FromUkraine

On 29 August, Zelenskyy advisedly vowed the start of a full-scale counteroffensive in the southeast. He first announced a counteroffensive to retake Russian-occupied territory in the south concentrating on the Kherson-Mykolaiv region, a claim that was corroborated by the Ukrainian parliament as well as Operational Command South.At the start of the operation, the Ukrainian operational group "Kakhovka" and some Ukrainian officials claimed that their forces had broken through defensive lines manned by the 109th DPR Regiment and Russian paratroopers. The 109th DPR Regiment, which was a conscript unit that was known to serve on garrison duty in the Kherson area, was reported to have withdrawn from it. Ukrainian officials also claimed that they had hit and destroyed a large Russian base in the area amid a general increase of Ukrainian air and artillery bombardments of Russian positions. On 1 September, the Ukrainian army claimed to have captured Stanislav and Snihurivka, confirmed by local sources. On 4 September, Zelenskyy announced the liberation of two unnamed villages in Kherson Oblast and one in Donetsk Oblast. Ukrainian authorities released a photo showing the raising of the Ukrainian flag in Vysokopillia by Ukrainian forces. On 6 September, Ukraine started a second offensive in the Kharkiv area, where it achieved a rapid breakthrough. Meanwhile, Ukrainian attacks also continued along the southern frontline, though reports about territorial changes were largely unverifiable. On 12 September, Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian forces had retaken a total of 6,000 square kilometres (2,300 sq mi) from Russia, in both the south and the east. The BBC stated that it could not verify these claims. By 13 September, that Russian forces had withdrawn from Kyselivka, a settlement 15 km from Kherson.[clarification needed. On the same day, the Russia-backed deputy head of the Kherson Region posted a video from the outskirts of the settlement in which he claimed that Ukrainian troops have not been able to enter it.The mayor of Melitopol reported that Russian forces were abandoning the city and were moving to Russian-held Crimea.[322] Ukraine also claimed to have retaken Oleksandrivka on 13 September.[323] A local official claimed that Ukraine had retaken Kyselivka, but this had not been confirmed by the Ukrainian military or outside sources such as the ISW as of 14 September. In October, Ukrainian forces pushed further south towards the city of Kherson, taking control of 1,170 square kilometres (450 sq mi) of territory, with fighting extending to Dudchany. On 9 November, Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu ordered Russian forces to leave part of Kherson Oblast, including the city of Kherson, and move to the eastern bank of the Dnieper.On 11 November, Ukrainian troops entered Kherson, as Russia stated its withdrawal had been completed. This meant that Russian forces no longer had a foothold west of the Dnieper River (its right bank).

Although NATO and the EU have publicly taken a strict policy of "no boots on the ground" in support against the Russian invasion of Ukraine,[493] the United States has significantly increased the secret involvement of special operations military and CIA operatives in support of Ukrainian forces since the beginning of the invasion.[494] In addition, Ukraine has actively sought volunteers from other countries. On 1 March, Ukraine temporarily lifted visa requirements for foreign volunteers who wished to join the fight against Russian forces. The move came after Zelenskyy created the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine and called on volunteers to "join the defence of Ukraine, Europe and the world".[495] Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that as of 6 March, approximately 20,000 foreign nationals from 52 countries have volunteered to fight.[496] Most of these volunteers joined the newly created International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine.[496] On 9 June, the Donetsk People's Republic sentenced three foreign volunteers to death. Two of them were British citizens and one was a Moroccan national.[497][498] The foreign prisoners were later released.[499] On 3 March, Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov warned that mercenaries are not entitled to protection under the Geneva Conventions, and captured foreign fighters would not be considered prisoners of war, but prosecuted as criminals.[500] Shortly thereafter, however, on 11 March, Moscow announced that 16,000 volunteers from the Middle East were ready to join other pro-Russian foreign fighters alongside the Donbas separatists.[501] A video uploaded online showed armed Central African paramilitaries preparing to fight in Ukraine with Russian troops.[502] On 21 October, a White House press release stated that Iranian troops were in Crimea assisting Russia in launching drone attacks.[503]

