they could be killed.
I think that Ukraine should have to solve the problem themselves. That way everything doesn’t get chaotic and turns into a showoff when more countries get involved and then lead into a big fight which will soon end up into a war and we don’t need to get into debt and cause our country bigger financial issues then what we are already have. They are pretty much taking this small problem and blowing up what they think is right and the the media catches hold of it and expands it and makes it way worse and then it offends people and makes our country hurt then the way it should be.
2. I believe that if this type of thing goes any further that they will start to divide into two countries. They will be just like Germany in the mid 1900’s. There will be an east and a west and a very big wall to split them. A diplomatic way of solving this is to have a meeting of some sort to work out the differences. I do think that the international community should get involved but only when they are still far away from an agreement, or if the fighting causes harm to other countries.
1. The Crimea region of Ukraine I believe strongly supports Russia. Russia approved military force in Ukraine this weekend and Ukraine responded by saying “any invasion into its territory would be illegitimate.” The US warned them that if they got into a war that the US would get involved. Russia basically said that they would kill us.
2. I think that Ukraine should be punished and shouldn’t seek any help. They are the ones that got themselves in the situation so they should have to pay for it. I think some of the challenges they are going to face are getting help from other countries. I think that countries like the US are going to back off and not help. So I don’t think others should get involved, they should let Ukraine address this issue on their own.
1. Crimea is the souther region of Ukraine most of the people in Crimea speak Russian. russia mobilized troops and moved them into the area. The United States said any militaristic use in Ukraine will have consequences. Russia responded by saying they are protecting the Russian speaking people in Ukraine.
2. Ukraine might have to change their type of government or later end up splitting up to different countries as East or West it is hard to say so far. If they have a senate they could have a parliament decide how to trade with other governments or they could sign a treaty of a 50/50 equal trade to other countries. I believe the international community should try and set sanctions on Ukraine to try and halt any tensions between more countries getting involved. Sanctions should not be set that throw Ukraine under the bus even if they get out but if the people of Crimea are true Ukrainians they will want to solve things and find a “happy medium.”
3. People that are forced to leave their home might fight back against forces which will it will not be good. Some people will choose to stay because they have never been anywhere else and feel comfortable at their home. The chances of them and their house getting hurt or destroyed is possible which is not a good position to be in. If people stay they could possibly die or get hurt severely. They might not be able to be rescued for awhile so it would be better if they just left or rations might run out.
3. Some may obey and leave their homes behind because they feel like they are in danger and their lives is the only thing that matters. Some may not want to go because they feel like they aren’t in grave danger, or they don’t want to leave something valuable that they have. The people who stay risk being killed by the mudslides. They could also be isolated after the mudslides because everyone else left. Even after the threat is gone, the destruction could prevent help from reaching them for a long time.
I think that people would want to leave just in case mud slid into their home. I could see why they would want to stay because they might have been there a long time and don’t want to leave. They also might not anywhere else to go and just want to stay there. I think some of the risks would be either flooding or even mud coming into there homes.
The southeast part of Ukraine is in support with russia. There where talks about Russia moving into the southeast part of the Ukraine. The U.S said that if they were to invade Ukraine The U.S could take nothing off the table.
They could be like korea and be split into two different countries. I think that the people there will always have different views. I feel like the Ukraine should work this out by themselves and not get the rest of the world involved. If they were to get other countries involved they would have conflicts between even more countries.
If there was a mandatory evacuation people could either take only the essentials or they could take most of their possessions. I feel like some of them decided to say because they didn’t want to leave all their stuff behind. If they do not evacuate they could become trapped with limited food.
2. They would have to overcome the challenge of making everyone happy so that they wouldn’t start another riot. I think a solution to there problem might be just to split the country in half. For all those people that are Pro-Russia they can go that way and the ones who are against can go the other way. Then everyone would be happy and there wouldn’t be any need for a war. I think that the international community should avoid getting in so that they don’t start a war. I thin that the matter could be solved without war if people would be more realistic.
2. Ukraine could become a battle ground in time. There is no easy way to solve the situation and i don’t think the US should get involved its not our problem.
3. Most people will pry leave there home and evacuate but some people will stay because thats what they want to do and if they stay it could get really bad and they could be in trouble.
3. I think the residents having to be evacuated from their homes are going to be upset and scared, they don’t have any time to get all their stuff and wont know when they will be allowed back into their homes, so I imagine they are scared. Some people might prefer just to stay at their homes because they feel more safe their. Also they probably have children and family living with them and they wont want to be separated. For the people that do choose to stay home are putting themselves in immediate danger. They don’t know if it could get worse and they could get seriously hurt or even stranded. It is much more safe if everyone just got evacuated.
3. Many left because they did not want to be stuck in with all that mud and no way to get out. Many just took valuables that can’t be replaced and left. Others stayed because they might of thought, with so little rain and how fast it came down, that they wouldn’t have time to get out and would get stuck in the middle of a mudslide. As well as they thought that no harm would come to them in this mudslide. Some other risks are staying trapped inside of a house with little food or water for a long period of time.
1. Crimea. Ukraine’s leaders accused russia of declaring war. They haven’t decided on what to do.
2. Ukraine should just solve their problems on their own. They should just split and let people chose what way they want to go. I do not think that other countries should get involved because then it would be a big
3. Some probably wanted to leave their home so they would be safe but some didn’t want to leave because they didn’t want to leave their stuff behind.They would face the risk of death.
