Summer 2023 Part 4

 

The War in Ukraine: One Year+ Later

It has been over one year since the war in Ukraine. Conservative and liberal Putin apologists have been exposed as being hypocrites. The reason is that they claim that Putin is a hero when executes anti liberty policies against even fellow Russian human beings. The war started with the Russian illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine. Russian government leaders doing this invasion have done a crime against international law. Putin's goal, as said in his own words, is to colonize Ukraine as Putin doesn't respect Ukraine as its own independent nation. Putin is not a progressive, but a far-right nationalist who has an authoritarian government. In Russia now, Russian dissidents are readily arrested, religious liberty is restricted, the freedom of the press is restricted, and innocent people are arrested all of the time. Many Russian Tsars and Stalin once colonized Ukraine. Therefore, the Ukrainian people deserve our solidarity and support to fight for democracy and freedom. Russia's invasion is part of imperialism (or the domination and exploitation of other locations by capitalist states). Putin made it clear that he wants to conquer Ukraine before the war started. Russian forces have raped civilians, used bombs on civilian targets (including churches and schools), and made many lies about Ukraine. We know that many Western/NATO forces are supporting Ukraine's resistance, not out of revolutionary reasons, but because they want to have imperialist influence in that region. NATO is complicit in the interventions of Libya, etc. We won't glorify NATO as a paragon of virtue. We must be clear to oppose Western imperialism and Russian imperialism. We support the right of the Ukrainian people to defeat Russian aggression so Ukraine can be its own independent nation. We support Russian dissidents in fighting for freedom in Russia. The war should end with Russian military forces ending their invasion of Ukraine period.

The Cold War Events

During ancient times, Ukraine was part of the Pontic steepe in Eastern Europe. Eurasians and other groups of people lived in the region. There as the spread of the Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages, Indo-European migrations, and the domestication of the horse. During ancient times, Ukraine was part of Scythia, which was settled by the Greuthungi, Getae, and early Slavic expansion. It was the home of the medieval state of the Kievan Rus. Later, Ukraine was part of many powers like the Golden Hore, the Crimean Khanate, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. Later, Russia ruled Ukraine for a time.  The Ukrainian nationalist movement developed in the 19th century. Ukraine had its own civil war from 1917 to 1921. It was part of the Warsaw pact later on being with the U.S.S.R. as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on December 30, 1922. There was the brutal famine in Ukraine when millions of the people of Ukraine (mostly peasants) starved to death called the holodomor. About 6 to 8 million people died from hunger in the Soviet Union, including 4 to 5 million Ukrainians. Axis armies occupied Ukraine from 1941 to 1944. During World War II, many elements of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army fought for Ukrainian independence against Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Other elements immorally collaborated with the Nazis assisting them in carrying out the Holocaust in Ukraine and their oppression of Polish people. Ukraine became an independent nation again when the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991.

 

The Transistional Period

On December 1, 1991, voters approved a referendum formalizing independence from the Soviet Union. Over 90% of Ukrainian citizens voted for independence, with majorities in every region, including 56% in Crimea. The Soviet Union formally ceased to exist on December 26, 1991, when the presidents of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia (the founding members of the USSR) met in Białowieża Forest to formally dissolve the Union in accordance with the Soviet Constitution. With this, Ukraine's independence was formalized de jure and recognized by the international community. After Ukraine's independence in 1991, there was a transition to a market economy. Ukraine suffered an eight year recession. Later, the economic system of Ukraine grew its GDP growth until it plunged during the Great Recession. Also on December 1, 1991, Ukrainian voters in their first presidential election elected Leonid Kravchuk. During his presidency, the Ukrainian economy shrank by more than 10% per year (in 1994 by more than 20%). The presidency (1994–2005) of the 2nd President of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma, was surrounded by numerous corruption scandals and the lessening of media freedoms, including the Cassette Scandal. During Kuchma's presidency, the economy recovered, with GDP growth at around 10% a year in his last years in office. 

In 2004, Kuchma announced that he wouldn't run for re-election. Two major candidates emerged in the 2004 presidential election. Viktor Yanukovych, the incumbent Prime Minister, supported by both Kuchma and by the Russian Federation, wanted closer ties with Russia. The main opposition candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, called for Ukraine to turn its attention westward and aim to eventually join the EU. In the runoff election, Yanukovych officially won by a narrow margin, but Yushchenko and his supporters alleged that vote rigging and intimidation cost him many votes, especially in eastern Ukraine. A political crisis erupted after the opposition started massive street protests in Kyiv and other cities ("Orange Revolution"), and the Supreme Court of Ukraine ordered the election results null and void. A second runoff found Viktor Yushchenko the winner. Five days later, Yanukovych resigned from office and his cabinet was dismissed on January 5, 2005.

During the Yushchenko term, relations between Russia and Ukraine often appeared strained as Yushchenko looked towards improved relations with the European Union and less toward Russia. In 2005, a highly publicized dispute over natural gas prices with Russia caused shortages in many European countries that were reliant on Ukraine as a transit country. A compromise was reached in January 2006.

By the time of the presidential election of 2010, Yushchenko and Yulia Tymoshenko — allies during the Orange Revolution — had become bitter enemies. Tymoshenko ran for president against both Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovych, creating a three-way race. Yushchenko, whose popularity had plummeted, persisted in running, and many pro-Orange voters stayed home. In the second round of the election, Yanukovych won the run-off ballot with 48% to Tymoshenko's 45%.

During his presidency (2010–2014), Yanukovych and his Party of Regions were accused of trying to create a "controlled democracy" in Ukraine and of trying to destroy the main opposition party Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko, but both have denied these charges. One frequently cited example of Yanukovych's attempts to centralize power was the 2011 sentencing of Yulia Tymoshenko, which has been condemned by Western governments as potentially being politically motivated. In November 2013, President Yanukovych did not sign the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement and instead pursued closer ties with Russia. This action caused protests in the streets of Kyiv and called the Revolution of Dignity. Protesters set up camps in Kyiv's Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square), and in December 2013 and January 2014 protesters started taking over various government buildings, first in Kyiv, and later in Western Ukraine. Battles between protesters and police resulted in about 80 deaths in February 2014. Following the violence, the Ukrainian parliament on February 22, 2014 voted to remove Yanukovych from power (on the grounds that his whereabouts were unknown, and he thus could not fulfil his duties), and to free Yulia Tymoshenko from prison. On the same day, Yanukovych supporter Volodymyr Rybak resigned as speaker of the Parliament, and was replaced by Tymoshenko loyalist Oleksandr Turchynov, who was subsequently installed as interim President. Yanukovych had fled Kyiv, and subsequently gave a press conference in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don.