Aid in construction of a missile defence system Missile defence of Ukraine was arriving piecemeal;[g] in Brussels on 12 October 2022, US Army General Mark Milley suggested to the Ukraine Defense Contact Group[d] that the allies of Ukraine "chip in to help Ukraine rebuild and sustain an integrated air and missile defense system" from the contributed air and missile defence system materiel.[478] Specifically, Ukraine would need to link together and integrate their existing materiel and radars with "command and control and communication systems".[478][479]: 15:15 [480]: minute 20:25 [h] On 28 October 2022 the Pentagon announced the 24th Presidential drawdown of materiel worth $275 million; the security assistance has totalled $18.5 billion to Ukraine since January 2021.[482] The aid includes 500 Excalibur precision-guided 155mm artillery rounds, 2000 155mm remote anti-armor mine systems, more than 1,300 anti-armor weapons, more than 2.75 million rounds of small arms ammunition, more HIMARS rockets, 125 Humvees, and four satellite communications antennas for Ukraine's command and control systems, as well as training for operation of the NASAMS units.[e] Two NASAMS units arrived in Ukraine on 7 November 2022.[482][483][i] Security Assistance Group Ukraine (SAGU) By 21 July 2022, the EUCOM Control Center-Ukraine/International Donor Coordination Centre (ECCU/IDCC) a joint cell formed in March 2022 had trained 1,500 Ukrainian Armed Forces members on coalition-donated equipment.[485] By 4 November 2022, the equipment shipments, and training measures of the Ukraine Contact Group had become repeatable enough to systematise in a Security Assistance Group Ukraine (SAGU), based in Wiesbaden, Germany.[472][486][487] On 4 November 2022 the Pentagon announced a $400 million USAI security assistance package to refurbish 45 T-72 tanks from the Czech Republic with "advanced optics, communications and armor packages";[488] in addition 1,100 Phoenix Ghost tactical unmanned aerial systems (UASs), and "40 armored riverine boats" are in the package.[488] The combined additional aid amounts to 90 more T-72s by year-end 2022, plus 250 M1117 Armored Security Vehicles furnished for the first time, as well as the refurbished HAWK missiles from the Czech Republic, which will serve on the HAWK launchers from Spain. On 10 November, the $400 million aid announcement was clarified: 4 Stinger-based air defense AN/TWQ-1 Avengers, to counter the Iranian drones, were provided to Ukraine for the first time, as well as additional HIMARS rockets, 10,000 mortar rounds, thousands of 155mm howitzer rounds, 400 grenade launchers, 100 Humvees, 20 million rounds of small arms ammunition, and cold-weather gear.[489] So far, the 20 HIMARS launchers drawn from US stocks are still in service; hundreds of T-72s have already been provided by Poland and other nations; the USAI security assistance has totalled $18.9 billion to Ukraine since January 2021.[490] On 15 November 2022 the US White House Office of Management and Budget asked Congress for an additional $38 billion in fiscal year 2023 in aid for Ukraine.[491] The supplemental funding request included $21.7 billion in security assistance, $14.5 billion in US State department sources and USAID sources to be provided to Ukraine's government, humanitarian relief, and global food security, as well as a $900 million request for the Department of Health and Human Services, to "provide standard assistance health care and support services to Ukrainian parolees"; in addition a $626 million Energy Department request would aid nuclear security at the power plant in Zaporizhzhia.[491] In addition the US White House is requesting that Congress grant $7 billion in additional presidential drawdown authority from existing Defense department materiel.[491] Were Congress to grant this fourth request, the total aid to Ukraine would be $104 billion in less than a year.[491] On 17 November 2022, it was reported that Israel approved the transfer of weapons systems with Israeli parts, via NATO countries including the UK. These include advanced fire-control and electro-optic systems. It also agreed to buy strategic materials for the Ukrainian armed forces.[492]

