This article is about the war ongoing since 2014. For the escalation since 2022, see Russian invasion of Ukraine. For other wars between the two nations, see List of wars between Russia and Ukraine.

 

In February 2014, the Russo-Ukrainian War broke out. In the wake of Ukraine’s Revolution of Dignity, Russia helped pro-Russian rebels battling the Ukrainian military in the Donbas War and captured and annexed Crimea from Ukraine. In the first eight years of the battle, cyberwarfare and naval incidents also occurred. The largest conflict in Europe since World War II began in February 2022 when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and started conquering more territory in that nation. Tens of thousands of people have died and there is a refugee problem as a result of the fighting.

Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russian president of Ukraine, was overthrown by the Revolution of Dignity following the Euromaidan protests in early 2014. Soon after, as unmarked Russian troops took Crimea, pro-Russian protests broke out in eastern and southern Ukraine. Following a hotly contested referendum, Russia quickly annexed Crimea. The Donbas war began in April 2014 when militants supported by Russia took control of cities in the eastern Donbas area of Ukraine and declared the DPR and LPR to be independent nations. Russia used its own troops, tanks, and artillery to covertly help the rebels, preventing Ukraine from regaining all of the lost territory. Although Russia and Ukraine signed the Minsk II agreements in February 2015 in an attempt to put an end to the conflict, they were never fully carried out in the years that followed.

Putin declared on February 24, 2022, that Russia had no intention of occupying Ukraine and that a “special military operation” would be launched to “demilitarize and denazify” the nation. International condemnation of the Russian invasion that followed resulted in sanctions against Russia and military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine from other nations. Early in April, Russia gave up on its attempt to capture Kyiv due to strong opposition. Ukrainian soldiers started retaking territory in the northeast and south in August. The annexation of four partially-occupied provinces by Russia in late September sparked international outrage. Only modest amounts of territory have been won since then by Russian offensives and Ukrainian counteroffensives.Additionally, as a result of the invasion, Ukrainian and Ukrainian-backed forces have launched strikes in Russia, including a cross-border incursion into the Kursk Oblast in August 2024. Russia has attacked people away from the combat lines on multiple occasions, acting deliberately and indiscriminately. Putin and numerous other Russian leaders now have arrest warrants out for them by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which also launched an investigation into war crimes.

BACKGROUND

. Independent Ukraine and the Orange Revolution

Ukraine and Russia maintained close connections following the disintegration of the Soviet Union (USSR) in 1991. Ukraine consented to become a non-nuclear weapon state and ratify the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in 1994. Former Soviet nuclear weapons have been taken out of Ukraine and destroyed. Via the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances, Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom promised to protect Ukraine’s political independence and territorial integrity in exchange. Joining the Charter for European Security in 1999, Russia “reaffirmed the inherent right of each and every participating State to be free to choose or change its security arrangements, including treaties of alliance, as they evolve.”Many former Eastern Bloc nations joined NATO in the years following the fall of the Soviet Union, in part as a reaction to Russian involvement in regional security issues such the Russian constitutional crisis in 1993, the Abkhazian War (1992–1993), and the First Chechen War (1994–1996). Putin claimed that the West had betrayed its vow to forbid the admission of any nations from Eastern Europe

November 2004, protesters at Independence Square, Kiev, during the Orange Revolution
The presidential election in Ukraine in 2004 was contentious. Viktor Yushchenko, the opposition candidate, was poisoned by TCDD dioxin during the election campaign; he later claimed that Russia was involved.
Despite accusations of vote-rigging by election observers, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych was proclaimed the victor in November. Large-scale, nonviolent protests successfully contested the result during the two-month period that came to be known as the Orange Revolution. A second round rerun was conducted after the Supreme Court of Ukraine declared that the first round’s results were invalid owing to extensive election fraud. Yushchenko was declared the winner and Yulia Tymoshenko the prime minister, with Yanukovych in the opposition. The Orange Revolution and other early 21st-century protest movements, known as “color revolutions,” are frequently combined, especially in the former USSR. Russian military officers, according to Anthony Cordesman, saw these color revolutions as American and European attempts to weaken Russia’s national security by destabilizing its neighbors.
NATO membership was pursued by Georgia and Ukraine during the Bucharest summit in 2008. Different NATO members had different reactions. In an effort to avoid upsetting Russia, Western European nations rejected providing Membership Action Plans (MAP) to Georgia and Ukraine, despite US President George W. Bush advocating for their admittance. In the end, NATO declined to extend MAP offers to Georgia and Ukraine, although it did declare that “these countries will become members of NATO” eventually. Putin was adamantly against Georgia and Ukraine’s applications to join NATO. The prospect of Ukraine joining NATO was still unlikely by January 2022.
Yanukovych declared in 2009 that he intended to compete for president once more in the 2010 Ukrainian presidential election, which he eventually won When Yanukovych abruptly decided not to sign the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement in favor of tighter links to Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union, massive pro-EU protests broke out in November 2013. The finalization of Ukraine’s deal with the EU was unanimously accepted by the Ukrainian parliament on February 22, 2013. Russia then threatened sanctions in an attempt to get Ukraine to reject this arrangement. Sergei Glazyev, a Kremlin advisor, said that even if the deal was reached, Russia could not ensure that Ukraine would remain a sovereign state.