By January 1, 2016, Ukraine joined the DCFTA with the EU. Ukraine supported anti-Russian sanctions. On May 19, 2018, Poroshenko signed a Decree which put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defense Council on the final termination of Ukraine's participation in the statutory bodies of the Commonwealth of Independent States. As of February 2019, Ukraine minimized its participation in the Commonwealth of Independent States to a critical minimum and effectively completed its withdrawal. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine did not ratify the accession, i.e. Ukraine has never been a member of the CIS. On February 21, 2019, the Constitution of Ukraine was amended, with the norms on the strategic course of Ukraine for membership in the European Union and NATO being enshrined in the preamble of the Basic Law, three articles and transitional provisions. 

On April 21, 2019, Volodymyr Zelenskyy was elected president in the second round of the presidential election. Early parliamentary elections on July 21 allowed the newly formed pro-presidential Servant of the People party to win an absolute majority of seats for the first time in the history of independent Ukraine (248). Dmytro Razumkov, the party's chairman, was elected speaker of parliament. The majority was able to form a government on August 29 on its own, without forming coalitions, and approved Oleksii Honcharuk as prime minister. On March 4, 2020, due to a 1.5% drop in GDP (instead of a 4.5% increase at the time of the election), the Verkhovna Rada fired Honcharuk's government and Denys Shmyhal became the new Prime Minister. At the June 2021 Brussels Summit, NATO leaders reiterated the decision taken at the 2008 Bucharest Summit that Ukraine would become a member of the Alliance with the Membership Action Plan (MAP) as an integral part of the process and Ukraine's right to determine its own future and foreign policy without outside interference. Ukraine signed an application for membership in the EU in February of 2022. Since the start, the war existed over the conflict and debate among the West and Russia over the future of Ukraine. Ukraine was in the crossfire. Russia still illegally and immorally preempetively invaded Ukraine unjustly. Crimea was annexed by Russia by March of 2014. 

The Crimean crisis was followed by pro-Russian unrest in east Ukraine and south Ukraine. In April 2014 Ukrainian separatists self-proclaimed the Donetsk People's Republic and Lugansk People's Republic and held referendums on May 11, 2014; the separatists claimed nearly 90% voted in favor of independence. Later in April 2014, fighting between the Ukrainian army and pro-Ukrainian volunteer battalions on one side, and forces supporting the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics on the other side, escalated into the war in Donbas. By December 2014, more than 6,400 people had died in this conflict, and according to United Nations figures it led to over half a million people becoming internally displaced within Ukraine and two hundred thousand refugees to flee to (mostly) Russia and other neighboring countries. The Kerch Strait incident occurred on November 25, 2018 when the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) coast guard fired upon and captured three Ukrainian Navy vessels attempting to pass from the Black Sea into the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait on their way to the port of Mariupol. Throughout 2021, Russian forces built up along the Russia-Ukraine Border, in occupied Crimea and Donbas, and in Belarus. On February 24, 2022, Russian forces invaded Ukraine. Far right people and fake leftists are wrong to blame the conflict solely on the U.S. and NATO (though NATO has a long history involved in militarism and other forms of horrendous errors including its rampage of Libya years ago) when many of them refuse to support solidarity with Ukrainian people fighting for their lives. The Russian invasion of Ukraine crippled Ukraine's economy including its GDP. Ukraine had its right to experience its own independence. 

The Unjust Russian Invasion

A lot of time has passed since the time when the unjust Russian invasion of Ukraine happened. As early as November 10, 2021, the United States reported an unusual movement of Russian troops near Ukraine's border. By November 28, 2021, the Ukrainian border has a reported buildup of 92,000 Russian troops. Putin lied and said that Russia has no intention of invading Ukraine. American President Joe Biden warned President of Russia Vladimir Putin of "strong economic and other measures" if Russia attacks Ukraine on December 7, 2021. Putin proposed a prohibition on Ukraine joining NATO which Ukraine rejected by December 17, 2021. By January 17, 2022, Russian troops start to go to Belarus (its ally) for "military exercises." America gives Ukraine $200 million in security aid on January 19, 2022. President Biden on January 19, 2022, stated in a press conference that, "Russia will be held accountable if it invades. And it depends on what it does." NATO puts troops on standby on January 24, 2022. On January 25, 2022, Russian exercises involving 6,000 troops and 60 jets take place in Russia near Ukraine and Crimea. Russia and Belarus started the 10 days of military maneuvers on February 10, 2022. There is the fighting escalating in separatist regions of eastern Ukraine on February 17, 2022. By February 21, 2022, Vladimir Putin ordered Russian forces to enter the separatist republics in eastern Ukraine. He also announced Russian recognition of the two pro-Russian breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine (the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic). This announcement led to the first round of economic sanctions from NATO countries the following day. February 24, 2022, was when the Russian invasion of Ukraine took place. Putin lied and said that there were no plans to occupy Ukrainian territory and he supported the right of the people of Ukraine to have self-determination. Putin wanted Russia to demilitarize and denazification of Ukraine when the Ukrainian President is a Jewish human being. The Russian Ministry of Defense asked air traffic control units of Ukraine to stop flights, and the airspace over Ukraine was restricted to non-civilian air traffic, and the whole area was deemed an active conflict zone by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. Minutes after Putin's announcement, explosions were reported in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa, and the Donas. 

By February 25, 20223, Kyiv was rocked by 2 explosions from cruise and ballistic missiles. The Ukrainian government said that it shot down an enemy aircraft over the city, which crashed into a residential building, setting it on fire. Russian units attempted to encircle Kyiv and advance into Kharkiv. They were bogged down in heavy fighting. Some social media images suggested that some Russian armored columns were ambushed. At first, Russian operations in the east and south were more effective. Russian units advanced from Crimea and tried to attack Donbas. Zelenskyy accused Russia of targeting civilian sites. He is right. Dozens of civilian sites were hit in the previous 24 hours. The mayor of Horlivka in the Russian-backed Donetsk People's Republic said that the Ukrainian military had hit a local school building, killing two teachers.

As Russian troops approached Kyiv, Zelenskyy asked residents to prepare Molotov cocktails to "neutralize" the enemy. Putin meanwhile called on the Ukrainian military to overthrow the government. Ukraine distributed 18,000 guns to Kyiv residents who expressed a willingness to fight and deployed the Territorial Defense Forces, the reserves of the Ukrainian military, to defend Kyiv. The Defense Ministry also announced that all Ukrainian civilians were eligible to volunteer for military service regardless of their age. Ukraine uses its air defense capabilities to stop Russian threats.  On the same day, President Putin indicated to Xi Jinping, the Chinese paramount leader and general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, that "Russia is willing to conduct high-level negotiations with Ukraine." 