Lend-Lease for Ukraine On 1 October 2022 Lend-Lease for Ukraine came into effect.[f] A proposal to administer US security assistance as part of EUCOM is under consideration at the Pentagon.[471] This plan would systematise the services currently being provided to Ukraine on an ad hoc basis, and would provide a long-term vehicle for countering Russian plans under the provisions of the Lend-Lease act, and for coordinating Allied aid for Ukraine's defense with Ukrainian requests at a single point of contact in Wiesbaden, Germany.[471][472] On 4 October 2022 the 22nd Presidential drawdown from US stocks to Ukraine, $625 million in security assistance, included a tailored package: 4 more HIMARS systems and their associated rockets; 16 more M777 155mm howitzers and 75,000 155mm rounds; 500 M982 Excalibur precision-guided 155mm rounds; 1,000 155mm rounds of remote anti-armor mine systems; 16 more 105mm M119 howitzers; 30,000 120 mm mortar rounds; 200 mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles (MRAPs); 200,000 rounds of small arms ammunition; and Claymore minesLaura Cooper, a US DoD deputy assistant secretary of defense.[473] So far, the security assistance has totalled $16.8 billion to Ukraine.[473] On 14 October 2022 the 23rd Presidential drawdown from US stocks provided Ukraine $725 million in security assistance, including additional rounds for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS); 23,000 155mm howitzer rounds; 500 precision-guided 155mm artillery rounds; 5,000 155mm rounds of Remote Anti-Armor Mine (RAAM) Systems; 5,000 anti-tank weapons; High-speed Anti-radiation missiles (HARMs); more than 200 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs); small arms and more than 2,000,000 rounds of small arms ammunition; and medical supplies.[474] So far, the security assistance has totalled $18.2 billion to Ukraine since January 2021.[474] On 17 October 2022 the European Union approved €500 million ($486 million) in weapons for Ukraine,[475] and a two-year training mission under the command of Vice Adm. Herve Blejean (France) for 15,000 Ukrainian troops, initially.[475] The training, at the "individual, collective and specialized" levels would be held in Germany and Poland, and would be open to other nations as well. The planned training cost would be nearly €107 million.[475]

In the east, Russian troops attempted to capture Kharkiv, less than 35 kilometres (22 mi) from the Russian border,and met strong Ukrainian resistance. On 25 February, the Millerovo air base was attacked by Ukrainian military forces with OTR-21 Tochka missiles, which according to Ukrainian officials, destroyed several Russian Air Force planes and started a fire. On 28 February, missile attacks killed several people in Kharkiv.On 1 March, Denis Pushilin, head of the DPR, announced that DPR forces had almost completely surrounded the city of Volnovakha/ On 2 March, Russian forces were repelled from Sievierodonetsk during an attack against the city. Izium was reportedly captured by Russian forces on 17 March, although fighting continued. On 25 March, the Russian defence ministry said it would seek to occupy major cities in Eastern Ukraine. On 31 March, the Ukrainian military confirmed Izium was under Russian control, and PBS News reported renewed shelling and missile attacks in Kharkiv, as bad or worse than before, as peace talks with Russia were to resume in Istanbul. Amid the heightened Russian shelling of Kharkiv on 31 March, Russia reported a helicopter strike against an oil supply depot approximately 35 kilometres (22 mi) north of the border in Belgorod, and accused Ukraine of the attack.Ukraine denied responsibility By 7 April, the renewed massing of Russian invasion troops and tank divisions around the towns of Izium, Sloviansk, and Kramatorsk prompted Ukrainian government officials to advise the remaining residents near the eastern border of Ukraine to evacuate to western Ukraine within 2–3 days, given the absence of arms and munitions previously promised to Ukraine by then

Southern front Further information: Siege of Mariupol, 2022 bombing of Odesa, Battle of Kherson, and Battle of Enerhodar See also: Russian occupation of Kherson Oblast and Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia Oblast A destroyed Russian BMP-3 near Mariupol, 7 March On 24 February, Russian forces took control of the North Crimean Canal, allowing Crimea to obtain water from the Dnieper, cut off since 2014. On 26 February, the siege of Mariupol began as the attack moved east linking to separatist-held Donbas. En route, Russian forces entered Berdiansk and captured it. On 1 March, Russian forces attacked Melitopol and nearby cities.On 25 February, Russian units from the DPR moves on Mariupol and were defeated near Pavlopil.