MOSCOW, August 1 — The enduring conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to shape the geopolitical landscape, with its origins tracing back to the early 1990s following Ukraine’s declaration of independence from the Soviet Union. The relationship between the two nations, long characterized by deep cultural and economic ties, has faced significant strain over recent years, driven by persistent disagreements on matters of trade and security. The record shows a significant escalation in 2014, when Russian forces annexed the Crimean Peninsula, a territory recognized internationally as part of Ukraine.
This action drew widespread condemnation from the international community, leading directly to the imposition of substantial economic sanctions on Russia. The events of 2014 unfolded against a backdrop of internal Ukrainian political upheaval.
Early that year, the Euromaidan protests culminated in what is known as the Revolution of Dignity, resulting in the flight of Ukraine’s then pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych. Immediately thereafter, unmarked Russian troops occupied Crimea. Russia proceeded to annex the peninsula in March 2014 following a referendum that was widely deemed illegitimate by international observers.
Concurrently, pro-Russian protests emerged in parts of southeastern Ukraine. By April 2014, Russian-backed militants had seized control of several towns and cities within Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, subsequently proclaiming the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) as independent states.
This marked the beginning of the Donbas war, a conflict in which Russia covertly supported these separatists with its own troops, tanks, and artillery, effectively preventing Ukraine from fully retaking the contested territory. The International Criminal Court has judged this conflict to be both a national and international armed conflict involving Russia, while the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Russia controlled the DPR and LPR from 2014 onwards.
In February 2015, Russia and Ukraine signed the Minsk II agreements, an attempt to de-escalate the fighting in the Donbas. However, these agreements were never fully implemented in the years that followed, and the Donbas war settled into a static conflict often likened to trench warfare. Ceasefires were repeatedly broken, yet the frontlines remained largely unchanged for an extended period.
Beginning in 2021, a massive Russian military buildup was observed near Ukraine’s borders, including within neighboring Belarus. Russian officials consistently denied any plans to attack Ukraine during this period.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin voiced expansionist views and challenged Ukraine’s fundamental right to exist, while also demanding that Ukraine be permanently barred from joining the NATO military alliance. Although Ukraine had maintained an officially neutral status at the outset of the conflict, the ongoing Russian aggressions prompted it to revive its plans to join NATO. In early 2022, Russia officially recognized the DPR and LPR as independent states, and as Russian troops encircled Ukraine, its proxies intensified attacks on Ukrainian forces in the Donbas.
On February 24, 2022, President Putin announced a “special military operation,” stating its objectives were to “demilitarize and denazify” Ukraine, while claiming Russia had no intention of occupying the country. The subsequent full-scale Russian invasion was met with extensive international condemnation.
Numerous countries responded by imposing a wide array of sanctions against Russia and dispatched significant humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine. In the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance, Russian forces abandoned an attempt to seize the capital city of Kyiv in early April 2022. By August of that year, Ukrainian forces commenced operations to liberate territories in the north-east and south.
In September 2022, Russia declared the annexation of four partially occupied provinces, a move also condemned internationally. As of 2022, the conflict had resulted in the deaths of over 13,000 people, alongside extensive damage to critical infrastructure and the economy. The broader war, particularly since the full-scale invasion, has led to a significant refugee crisis and hundreds of thousands of deaths.
Since September 2022, both Russian offensives and Ukrainian counteroffensives have yielded only small gains in territory, while the invasion has also led to attacks within Russia by Ukrainian and Ukrainian-backed forces, including a cross-border offensive into Russia’s Kursk region in August 202… . The current phase of the war, the largest conflict in Europe since World War II, continues to evolve, with ongoing military engagements and diplomatic efforts seeking a resolution.