Bombs blow up in Ukraine on February 26, 2022. More than 48 explosions in 30 minutes were reported around Kyiv, as the Ukrainian military was reported to be fighting near the CHP-6 power station in the northern neighborhood of Troieshchyna. BBC News reported that the attack might have been an attempt to cut off electricity to the city. Heavy fighting was reported near the Kyiv Zoo and the Shuliavka neighborhood. The Ukrainian military said it repelled a Russian attack on an army base on Peremohy Avenue, a main road in Kyiv; it also said it repelled a Russian assault on Mykolaiv on the Black Sea. American officials said a Russian Il-76 transport plane was shot down by Ukrainian forces near Bila Tserkva, about 80 kilometers (50 mi) south of Kyiv. US officials stated that American intelligence data, shared with Ukrainian forces in real-time, helped to down the Il-76. Zelenskyy, remaining in Kyiv, refused US offers of evacuation, instead requesting more ammunition for Ukrainian troops. A Russian attack caused a gas pipeline to explode outside of Kharkiv by February 27, 2022. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Kharkiv rescued 80 people from a nine-story residential building hit by Russian artillery, extensively damaging it and killing a woman. Russian forces destroyed cities and settlements. 

Ukrainian forces struck the Russian-occupied airport at Chornobaivka, inflicting losses on the Russian army. By early afternoon, Kharkiv Oblast governor Oleh Synyehubov stated that Ukrainian forces had regained full control of Kharkiv, and Ukrainian authorities said that dozens of Russian troops had surrendered. Hennadiy Matsegora, the mayor of Kupiansk, agreed to hand over control of the city to Russian forces. Battles continued. There was the Russian occupation of Kerson by March 2, 2022. During a second round of talks, Russia and Ukraine agreed to open humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians on March 3, 2022.  The United States said that about 90% of the Russian forces that had amassed around Ukraine before the invasion had entered the country. Zelenskyy also announced that the first international volunteers had arrived in Ukraine to fight against Russian forces. He added that Ukraine was regularly receiving weapons from Western countries. Russian forces attacked a Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg rejected Ukraine's request for a no-fly zone over the country, stating that this would lead to a full-fledged war with Russia. The United States said that Russia had fired more than 500 missiles at Ukraine and the Russian Kyiv convoy north of Kyiv was 15 miles (24 km) away from the capital. By March 11, Putin approved the deployment of up to 16,000 volunteers from the Middle East to Ukraine during the day, with the Wagner Group already reported to have recruited more than 4,000 Syrians. In 2022, Russian military forces expand their offensive to Western Ukraine. A residential building in Kyiv was shelled by a Russian attack on March 15, 2022. Around 11 p.m., the Kyiv shopping center Retroville, in Podilskyi district, was hit by a Russian Kalibr missile. The shopping center was storing equipment for Ukrainian forces. The attack resulted in at least 8 deaths on March 20. By April 4, 2022, Zelenskyy accused Russia of genocide and said that sanctions from the west were not "enough" to respond to Russia's actions. The United States began pushing to suspend Russia from the United Nations Human Rights Council. Putin signed a decree restricting visas for nationals of countries deemed "unfriendly" to Russia. By 7 April, Russian troops deployed to the northern front by the Russian Eastern Military District pulled back from the Kyiv offensive, apparently to resupply and then redeploy to the Donbas region to reinforce the renewed invasion of southeastern Ukraine.

From April to August of 2022, there was more war in Ukraine. Russian President Putin appointed Russian Army General Aleksandr Dvornikov, commander of Russia's Southern Military District, and commander of Russia's military campaign in Ukraine. Dvornikov was known for his command of the Russian forces during the Russian military intervention in Syria. That was on April 9, 2022. Some Ukrainian forces surrender at Mariupol (a port city) by April 13, 2022. Russian and Ukrainian military forces battle at oil plants and other strategic locations. Kherson was occupied by this time. By May, Russia bombing Western supplies, and a school is bombed in Bilohorivka. A shopping mall near Odesa was bombed by Russia too. The United States agreed to send the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (M142 HIMARS) to Ukraine on the assurance from the leaders of Ukraine that it would not be used against targets in Russia on June 1, 2022. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that this move was "pouring fuel on the fire." The United States Cyber Command confirmed that it was conducting cyber operations on behalf of Ukraine. General Paul Nakasone, the commander of USCYBERCOM, said, "We've conducted a series of operations across the full spectrum: offensive, defensive, [and] information operations." Tjos was om Kime 2. 2022. The Chief Rabbi of Moscow, Pinchas Goldschmidt, fled Russia after declining to publicly support the war in Ukraine. Apartments complexes and shopping centers continued to be attacked in Ukraine. Russia launched missiles at a shopping center in Kremenchuk with more than 1,000 people inside, killing at least 20 people. Russia reportedly denied hitting the shopping mall. President Zelenskyy said: "A peaceful city, an ordinary shopping mall with women inside, children, ordinary civilians inside. Only totally insane terrorists, who should have no place on Earth, can strike missiles at such an object. And this is not an off-target missile strike, this is a calculated Russian strike – exactly at this shopping mall."

By June 29, 2022, Russian troops withdrew from Snake Island overnight, allowing the Ukrainian army to recapture it in the morning. Syria recognized the independence of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic. The lower house of the State Duma passed new laws allowing the Russian prosecutor-general to shut down foreign media from countries that have banned Russian media, due to bans on Russian media over the war in Ukraine (on June 30, 2022). July 1st was when the American government gave Ukraine the 14th aid package for Ukraine, worth $820 million. The first vessel with grain has left Odessa under the U.N.- and Turkey-brokered deal between Ukraine and Russia for the export of food from Ukraine. According to Turkey, the ship will be headed for Lebanon on August 1, 2022. By August, more weapons come to Ukraine from 1,000 Javelins to 50 armored medical vehicles. A residential building in Kharkiv was hit by the missile strike. The head of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, Igor Osipov, was replaced by Viktor Sokolov following heavy losses in personnel and shipping for the Black Sea Fleet over the last six months on August 17, 2022. Ukraine's Kherson counteroffensive started on August 29, 2022. This plan occurs in the south. The battle was fierce. Russia stopped gas supplies to Germany via Nord Stream 1 for three days to perform repairs. As part of a major counteroffensive, Ukrainian forces recaptured Kupiansk and Izium; according to the UK Ministry of Defense, Russian defenses in the Kharkiv region were "likely taken by surprise." By late afternoon, Ukrainian troops were reported to have reached Lysychansk in Luhansk Oblast (on September 10, 2022). The Russian State Duma introduced laws prohibiting voluntary surrender and looting, with aggravating circumstances including committing the crime "during mobilization or martial law." Under those circumstances, refusing to obey a superior's order or participate in military action was also made illegal. Penalties for not reporting for military duty, or leaving it without permission, were increased.