Euromaidan, Revolution of Dignity, and pro-Russian unrest

In the 2010 Ukrainian presidential election, which he eventually won, Yanukovych declared in 2009 that he intended to compete for president once again. Yanukovych’s abrupt decision to forgo signing the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement in favor of deeper relations to Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union in November 2013 caused a wave of massive pro-EU rallies. Finalization of Ukraine’s EU accord was passed by the Ukrainian parliament with a resounding majority on February 22, 2013. Next, using the fear of penalties, Russia coerced Ukraine into rejecting this deal. Russia could not ensure that Ukraine would remain a sovereign state even if the deal was completed, according to Kremlin advisor Sergei Glazyev.Early presidential elections were set for February 27th, along with the establishment of an interim administration. The day after, Yanukovych reappeared in Russia and, during a news conference, proclaimed himself to be the acting president of Ukraine, coinciding with Russia’s military incursion into Crimea. 2014 saw pro-Russian riots in Ukraine when leaders of the country’s Russian-speaking east reaffirmed their continued allegiance to Yanukovych.

Crimean military installations belonging to Russia

About 12,000 Russian military men from the Black Sea Fleet were present in several Crimean peninsula areas, including Sevastopol, Kacha, Hvardiiske, Simferopol Raion, Sarych, and others, at the beginning of the battle. Russia and Ukraine got into a fight in 2005 over who owned the lighthouse at Sarych Cape, which is close to Yalta, as well as several other beacons. The deal with Ukraine regarding basing and transit permitted Russian presence. This agreement limited the number of Russian military personnel in Crimea to 25,000. Russia was obliged to display its “military identification cards” while entering international borders, respect Ukraine’s sovereignty, abide by its laws, and refrain from meddling in its domestic affairs.
ussia was permitted to maintain its military bases in Crimea until 2017, at which point it was required to withdraw all military personnel, including its share of the Black Sea Fleet, from the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, in accordance with the original treaty on the division of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet signed in 1997. In order to settle the 2009 Russia-Ukraine gas dispute, former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych signed the Kharkiv Pact, a new agreement, on April 21, 2010. Russia’s tenure in Crimea was prolonged under the agreement until 2042, with a renewal option.

Legality and declaration of war

urrent Russo-Ukrainian War is still going on without an official declaration of war. Putin avoided a formal declaration of war by claiming to have started a “special military operation” when he launched the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. However, the Ukrainian government viewed the remark as a declaration of war, and numerous international news outlets reported as much. The Ukrainian parliament has not formally declared war on Russia, despite calling it a “terrorist state” in reference to its military operations within the country.
International law, including the UN Charter, was broken by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Under international criminal law as well as several national criminal codes, like as those of Russia and Ukraine, the invasion has also been deemed an act of aggression; however, prosecutions under these laws face procedural barriers.