3. Some residents might not want to evacuate their home because they might think that they already made it through the fire so they can make it through “water”. Others might listen and do what they say and just leave for awhile and come back and clean up the mud if their stuff is still there. Which, I think it should be because the flow didn’t look strong enough to take down a whole house. If the people decided to stay the could have the risk of not being able to go anywhere to buy food and water. They could be stuck inside there house because the mud would be too thick to travel through. Which in turn would cause them to die of starvation and therefore the “mud” still killed them without even touching them.
The Crimea region of Ukraine I think is strongly supporting Russia. Russia has approved military force in Ukraine this weekend and Ukraine responded by saying any invasion into its territory would be illegitimate. The US warned them that if they got into a war that the US would get involved and they would just destroy them. Russia basically said that they would kill us trying to get the US to go into war so that they can get the higher power and be known as the best country with the most power is what I feel like them are trying to get us to do.
Crimea is the region where there is strong support for Russia because there is Russian people living there. Russia sent their troops to invade on Crimea. Russia tried to stop all the violence with Russian soldiers. The US hasn’t made a certain decision on what to do. All ideas are opened for discussion.
1. Crimea is the place where there is strong support for Russia. Russia approved the use of military force over the weekend which led to Armed men in military uniforms to walk around the Ukrainian base. The armed men also drove armored vehicles and trucks and surrounded the base so they couldn’t get out. The U.S responded by saying that nothing is out of the question if Russia doesn’t stop political violence. The Russians are enlarging their military and saying we are interfering.
2. It could turn into a civil war between the Ukrainians with some help from Russia and Europe. I think a political diplomatic solution would be to split Ukraine into a North and South or East and West. I don’t think the international community should get involved yet because Russia hasn’t done anything really bad yet but if they start attacking each other then everyone should join in to stop it. If not though we shouldn’t because nobody likes war.
3. Some people may not want to evacuate their homes because they feel like they may not be able to get their house back if it is washed away. This could be a very sentimental home for them that they have lived in for a long time so they may not want to leave. The risks they may face is they may get washed away and end up losing their life or valuable things to them.
There will be many challenges for Ukraine. They will have the challenge of deciding if they should go to war or find a different solution. I think the international community can stay out of it until the violence gets worse or other countries get harmed by the violence. One potential diplomatic solution I think would work is by voting. They would vote on if they should stay with Russia or be with Europe. They could build a wall, but it would have to be a little different than the Berlin Wall.
Some residents might say yes while some will say no. Many said yes because they didn’t want to deal with whats going on. People will choose to stay because that is the only reason they have. People might not have the money to move. They might not want to stay because they don’t want to leave their home and all of their valuable belongings. People who stay will face many risks. If the mudslides get worse, people will trapped in their houses. When they are trapped for so long, they won’t have much food and supplies later on.
1. 16,000 Russian troops had been deployed in the Crimea. Russian forces had used stun grenades against the Ukrainian soldiers and Ukrainian ships had been blocked by Russian naval vessels. The Russian Navy said that all Ukrainian forces in the area had to surrender by 5 a.m. on Tuesday or they would be faced a real assault.
2. Not everyone in Ukraine will be happy with what their government is going to do but I think they should try to solve things without getting violent with everyone. They will probably always be fighting and arguing about things and that happens all the time.
3. People wouldn’t want to be evacuated from their homes because they have been through every weather and land threat that has happened and they might not have any other place to go. In the other hand people might be okay with losing everything because they don’t really have anything to lose. If they don’t leave and it’s a mandatory evacuation they are putting their lives in danger and they could be putting their families in danger because they didn’t want to listen. Emergency crews might not be able to help them if something did happen and they were stuck in the middle of no where with nothing.
1. In Crimea there are strong ties with Russia. While it’s the complete opposite in the Western part of Ukraine. They have close ties with the EU, which causes conflict between the two regions. Over the weekend Russia approved the use of military force in Ukraine and sent troops into Crimea. Obama warned Russia that there will be severe consequences for taking action in Ukraine, which he did not approve of. Russia just brushed these warnings off their shoulders. Not fearful of any sanctions and punishments that will be handed their way.
2. The protests currently taking place in Ukraine cause challenges for their country. The people that make up Ukraine are separated in their beliefs in how the government should be handled. I believe Ukraine should allow the people to have more say in their government, so their ruler doesn’t hold too much power. The international community should get involved, so this doesn’t turn into a huge world war. Causing tons of deaths and countries getting involved when they could stop it by punishing Russia and Ukraine with sanctions.
3. People always respond differently to devastation. In this case it’s mudslides, which are taking place in California. They have been hit with so much this year I can understand why people wouldn’t want to leave during a mandatory evacuation. They are tired of staying places that aren’t their homes, so when they finally returned they expected to stay put, not up and leave again. On the other side of the spectrum it’s better to be safe than sorry. Things could take an ugly turn for the worse and you don’t want to be stranded when that happens. They could face injuries, or possible death.
1. There is strong support for Russia in Crimea. Russia sent troops into the region to take control of it. The United States believes that anything can happen and Russia may be getting ready for a war. Russia responded by saying they aren’t doing anything wrong but they do have interests in Ukraine.
2. I think that it will be hard for them to come to an agreement. Since the country is so divided, they will probably split up into two countries where they can each do what they want. I don’t think the international community should get involved because it could cause more tensions and may end up in another world war.
3. Some people may not have wanted to leave their homes because they didn’t think the rain and mud would hurt them. Some probably chose to stay because they didn’t want to leave all of their valuables at home and just didn’t want to leave. If they did stay there is a possibility that they will get trapped in their houses with little food or water because they won’t be able to leave with the mudslide taking place.