Putin and the Wagner are right wing people who desire to advance fascist authoritarian policies instead of democracy and human justice in the world. 

War Crimes and Complex Events

The Russian-appointed officials of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics announced referendums to approve their annexation by Russia on September 23-27. Similar referendums were announced by the occupying Russian officials in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. By September 21, Putin promoted for drafts of Russian soldiers. Russian propaganda accounts were taken down by Facebook. Also, there were Nord Stream pipeline leaks suspected of being done by Russian sabotage. The Ukrainian police have recorded at least 582 war crimes committed by Russia in the formerly occupied territories of the Kharkiv Oblast. America sent 1.1 billion dollars in an aid package to Ukraine by September 28, 2022. Russian people leave Russia because of the war. Some fled to Finland until Finland close its borders to Russian citizens at midnight, on September 29. Ukraine liberated Lyman by October 1, 2022. The United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution ES-11/4 by a large majority, calling on countries not to recognize the four regions of Ukraine which Russia has claimed, following so-called referendums held late last month, and demanding that Moscow reverse course on its "attempted illegal annexation." 143 member states voted in favor and 35 abstained, notably China and India. Only Belarus, North Korea, Nicaragua, Russia, and Syria voted against the resolution. This was on October 12, 2022. Vitali Klitschko defends his city in Ukraine. The city of Kherson is finally liberated by November 9, 2022. After the liberation of Kherson, Russia strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure and the war continues. The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution that held Russia responsible for all damage caused to Ukraine by the invasion and demanded reparations on November 14, 2022. 

Russia launched about 85 to 100 missiles at a number of Ukrainian cities. The strategic bombing campaign caused severe shortages of electricity and water in multiple cities. According to the Ukrainian Air Force some 77 of 96 Russian missiles were shot down. A Pentagon official claimed the Russian plan was to exhaust the Ukrainian air defenses. At one stage some 50 missiles were in combat "within minutes" near the Polish border. This was on November 15, 2022. Explosions were reported at two Russian airbases: the one at Engels-2 reportedly damaged two Tu-95s; the other at the Dyagilevo military airbase near Ryazan, destroyed a fuel truck and killed three, injuring five. The Russian Ministry of Defense stated Ukraine attempted to strike Russia's long-range aviation bombers with Soviet-made jet drones, and that the drones were subsequently shot down at low altitudes when approaching the air bases. The attack involved the use of Tu-141 drones that were taken out of storage and appeared to have been fitted with improvised explosives. This was on December 5, 2022. By this time, Russia and Iran work together in attacking Ukraine. Robert Magowan, a British lieutenant general and former commander of the Royal Marines, revealed that the Royal Marines were involved several times in "secret operations" in Ukraine, in an "extremely sensitive context", involving "a high level of political and military risk." In December of 2022, Russian forces constantly attack infrastructure in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih, etc. Many people lack water and power in locations. President Zelenskyy met United States President Joe Biden during his visit and addressed a joint session of the US Congress after Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi invited Zelensky (on December 21, 2022).

The Wagner Group had thousands of convicts and mercenaries attacking Ukraine. The head of Ukraine's armed forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, claimed that air defenses had shot down 12 of 20 Russian cruise missiles. Vitali Klitschko, the Mayor of Kyiv, stated that a series of explosions directed at infrastructure killed at least one person and wounded twenty, including a Japanese journalist. A drone strike on Khmelnytskyi injured two people on December 31, 2022. By January 1, 2023, Ukraine continues to be the victim of kamikaze drone strikes. Russian Orthodox Church Primate Patriarch Kirill called for a Christmas ceasefire so that people could attend Orthodox Christmas services on 6–7 January. Turkish President Erdogan also called for a "unilateral cease-fire"; afterward, President Putin ordered Russian armed forces to hold a 36-hour cease-fire for the Russian Orthodox Christmas. Ukraine rejected Russia's cease-fire proposal. The UK MoD said that fighting had "continued at a routine level into the Orthodox Christmas period." On February 4, 2023, Ukrainian officials claim to have done another prisoner swap with Russia. They claim 116 Ukrainian POWs have been returned, including Ukrainian soldiers and guerrillas from occupied territories. It also includes the bodies of the two deceased British aid workers killed near Soledar. Chris Parry, aged 28, and Andrew Bagshaw, aged 47. Russian officials claim some 63 soldiers were returned. The deal was in part organized by the United Arab Emirates. Russian forces start their next major offensive on the west of eastern Lukhansk (which is mostly Russian-occupied areas). 

The nations labeled blue are current NATO member nations as of 2023.                  

Modern Day Events

Dmitry Medvedev, the member of Russia's security council, visited the Omsk Transport Engineering Plant (a tank factory) and made a statement, promising to "modernize thousands of tanks" and "increase production of modern tanks" in response to Ukraine receiving western tanks. Medvedev is more hawkish than in previous years. China wants a peace plan involving a peace plan which involves a ceasefire and multiple other steps that would result in direct negotiations. China holds the stance about "countries' sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity be effectively guaranteed" and that the "cold war mentality" should end. U.S. officials such as Biden and Blinken have expressed doubts about the plan because China does not seem to be neutral because they have yet to condemn the invasion. Zelenskyy stated that it was good that China is talking about Ukraine, but that he would cautiously await details on the plan. It was also speculated by some experts that depending on how this turns out, China could also turn around and start supplying Russia with military equipment. Ukrainian forced withdrawal from Bakhmut. NATO nations send Ukraine more weapons. Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev threatened hypersonic missiles on the International Criminal Court if officials try to arrest Putin on the ICC warrant, during a future state visit. On April 2, 2023, Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed by an explosion in a cafe in St Petersburg. The explosion injured around 24 people of which 6 were in critical condition. The cafe where the explosion occurred belongs to Yevgeny Prigozhin. Classified documents of US–NATO counter-offensive plan details were leaked from the Pentagon via social media sites. According to experts, the plans have been edited prior to publication to decrease estimates of Russian losses and increase estimates of Ukrainian losses. Some experts have questioned the authenticity of the documents and suggested that the leak could be part of a Russian disinformation campaign. Ukraine for the first time intercepted a Russian Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missile, following reports from Kyiv of a powerful explosion overnight. The Ukrainian Air Force said they shot it down using the Patriot missile system protecting the capital on May 4, 2023.

