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GENERAL ENGLISH · BREAKING NEWS · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

RUSSIA
INVADES
UKRAINE
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1 Warm up
Discuss the question in pairs.

1. What do you know about Ukraine?

2. Is being a soldier compulsory in your country?
3. Would you fight for another country other than your own?
4. How can countries prevent conflicts when other nations are not trying to bring peace?

2 Vocabulary
Part A: Match the words to their correct definitions.

1. forces (n) a. an event when a group of people take control of a country by

force
2. coup (n) b. an agreement between countries to work together to
achieve something
3. seize (something)(v) c. the intentional killing of a large group of people who belong
to a particular race or country
4. retaliate (v) d. military people

5. peacekeeper (n) e. a member of a particular group within a country who

believes that this group should be independent and have
their own government
6. separatist (n) f. suddenly take control of (a place) by using military force

7. alliance (n) g. do something bad to someone because they have done

something bad to you
8. genocide (n) h. someone, usually a soldier, who tries to prevent war and
violence in a country where there is trouble

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Part B: Now put the vocabulary from Part A into the correct gaps in the following sentences. You may
need to change the form of the word.

1. Troops yesterday the country’s parliament building.

2. The UN sent in to stop both sides from killing each other.

3. If you try to when someone insults you, it can make the situation worse.

4. A group of are trying to create their own independent state.

5. Germany is part of a military called NATO.

6. The dictator was accused of .

7. The democratic government was replaced by army generals during a military .

8. The enemy’s are not large enough to threaten us.

3 Reading - background to the conflict

You’re going to read about the background and build-up to the war in Ukraine. Choose the correct
answer below.

1. Ukraine has a population of ...

a. 24 million b. 44 million c. 64 million

2. Ukraine became an independent country in ...

a. 1989 b. 1991 c. 2001

3. When was Ukraine’s last pro-Russian president removed from power?

a. 2008 b. 2010 c. 2014

4. How many soldiers did President Putin move to the Ukrainian border in November 2021?

a. 50,000 b. 100,000 c. 200,000

Now scan the text to check your answers.

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Russian invasion of Ukraine

After months of tension Russia attacks its neighbour

On Thursday, February 24, Russia invaded Ukraine, with Ukraine, around 100,000 soldiers along with
a European democracy of 44 million people. For tanks and other military equipment. Over the next
months, President Vladimir Putin had denied he few months, the US insisted that Russia intended to
wanted to attack his neighbour, but then he went invade Ukraine, while Russia maintained its troops
back on his word and sent forces across Ukraine’s were carrying out military exercises.
northern, eastern and southern borders, resulting in
On Monday, February 21, after months of
the first major war in Europe since the Balkan wars of
speculation about his motives, President Putin
the 1990s.
suddenly recognized the Donetsk and Luhansk
Let’s take a look at how all this began. regions as independent and the Russian parliament
Most of today’s Ukraine was part of the Russian granted him permission to send in what he called
empire for centuries before becoming a Soviet "peacekeepers". The West called this the start of an
republic. It became a fully independent country in invasion. Then, after the separatists asked Russia
1991. In 2014, its pro-Russian president, Viktor for help to stop Ukrainian aggression (which the US
Yanukovych, was removed from power after months dismissed as Russian propaganda), Putin launched a
of protests against his rule, which Putin saw as a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Western-backed coup.
Putin gave a number of reasons to justify his actions.
He retaliated by seizing the southern region of Among them, he wanted to make sure that Ukraine
Crimea and triggered a rebellion in the east, backing never joins the West’s defensive military alliance
separatists in the two regions Donetsk and Luhansk. NATO, which he argued was a threat to Russia’s
The separatists have fought Ukrainian forces in a war security. But he also gave several other irrational
that has claimed 14,000 lives according to Ukrainian arguments including the need to protect people from
authorities. genocide and Ukraine’s "Nazi" leaders, even though
Most of the country enjoyed peace until the spring of there is no evidence of any genocide in Ukraine and
last year, when a massive build-up of Russian troops the country is led by a president who is Jewish.
near the Ukrainian border raised concerns. But American president Joe Biden simply believes that
the troops eventually pulled out after a few weeks. Putin secretly wants to rebuild the Soviet Union.
Then in November 2021, satellite imagery showed
Sources: BBC, AlJazeera, Euronews
a new build-up of Russian troops on the border

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4 Checking understanding

What do you remember? Answer the questions below.

1. Why was Putin against the removal of Ukraine’s president Yanukovich in 2014?

2. How did he respond to this event?

3. What was Putin’s excuse for moving his troops to the Ukrainian border in November 2021?

4. What event happened just before Putin decided to send "peacekeepers" to eastern Ukraine?

5. What reasons did Putin give for invading Ukraine?

6. What is Putin’s long-term ambition according to Joe Biden?

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5 Collocations

Match the verbs on the left to the words/phrases on the right to form collocations from the text.

1. go back a. from power

2. remove somebody b. permission (to do something)

3. claim c. an invasion

4. raise d. concerns

5. grant somebody e. (someone’s) actions

6. launch f. on your word

7. justify g. 14000 lives

In pairs, create your own sentence for each of the collocations above.

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6 Listening

Listen to some people escaping the conflict in Ukraine and answer the questions.