[168][169][170] By evening, the Russian Navy reportedly began an amphibious assault on the coast of the Sea of Azov 70 kilometres (43 mi) west of Mariupol. A US defence official said that Russian forces might be deploying thousands of marines from this beachhead. The Russian 22nd Army Corps approached the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant on 26 Februaryand besieged Enerhodar to take control of it. A fire began,but the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) subsequently said that essential equipment was undamaged. The nuclear power plant fell under Russian control but despite the fires, it recorded no radiation leaks. A third Russian attack group from Crimea moved northwest and captured bridges over the Dnieper. On 2 March, Russian troops won a battle at Kherson the first major city to fall to Russian forces in the invasion. Russian troops moved on Mykolaiv and attacked it two days later, but were repelled by Ukrainian forces.Also on 2 March, Ukrainian forces initiated a counter-offensive on Horlivka,controlled by the DPR since 2014 After renewed missile attacks on 14 March in Mariupol, the Ukrainian government said more than 2,500 had died. By 18 March, Mariupol was completely encircled and fighting reached the city centre, hampering efforts to evacuate civilians. On 20 March, an art school sheltering around 400 people, was destroyed by Russian bombs.The Russians demanded surrender, and the Ukrainians refused. On 24 March, Russian forces entered central Mariupol. On 27 March, Ukrainian deputy prime minister Olha Stefanishyna said that "(m)ore than 85 percent of the whole town is destroyed." Putin told Emmanuel Macron in a phone call on 29 March that the bombardment of Mariupol would only end when the Ukrainians surrendered.[190] On 1 April Russian troops refused safe passage into Mariupol to 50 buses sent by the United Nations to evacuate civilians, as peace talks continued in Istanbul. On 3 April, following the retreat of Russian forces from Kyiv, Russia expanded its attack on Southern Ukraine further west, with bombardment and strikes against Odesa, Mykolaiv, and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant

Russian efforts to capture Kyiv included a probative spearhead on 24 February, from Belarus south along the west bank of the Dnipro River, apparently to encircle the city from the west, supported by two separate axes of attack from Russia along the east bank of the Dnipro: the western at Chernihiv, and the eastern at Sumy. These were likely intended to encircle Kyiv from the north-east and east. Russia apparently tried to rapidly seize Kyiv, with Spetsnaz infiltrating into the city supported by airborne operations and a rapid mechanised advance from the north, but was unsuccessful. Russian forces advancing on Kyiv from Belarus gained control of the ghost towns of Chernobyl and Pripyat. Russian Airborne Forces attempted to seize two key airfields near Kyiv, launching an airborne assault on Antonov Airport, and a similar landing at Vasylkiv, near Vasylkiv Air Base, on 26 February. By early March, Russian advances along the west side of the Dnipro were limited by Ukrainian defences. As of 5 March, a large Russian convoy, reportedly 64 kilometres (40 mi) long, had made little progress toward Kyiv. The London-based think tank Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) assessed Russian advances from the north and east as "stalled". Advances from Chernihiv largely halted as a siege began there. Russian forces continued to advance on Kyiv from the northwest, capturing Bucha, Hostomel, and Vorzel by 5 March, though Irpin remained contested as of 9 March. By 11 March, the lengthy convoy had largely dispersed and taken cover. On 16 March, Ukrainian forces began a counter-offensive to repel Russian forces. Unable to achieve a quick victory in Kyiv, Russian forces switched their strategy to indiscriminate bombing and siege warfare On 25 March, a Ukrainian counter-offensive retook several towns to the east and west of Kyiv, including Makariv. Russian troops in the Bucha area retreated north at the end of March. Ukrainian forces entered the city on 1 April. Ukraine said it had recaptured the entire region around Kyiv, including Irpin, Bucha, and Hostomel, and uncovered evidence of war crimes in Bucha. On 6 April, NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said that the Russian "retraction, resupply, and redeployment" of their troops from the Kyiv area should be interpreted as an expansion of Putin's plans for Ukraine, by redeploying and concentrating his forces on Eastern Ukraine. Kyiv was generally left free from attack apart from isolated missile strikes. One did occur while UN Secretary-General António Guterres was visiting Kyiv on 28 April to discuss with Zelenskyy the survivors of the siege of Mariupol.