Ukraine has launched a counteroffensive against Russia on June 8, 2023. This comes after the dam busted open in Ukraine caused a humanitarian disaster in Southern Ukraine. The President of Ukraine visited the disaster area. Right now, the war is in a crossroads period of time. The battle can go either way, but Ukraine has made miraculous victories. I personally don't agree with Ukrainian strikes in Russia as this war is about Ukrainian survival. We know that Putin has arrested Russian dissidents and Russian media who overtly opposes his imperialism. We are convinced that Ukraine can be victorious in their fight for their own self-determination during the future. When the war occurred, many people were afraid that Russia would win may battles. Now, Ukraine has come back to gain territories, maintained its capital, and inspire democratic movements the world over.

The war continues.

Epilogue 

It has been over a year since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The myth is that Russia was provoked to invade Ukraine. The truth is that Russia invaded Ukraine illegally and unjustly. Even before the invasion of Ukraine, Putin's military were massively building up on the Ukrainian border. Putin is clear by his own words that he invaded Ukraine to try to create Russian dominance over Ukraine like the Tsars and the counterrevolutionary Stalin once did. Ukraine's heroic resistance to imperialists has been inspirational in the world. We express solidarity with the Ukrainian people in seeking their land free from invasion. Russia promoted imperialism which is about the domination and exploitation of other countries by capitalist states. We also realize that NATO is not perfect too. Western imperialists in America and in Europe are complicit in coups, unjust invasions, and other actions that contradict the ideals of liberty, humane treatment, and democracy. We know about the history of Nuland and various issues. NATO's imperfections are no justification for the Russian attacks on civilian locations in Ukraine, for Russia executing policies violating Russian people's free speech including free press rights, and for the outright terrorism in Ukraine. The pro-Putin fake liberals are wrong to support Putin and blame the conflict only on the U.S. and NATO. This conflict is nuanced and complicated. Ukraine's citizens have every right to use self-defense to stop an invasion from taking place. The war should end, but it must end when Russian military forces must leave Ukraine, a peaceful agreement is created, and Ukraine is firmly established to be an independent nation. 

Agriculture

 

One of the most important fields of human endeavor is agriculture. Tons of our ancestors were some of the greatest cultivators of agriculture in human history. Agriculture is diverse as well. It deals with crop development, livestock production, aquaculture, fisheries, and forestry for food and non-food products. To know about agriculture, you have to know about economics, business arrangements, the essence of the weather (including climate change), the population control of animals, and other important subject matter. During the early times of human history, human beings used agriculture to build up civilizations in the four corners of the Earth. The domestication of many animals contributed to the growth of agriculture. About 105,000 years ago, human beings started to gather grains. Modern-day farming as we know it today existed ca. 11,500 years ago. About 10,000 years ago, sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle were domesticated. Plants have been cultivated independently in many areas of the world. Small farms produce a third of the world's food, but large farms are commonplace in Earth. The largest one percent of farms in the world are greater than 50 hectares and operate more than 70 percent of the world's farmland. Almost 40 percent of agricultural land is found on farms larger than 1,000 hectares. Five of every six farms on Earth are less than 2 hectares and take up only about 12 percent of all the agricultural world. Foods, fibers, fuels, and raw materials are dealt with in the concept of agriculture. In our time in the 21st century, we have to deal with climate change, agronomy, pesticides, fertilizers, deforestation, antibiotic resistance, and pollution involving agriculture. Activists are working all of the time in making agriculture improve while confronting the major issues of the environment today. The Earth constantly changes. That is why it is crucial for us to know about soil development, animal species, and other topics in order to comprehend fully about agriculture. Our survival is based on agriculture literally to be perfectly honest. 

The History of Agriculture

Agriculture has a long history spanning thousands of years. Human beings changed from being hunter-gatherers to being part of Agricultural societies. This was a product of intensification and more sedentism. There was the Natufian culture in the Levent and the early Chinese Neolithic culture in China. Many scholars believe that after the last Ice Age (ca. 11,000 B.C.), much of the Earth became subject to long dry seasons. These conditions caused modern-day agriculture to be born. These conditions caused annual plants to die off in the long dry season leaving a dormant seed or tuber. Many storable wild grains and pulses caused hunter-gatherers in some areas to create the first settled villages at that time. In ancient history, human beings started to alter communities of flora and fauna for their own benefit. This was done by fire-stick farming and forest gardening. Wild grains have been collected and eaten from at least 105,000 years ago (maybe longer). We know about the existence of semi-tough rachis and larger seeds of cereals from just after the Younger Dryas (ca. 9,500 B.C.) in the early Holocene in the Levant region of the Fertile Crescent. Some believed that the domestication of the cereal rachis could have occurred naturally with its monophyletic characteristics without any human intervention. In the human family, agriculture began independently in many parts of the Earth including a diverse range of taxa. We know of domestic pigs having multiple centers of origin in Eurasia, Europe, East Asia, and Southwest Asia. Wild boars have first domesticated about 10,5000 years ago. Sheep were domesticated in Mesopotamia between 11,000 B.C. and 9,000 B.C. Cattle were domesticated from the wild aurochs in the areas of Turkey and Pakistan in ca. 8,500 B.C. Camels were domesticated later on in ca. 3,000 B.C. By 9,500 B.C., founder crops of agriculture developed which were emmer, einkorn wheat, hulled barley, peas, lentils, bitter betch, chickpeas, and flax. They existed in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) sites in the Levant. Wheat was the first crop to be grown and harvested on a significant scale. At this time at 9,400 B.C, parthenocarpic fig trees were domesticated. 

Domesticated rye occurs in small quantities at some Neolithic sites in (Asia Minor) Turkey, such as the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (c. 7600 – c. 6000 BC) Can Hasan III near Çatalhöyük, but is otherwise absent until the Bronze Age of central Europe, c. 1800–1500 BC. Claims of much earlier cultivation of rye, at the Epipalaeolithic site of Tell Abu Hureyra in the Euphrates valley of northern Syria, remain controversial. Critics point to inconsistencies in the radiocarbon dates and identifications based solely on grain, rather than on chaff. By 8000 BC, farming was entrenched on the banks of the Nile. About this time, agriculture was developed independently in the Far East, probably in China, with rice rather than wheat as the primary crop. Maize was domesticated from the wild grass teosinte in southern Mexico by 6700 BC. The potato (8000 BC), tomato, pepper (4000 BC), squash (8000 BC), and several varieties of bean (8000 BC onwards) were domesticated in the Americas.