1. What did the first refugee say about the situation she has witnessed?

2. How did the male refugee in the orange hat feel when he heard about the first explosions?

3. What unusual event happened at the train station according to the Moroccan student?

Glossary
surreal (n): more like a dream than reality
troublesome (adj.): upsetting and shocking
devastated (v): the feeling of shock and sadness, mental tiredness

7 Talking point

Think about what you read and heard in the news and discuss the question in pairs or small groups.
Give reasons for your answers.

1. What cause would you fight/die for?

2. Can you think of a war that you believe was justified?
3. How would you define a true "hero"?
4. Does war have any positive consequences for mankind?
5. If war could be eliminated entirely, would there still be a use for armies?

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8 Optional extension - grammar

Read the information about reported speech verbs.

There are two ways of telling what someone else said: direct and reported speech.

Direct speech repeats the exact words that someone said, e.g.
• George said, "I’m going away next week."
Reported speech reports what someone said without repeating their exact words, e.g.
• George said that he was going away next week.

We can use a variety of verbs instead of "say", for example: tell, explain, suggest, claim,
maintain, comment, insist, accept, deny, argue, believe, etc.

Now, find an underline five examples of reported speech in the article.

Write five sentences about what you know about the situation in Ukraine using reported speech. Try
to use more interesting verbs than "say" or "tell".

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Transcripts

6. Listening

Refugee from Ukraine, Natalia Z. : "Shocked, it’s surreal, we’re shocked. We don’t believe in that.
It’s nothing connected to the real life that we used to have
and it’s devastating, and you know, it’s simply unbelievable that
we’re talking, that I’m calling my mom and she tells me that it’s
quiet right now but they were shooting like half an hour ago,
that for example, while the night was troublesome. And what’s
happening in Kyiv, that’s - I mean, I love Kyiv so much and I just
can’t watch the news."

Refugee from Ukraine, Mihailo K.: "We were travelling to Bukovel (ski resort) just to relax and then
in Ivano-Frankivsk we heard (about) first explosions and it was
from Kharkiv, and we were devastated I want to say, so we start
to plan. We still don’t have like, clear plan what we should do,
where we should go, so. We crossed the border right now, we
are think to go to Budapest."

Moroccan student, Nassim S. : "There’s a lot of people in train stations, I even heard just today,
that a woman just gave birth in a station. She just gave birth there.
She didn’t find no hospital, she just gave birth there. And a lot of
people, a lot of kids, everybody, you can see the real sufferings
of the people there."

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Key

1. Warm up

5 mins.
Students have the opportunity to discuss their basic attitudes to war ahead of the reading and listening exercises.
Discuss answers with the class but be careful - this is a delicate topic.

2. Vocabulary

Part A
5 mins.
Ensure students can correctly pronounce the target vocabulary. Pay close attention to the pronunciation of coup:
/ku:/. Ask them to complete the task unaided in the first instance, but then allow them to use a reference if
needed.

1. → d. 2. → a. 3. → f. 4. → g. 5. → h. 6. → e. 7. → b. 8. → c.
Part B
5 mins
Ask students to identify which parts of speech could fill the gaps before completing the exercise. Circulate and
help as needed

1. seized 2. peacekeepers
3. retaliate 4. separatists
5. alliance 6. genocide
7. coup 8. forces

3. Reading - background to the conflict

5 mins.
You may want to set a time limit to encourage students to skim read rather than read in detail. Ask students to
read and complete the exercise.

1. b. 2. b. 3. c. 4. b.
You might want to explain that the word propaganda means statements that are false or present only one side of
an argument, usually used in order to gain support for a political leader, party, etc.

4. Checking understanding

5-7 mins.
Ask students to try and answer the questions and if needed to read the text again to find correct answers. Monitor
the task.

1. He viewed it as a western-backed coup

2. He seized Crimea and supported separatists in the east
3. He claimed they were doing military exercises
4. He recognized the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as independent

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5. He wanted to make sure that Ukraine never joins NATO, he wants to protect the people from genocide and
Nazi leadership
6. He wants wants to rebuild the Soviet Union.

5. Collocations

5 mins.
Ask students to match the collocations and check their answers in the text. Elicit answers and ask students to
create their own collocations. Monitor the task.

1. → f. 2. → a. 3. → g. 4. → d. 5. → b. 6. → c. 7. → e.

6. Listening

5 mins.
Ask students to watch the short video. Elicit answers.

1. "it’s surreal, we’re shocked. We don’t believe in that. 2. "... we heard (about) first explosions and it was from
It’s nothing connected to the real life that we used to Kharkiv, and we were devastated ..."
have and it’s devastating,"
3. A woman gave birth.

7. Talking point

10-15 mins.
Ask students to discuss the questions in pairs or small groups. Circulate and help as needed.

8. Optional extension - grammar

5-10 mins.
Ask students to read the rules and find five examples of reported speech sentences in the article. Then ask students
to create their own sentences. Elicit answers.
1) President Vladimir Putin had denied he wanted to attack his neighbour.
2) the US insisted that Russia intended to invade Ukraine
3) Russia maintained its troops were carrying out military exercises.
4) ... which he argued was a threat to Russia’s security.
5) American president Joe Biden simply believes that Putin secretly wants to rebuild the Soviet Union.

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