Russian annexation of Crimea (2014)

The Russo-Ukrainian War started when Russia started to invade Crimea in late February 2014. In the brief period following Yanukovych’s overthrow, on February 22 and 23, Russian troops and special forces were stationed near the Crimean border. Russian military without any insignia started to take over Crimea on February 27. Russia has continuously denied having the military and has maintained that they are local “self-defense” units. In addition to establishing checkpoints to impose travel restrictions and cut off the Crimean peninsula from the rest of Ukraine, they took control of the parliament and government buildings in Crimea.Unmarked Russian special troops blockaded Ukrainian military bases, including the Southern Naval Base, and took control of airports and communications hubs in the days that followed. Russian cyberattacks brought down social networking, journalism, and government-related websites in Ukraine. Russian access to Ukrainian lawmakers’ and officials’ mobile phones was made possible via cyberattacks, which further hampered communication. The Russian parliament gave its approval for the use of force in Crimea on March 1.
A referendum on Crimea’s status was declared, the Crimean government was overthrown, and the pro-Russian Aksyonov government was installed while Russian special forces invaded the country’s parliament.The Crimean status referendum was announced by the Russian Aksyonov government. According to the Russian-installed authorities, the referendum—which took place during Russian occupation—was held in favor of joining Russia. It annexed Crimea on 18 March 2014. After that, Ukrainian military bases in Crimea were taken over by Russian soldiers, who also took their personnel hostage. Ukraine ordered the withdrawal of its remaining troops on March 24; on March 30, all Ukrainian military had left the peninsula.
The Ukrainian parliament proclaimed Crimea to be temporarily under Russian occupation on April 15.[76] The Russian government militarized the peninsula and issued nuclear threats following the annexation.
Putin declared the creation of a Russian military task force in the Crimea. NATO declared in November that it thought Russia was sending nuclear-armed weaponry to Crimea. Certain NATO allies started supplying the Ukrainian army with training following the seizure of Crimea.

War in the Donbas (2014–2015)

Pro-Russia unrest
2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine.

Pro-Russian and anti-government groups began holding protests in late February 2014 in major Ukrainian cities located in the country’s eastern and southern regions. The initial demonstrations that took place in southern and eastern Ukraine were mostly localized protests against the newly elected Ukrainian government. At this point, Russia’s engagement was restricted to endorsing the protests. But Russia took advantage of this and launched a concerted military and political offensive on Ukraine. When Putin called the Donbas a part of “New Russia” (Novorossiya) and voiced confusion over how the area had ever become a part of Ukraine, he effectively granted the separatists legitimacy.Russia kept assembling troops close to Ukraine’s eastern border in late March; by April, that number had increased to between 30 and 40,000. The deployment was intended to obstruct Ukraine’s reaction and threaten escalation. Due to this threat, Ukraine was forced to move its forces away from the fighting zone and toward its borders.
Early in March, Ukrainian authorities arrested local separatist leaders and clamped down on pro-Russian protests. These leaders were replaced with individuals with stakes in Russian companies and connections to the Russian security services. The separatist movement was taken over by Russian residents in April 2014, with the help of Russian volunteers and weapons, such as warriors from the Chechen and Cossack tribes

Armed conflict

Armed confrontation broke out between Ukraine and separatists supported by Russia in eastern Ukraine in April 2014. A group of fifty pro-Russian militants took control of the towns of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk on April 12. The guys with heavy weapons were “volunteers” from the Russian Armed Forces, led by former GRU colonel Igor Girkin (also known as “Strelkov”). They had no insignia and had been deployed from Crimea, which was seized by Russia. Girkin claimed that the Donbas War was started by this deed. “I am the one who initiated the war,” he declared. It all would have ended if our unit hadn’t crossed the border.
The interim Ukrainian government responded by launching a “Anti-Terrorist Operation” (ATO) on April 15. However, because Ukrainian forces were ill-positioned and ill-prepared, the operation swiftly came to a standstill. Ukraine declared at the end of April that it was no longer in control of the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces. It brought back conscription to its armed forces and declared itself to be on “full combat alert” in anticipation of a potential Russian invasion. Securing strategic locations around the ATO zone allowed the military to prepare for a decisive offensive after Ukraine’s national mobilization was over, which was the main goal of the May Ukrainian campaign aimed at limiting the rebels.
Russia started using a “hybrid approach” in May as the Ukrainian government and rebels’ war intensified. This method combined regular Russian troops, irregular militants, disinformation tactics, and conventional military backing. After the Ukrainian presidential elections came the First Battle of Donetsk Airport. It was the first combat to feature a significant number of Russian “volunteers” and represented a turning point between the separatists and the Ukrainian government. Russia’s paramilitaries comprised between 15% and 80% of the fighting forces during the summer of 2014 conflict’s peak, according to Ukraine. Russian guns, armor, and ammunition began to trickle in starting in June.