Agriculture was independently developed on the island of New Guinea. Banana cultivation of Musa acuminata, including hybridization, dates back to 5000 BC, and possibly to 8000 BC, in Papua New Guinea. Bees were kept for honey in the Middle East around 7000 BC. Archaeological evidence from various sites on the Iberian Peninsula suggests the domestication of plants and animals between 6000 and 4500 BC. Céide Fields in Ireland, consisting of extensive tracts of land enclosed by stone walls, date to 3500 BC and are the oldest known field systems in the world. The horse was domesticated in the Pontic steppe around 4000 BC. In Siberia, Cannabis was in use in China in Neolithic times and may have been domesticated there; it was in use both as a fiber for ropemaking and as a medicine in Ancient Egypt by about 2350 BC. 

In northern China, millet was domesticated by early Sino-Tibetan speakers at around 8000 to 6000 BC, becoming the main crop of the Yellow River basin by 5500 BC. They were followed by mung, soy and azuki beans. Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific helped to spread agriculture too. In southern China, rice was domesticated in the Yangtze River basin at around 11,500 to 6200 BC, along with the development of wetland agriculture, by early Austronesian and Hmong-Mien-speakers. Other food plants were also harvested, including acorns, water chestnuts, and foxnuts. Rice cultivation was later spread to Island Southeast Asia by the Austronesian expansion, starting at around 3,500 to 2,000 BC. This migration event also saw the introduction of cultivated and domesticated food plants from Taiwan, Island Southeast Asia, and New Guinea into the Pacific Islands as canoe plants. Contact with Sri Lanka and Southern India by Austronesian sailors also led to an exchange of food plants which later became the origin of the valuable spice trade. 

In the 1st millennium AD, Austronesian sailors also settled Madagascar and the Comoros, bringing Southeast Asian and South Asian food plants with them to the East African coast, including bananas and rice. Rice was also spread southwards into Mainland Southeast Asia by around 2000 to 1500 BC by the migrations of the early Austroasiatic and Kra-Dai-speakers. In the Sahel region of Africa, sorghum was domesticated by 3000 BC in Sudan and pearl millet by 2500 BC in Mali. Kola nut and coffee were also domesticated in Africa. In New Guinea, ancient Papuan peoples began practicing agriculture around 7000 BC, domesticating sugarcane and taro. In the Indus Valley from the eighth millennium BC onwards at Mehrgarh, 2-row and 6-row barley were cultivated, along with einkorn, emmer, and durum wheats, and dates. In the earliest levels of Merhgarh, wild game such as gazelle, swamp deer, blackbuck, chital, wild ass, wild goat, wild sheep, boar, and nilgai were all hunted for food. These are successively replaced by domesticated sheep, goats, and humped zebu cattle by the fifth millennium BC, indicating the gradual transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture. Maize and squash were domesticated in Mesoamerica, potato in South America, and sunflower in the Eastern Woodlands of North America.

The Bronze Age, from ca. 3,300 B.C. saw the intensification of agriculture in civilizations like Mesopotamian Sumer, ancient Egypt, ancient Nubia, the Indus Valley civilization of the Indian subcontinent, ancient China, and ancient Greece.  From 100 B.C. to 1600 A.D., the world population has grown along with land use. This is proven by the rapid increase of methane emissions from cattle and the cultivation of rice. During the Iron Age and the era of classical antiquity, the expansion of ancient Rome, both the Republic and then the Roman Empire (all over ancient Mediterranean and Western Europe) built upon exiting system of agriculture. This time cause the manorial system being a bedrock of medieval agriculture. During the Middle Ages, both in Europe and in the Islamic world, agriculture was transformed with improved techniques and the diffusion of crop plans, including the introduction of sugar, rice, cotton, and fruits tress such as the orange to Europe by the way of Al-Andalus. After the voyages of the imperialist Christopher Columbus in 1492, there was the historic Colombian exchange. This brought New World corps like maize, potatoes, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and manioc to Europe. The Old-World crops like wheat, barley, rice, and turnips in including livestock (like horses, cattle, sheep, and goats) to America. It is also important to note that the evil of the Maafa (of innocent black human beings from Africa being oppressed and forcibly sent to the Americas, Asia, etc.) was part of the growth of the Columbian Exchange as well. Irrigation, crop rotation, and fetrilizers are introduction soon after the Neolithic Revolution and developed much further in the past 200 years, starting with the British Agricultural Revolution. Since 1900, agriculture in the developed nations, and to a lesser extent in the developing world, has seen large rises in productivity as human labour has been replaced by mechanization, and assisted by synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and selective breeding. The Haber-Bosch process allowed the synthesis of ammonium nitrate fertilizer on an industrial scale, greatly increasing crop yields. 

The Green Revolution was a series of research, development, and technology transfer initiatives, between the 1940s and the late 1970s. It increased agriculture production around the world, especially from the late 1960s. The initiatives, led by Norman Borlaug and credited with saving over a billion people from starvation, involved the development of high-yielding varieties of cereal grains, expansion of irrigation infrastructure, modernization of management techniques, distribution of hybridized seeds, synthetic fertilizers, and pesticides to farmers.

Synthetic nitrogen, along with mined rock phosphate, pesticides and mechanization, have greatly increased crop yields in the early 20th century. Increased supply of grains has led to cheaper livestock as well. Further, global yield increases were experienced later in the 20th century when high-yield varieties of common staple grains such as rice, wheat, and corn were introduced as a part of the Green Revolution. The Green Revolution exported the technologies (including pesticides and synthetic nitrogen) of the developed world to the developing world. Thomas Malthus famously predicted that the Earth would not be able to support its growing population, but technologies such as the Green Revolution have allowed the world to produce a surplus of food. Although the Green Revolution at first significantly increased rice yields in Asia, yield then levelled off. The genetic "yield potential" has increased for wheat, but the yield potential for rice has not increased since 1966, and the yield potential for maize has "barely increased in 35 years". It takes only a decade or two for herbicide-resistant weeds to emerge, and insects become resistant to insecticides within about a decade, delayed somewhat by crop rotation

Modern agriculture has raised social, political, and environmental issues including population exploitation, water pollution, biofuels, genetically modified organisms, tariffs and farm subsidies. In response, organic farming developed in the twentieth century as an alternative to the use of synthetic pesticides. Agriculture continues to grow during the 21st century. 

Components of Agriculture

We know of agriculture as growing crops, rearing animals, and processing and selling agricultural products to benefit humans and society at large. There are tons of components of agriculture. Here are some of the major parts of agriculture in general. First, people have to grow and plant crops. Tons of foods exist by people and machines planting rice, bean, yarn, cocoa, bananas, etc. Food crops are made up of grain, legumes, vegetables, fruits, and seeds. They are produced for immediate consumption. Grain crops are maize, guinea corn, millet, etc. Legume crops are soybean, pea, peanut, cowpea, etc. Vegetable crops are tomato, cabbage, pepper, okra, onions, carrot, etc. Fruit crops are orange, mango, pawpaw, apple, pineapple, banana, etc. Cash crops are economic crops. These crops require more processing before consumption. Cocoa, sugarcane, cashew, groundnut, etc. are examples of cash crops. They are grown for commercial purposes. In rearing of animals, people have domestic and wild animal rearing. Rearing animals have been used by farmers for generations worldwide. Many of our relatives and ancestors are expert farmers of animals. When you have domestic animals, these animals are reared at home or on farmland like sheep, goats, chicken, birds, fish, horse, etc. Wild animals like lions, tigers, elephants, sharks, crocodiles, alligators, etc. are meant to live in their natural environments. 

Processing agricultural products requires technological knowledge, determination, hard work, economic understanding, and great expertise in diverse areas. Many agricultural products are not in their final state. So, they are processed by packaging, branding, and rebranding as found in fish, sardine, meat, corned beef, cocoa, milo, bourvita, groundnut, ground oil, cotton, cloth, shoes, belts, bags, wheat bread, etc. Farmers readily sell their agricultural products to corporations, businesses, and other entities regularly. In agriculture, experts have to study soil sustainability, conservation, and environmental impacts over the course of years, so production of supplies is consistent and thorough. That is why manure, biofertilizers, animal husbandry, biological management, and crop rotation are crucial in organic farming and in agriculture in general. 

Big Agra

What is Big Agra or Big agribusiness? Big Agra is about multinational corporations owning a high percentage of the agriculture business in general. Many large corporations deal with natural resources, biotechnology, farms, food, forestry, fisheries, fuel, and fiber. Many of us talk about corporations involving Wall Street, political institutions, and other entities. Yet, it's an underrated topic to talk about how big agribusiness has this large influence on world markets spanning centuries in this world alone. Agribusiness relates to farming, marketing, entrepreneurship, value-addition, microfinancing, and agricultural extension. A lot of resources are spread in exports and imports in dealing with the global agricultural market. Agriculture is heavily a business. Businesses and other corporations have to deal with inputs, production, bulking, trade, processing, packaging, and retail all of the time. From the farm to the consumer, everything involving the value chain concept is interrelated. Large agricultural corporations don't just own farms, but the fertilizer, patents, mechanization of resources (especially in the reality of a declining American population involved in farming), distribution companies, supermarket chains, and even water supplies. So, this is a big reality that people have to comprehend. Like anyone with power, power must be handled right if everything can move properly. 

Yet, history teaches us about the imperfections of human beings, so some in Big Agra have been involved in documented corruption for years. Agriculture also deals with environmental issues like the health effects of pesticides, valley fever, irrigation, immigration, labor rights, economic justice matters, and climate change. The vast majority of people in the agriculture market system do the right thing and seek to make a living. Yet, we have issues in the world like the reality of monopolies owning a disproportionate amount of the food supplies on Earth. Many farmers in the world are prevented from using diverse crops. Now, only four corporations (Bayer, Corteva, ChemChina, and Limagrain) control more than 50 percent of the world's seeds. "Seeds are ultimately what feed us and the animals we eat," Jack Kloppenburg, a rural sociologist and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said. "Control over seeds is, in many ways, control over the food supply. The question of who produces new plant varieties is absolutely critical for the future of all of us." Another problem is that seeds are becoming less diverse. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, 75 percent of the world's crop varieties disappeared between 1900 and 2000. Bayer and Corteva have strict regulations on how farmers can use their seed varieties by signing agreements. That is why seed sovereignty activists want more ownership of seeds and farming in general. 

Urban Farming

Urban farming or urban agriculture has been popularized more in the 21st century during the acceleration of climate change, gentrification, and the growth of the environmental movement in general. More human beings want to set up institutions that they own and control for the benefit of the community. There is nothing wrong with that sacrosanct aim. In urban areas from Virginia, Chicago, New York City, California, etc. have tons of urban farming communities flourishing. One major purpose of urban farming is the cultivating, processing, and distributing of food in or around urban areas. We have a food insecurity crisis in many parts of the world, and urban farming has helped to bridge the gap in supplies of necessary foods to human beings. Urban farming is complex too. It relies on animal husbandry, aquaculture, beekeeping, and horticulture. There have been peri-urban areas and peri-urban agriculture too. Urban farming is diverse. Some urban farmers want to directly help their urban communities. 

Some want sustainable communities, some people want to promote food security, and other urban farmers want to advance nutrition or healthy eating among people. The advancement of a healthy eating culture involving fresh vegetables, fruits, and meat products via urban agriculture can improve food safety and food security. Years ago, Persia had oases to feed people via aqueducts carrying water to help people. In Machu Picchu, water was conserved and reused to help grow vegetables. Allotment gardens emerged in Germany in the early 19th century as a response to poverty and food insecurity. In 1893, citizens of a depression-struck Detroit were asked to use vacant lots to grow vegetables. They were nicknamed Pingree's Potato Patches after the mayor, Hazen S. Pingree, who came up with the idea. He intended for these gardens to produce income, food supply, and boost independence during times of hardship. Victory gardens sprouted during WWI and WWII and were fruit, vegetable, and herb gardens in the US, Canada, and UK. This effort was undertaken by citizens to reduce pressure on food production that was to support the war effort. During the Great Depression, tons of plots of growing food existed to help people eat food during harsh times. 

These efforts helped raise spirits and boost economic growth. Over 2.8 million dollars' worth of food was produced from the subsistence gardens during the Depression. By World War II, the War/Food Administration set up a National Victory Garden Program that set out to systematically establish functioning agriculture within cities. With this new plan in action, as many as 5.5 million Americans took part in the victory garden movement, and over nine million pounds of fruit and vegetables were grown a year, accounting for 44% of US-grown produce throughout that time. By the 21st century, community gardening is very common. Citizens work in community gardens to help advance horticulture. Some grow plants for aesthetic purposes, and other people grow foods. The community gardening program of P-Patch in Seattle is very successful. City farms are found everywhere, including on top of buildings in New York City. City farms vary in size from small plots in private yards to larger farms that occupy a number of acres. In 1996, a United Nations report estimated there are over 800 million people worldwide who grow food and raise livestock in cities. Although some city farms have paid employees, most rely heavily on volunteer labor, and some are run by volunteers alone. Other city farms operate as partnerships with local authorities. In 2010, New York City saw the building and opening of the world's largest privately owned and operated rooftop farm, followed by an even larger location in 2012. Both were a result of municipal programs such as The Green Roof Tax Abatement Program and the Green Infrastructure Grant Program.

In Singapore, hydroponic rooftop farms (which also rely on vertical farming) are appearing. The goal behind these is to rejuvenate areas and workforces that have thus far been marginalized. Simultaneously top-level pesticide-free produce will be grown and harvested. Urban farming is very necessary with food resources in urban areas being less accessible than in rural areas in many cases. We know that statistics and reality outline that poorer communities have a lack of food access and an increased risk of malnutrition (which lead to socioeconomic inequities). That is why I'm a progressive on economic issues because you must address poverty in order to liberate human beings. Food deserts are a phenomenon in many poor communities where healthy food choices are lacking in their communities. There is also racial discrimination that causes the urban poor communities to have issues of unemployment, poverty, struggles to access health care, educational issues, and social resource access issues. We have to fight gentrification and other oppressive policies (like rising rent and rising mortgage prices). Urban farms also provide unique opportunities for individuals, especially those living in cities, to get actively involved with ecological citizenship. By reconnecting with food production and nature, urban community gardening teaches individuals the skills necessary to participate in a democratic society. To run the farm, decisions must be made on a group basis. Most effective results are achieved when residents of a community are asked to take on more active roles in the farm.

Everyone deserves access to adequate food. We already know that highly processed fast food or convenience store foods (that are high in calories and low in nutrients) may lead to elevated rates of diet-based illnesses like diabetes. Fighting institutional racism means promoting food justice and economic justice too along with abolishing inequalities in our society. Similarly, in a study by Marc Xuereb and Region of Waterloo Public Health, it was estimated that switching to locally grown food could save transport-related emissions equivalent to nearly 50,000 metric tons of CO2, or the equivalent of taking 16,191 cars off the road. Urban farming helps to reduce a city's carbon footprint. The reason is that plants absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and release breathable oxygen (O2) through photosynthesis. The process of Carbon Sequestration can be further improved by combining other agricultural techniques to increase removal from the atmosphere and prevent the release of CO2 during harvest time. However, this process relies heavily on the types of plants selected and the methodology of farming. Specifically, choosing plants that do not lose their leaves and remain green all year can increase the farm's ability to sequester carbon.  Reducing these particulates and ozone gases could reduce mortality rates in urban areas along with increasing the health of those living in cities. A 2011 article found that a rooftop containing 2000 m2 of uncut grass has the potential to remove up to 4000 kg of particulate matter and that one square meter of green roof is sufficient to offset the annual particulate matter emissions of a car. Urban gardens of fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk of chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

Urban agriculture also provides quality nutrition for low-income households. Studies show that every $1 invested in a community garden yields $6 worth of vegetables if labor is not considered a factor in investment. Many urban gardens reduce the strain on food banks and other emergency food providers by donating shares of their harvest and providing fresh produce in areas that otherwise might be food deserts. The supplemental nutrition program Women, Infants and Children (WIC) as well as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) have partnered with several urban gardens nationwide to improve the accessibility to produce in exchange for a few hours of volunteer gardening work. Urban farmers still need to deal with space, pose land being contaminated with lead and insect pests. Likewise, urban gardening has enriched millions of lives worldwide. 

New Technologies in Agriculture

There are new agricultural technologies in the 21st century. We see the advancement of autonomous devices in farming. There are now smart irrigation systems. Some of these systems use sensors paired with a customized Internet of Things (IoT) platform to detect weather conditions and soil moisture. They use this date to determinate the landscape's irrigation needs of an area. Sensors collect field data stored in a cloud framework and can be accessed at any time and from any location. These systems can find humidity and temperature readings. Smart irrigation systems have helped to conserve resources, lower operational costs, and stop weed growth. They use the information to be placed in smart mobile devices in causing farmers to minimize water supply utilization (increasing effectiveness and efficiency). Agricultural drones help to survey large and small farms. They can collect field information and capture field footage. Drones and UAVs use sensors to help field map elevation data too. We see robotic harvesters that help to optimize harvesting. This autonomous farming robot can use crop sensing technology to collect tons of crops. There are autonomous tractors can it expected to be worth $11.58 billion by 2030. One single person can control a fleet of tractors from outside the field via smart devices. These machines can work in diverse weather conditions. 

Smart agriculture systems with cloud, AI, big data, IoT, and robotic engineering are futuristic in our modern times. These devices can increase productivity and reduce previous time-consuming tasks. Used in the right ways, these new devices can improve sustainable farming practices. Still, labor shortages, climate change, and rising production costs must be addressed too. One great piece of advice for men and women in life is to cultivate comprehensive knowledge in book smarts, emotional intelligence, and diverse trades (like electricians, plumbers, farmers, carpenters, construction, HVAC workers, real estate, etc.). These trades help people with pensions, health care, and other benefits that develop generational wealth. Saving and investing in your resources makes perfect sense. Plus, you will live longer by reducing stress, eating healthy, and exercising. Being multifaceted in action and thinking reap great benefits in life literally. 

Conclusion

One major lifeblood of civilization is agriculture. Agriculture requires the usage of the elements of soil, water, air, and other components of the Universe to not only develop crops. Agriculture deals with commerce in general, imports, exports, feeding families, growing the economy, and seeking to develop human living in multifaceted ways. The United States Department of Agriculture has helped many people to grow their livelihoods. We still have a long way to go with racism in agriculture (especially with the recent story of black ranchers Courtney and Nicole Mallery experiencing slurs and being falsely accused of crimes in Colorado), Big Agra having monopolistic powers in many cases, many poisons promoting in farming, and the issue of the future of agriculture in general (especially with the advancement of climate change). The centralization of seed ownership (or seed and biotechnological consolidation) being a tightly controlled product has disproportionally harmed Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities for a long time. That certainly must change. According to Kiki Hubbard, Advocacy and Communications Director at Organic Seed Alliance, "Seed used to be managed as an open, public resource." There are many sub sectors of agriculture too. Horticulture deals with the plants on the ground. We know of aquaculture relates to creating crops on water surfaces all over the world. Livestock is about human beings using animals like sheep, cows, goats, etc. to feed them crops, cultivate foods, and handle complex habitats. Forestry is about the usage of forests for developing materials in the most environmentally sound fashion possibly. Fishery does deal with constant workers finding oysters, fishes, crabs, and other aquatic organisms for establishing food resources and other purposes. After these thousands of years of human history, we know what works involving agricultural solutions. There should be the growth of nutritious seeds and replenishing soil nutrients, promoting the freedom of wild animals, and controls on weeds and pests. Agriculture is a great, outstanding profession that help to grow beets, cabbages, corn, lettuce, muskmelon, peas, radish, squash, tomatoes, a cucumbers, greens, and other healthy foods for generations. We honor the agriculture workers and experts of every color who has helped humanity in enumerable ways with their hard work, dedication, and power to grow our societies. 

By Timothy