Recommissioned into the Russian Navy in April 2000, Moskva replaced the Kynda-class cruiser Admiral Golovko as the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet., In early April 2003, Moskva, along with the frigate Pytlivyy, Smetlivy, and a landing ship departed Sevastopol for exercises in the Indian Ocean with a Pacific Fleet task group (Marshal Shaposhnikov and Admiral Panteleyev) and the Indian Navy.The force was supported by the Project 1559V tanker Ivan Bubnov and the Project 712 ocean-going tug Shakhter. Moskva visited Malta's Grand Harbour in October 2004, and the Ensemble of the Black Sea Fleet performed at a concert at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta for the occasion. In 2008 and 2009, she visited the Mediterranean and participated in naval drills with the ships of the Northern Fleet. In August 2008, in support of the Russian invasion of Georgia, Moskva was deployed to secure the Black Sea.During a brief surface engagement, the Georgian Navy scored one missile hit on Moskva before being overwhelmed. After Russia's recognition of Abkhazia's independence, the ship was stationed at the Abkhazian capital, Sukhumi. On 3 December 2009, Moskva was laid up for a month at floating dry dock PD-30 in Sevastopol for a scheduled interim overhaul which comprised replacement of cooling and other machinery, reclamation work at the bottom and outboard fittings, propulsion shafts and screws, clearing and painting of bottom and above-water parts of the ship's hull. In April 2010 it was reported that Moskva would join other navy units in the Indian Ocean to conduct exercises. In August 2013 the cruiser visited Havana, Cuba. In late August 2013, Moskva was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea in response to the build-up of US warships along the coast of Syria.During the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014, Moskva blockaded the Ukrainian fleet in Donuzlav Lake. On 17 September 2014, Moskva was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea, taking shift from guard ship Pytlivy. In July 2015, Moskva visited Luanda, to strengthen military cooperation with Angola. From the end of September 2015, while in the eastern Mediterranean, the cruiser was charged with the air defences for the Russian aviation group based near the Syrian town of Latakia that conducted the air campaign in Syria.On 25 November 2015, after the 2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown, it was reported that Moskva, armed with the S-300F surface-to-air missile system,would be deployed near the coastal Syria-Turkey border. In 2016, she was replaced by sister ship Varyag in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.On 22 July 2016 Moskva was awarded the Order of Nakhimov. Upon return from her deployment in January 2016, Moskva was to undergo a refit and upgrade but due to lack of funds her future remained uncertain as of July 2018 In June 2019, Moskva left the port of Sevastopol in the Black Sea to test her combat systems and main propulsion.In February 2020, Russian Orthodox officials said that a very rare and important Christian relic purported to be a part of the True Cross on which Jesus was crucified was to be placed aboard the ship. On 3 July 2020, Moskva completed two and a half months of repairs and maintenance intended to allow her to remain in service until 2040. The first post-repair deployment was scheduled for August 2020; however, in reality, she only began to prepare for the deployment in February 2021. She was at sea on exercises in March 2021, and fired the new Vulkan anti-ship missiles in April 2021. 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Main article: Snake Island during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Moskva, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, helped lead the naval assault during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine from February until April 2022. She was the most powerful surface vessel in the Black Sea region at the time, and Ukraine's only threat against it were a limited number of Neptune missiles. In February 2022, the cruiser left Sevastopol to participate in the attack on Ukraine. The ship was later used against the Ukrainian armed forces during the attack on Snake Island, together with the Russian patrol boat Vasily Bykov. Moskva hailed the island's garrison over the radio and demanded its surrender, and was told "Russian warship, go fuck yourself". After this, all contact was lost with Snake Island, and the thirteen-member Ukrainian garrison was captured. Slava-class cruisers are built for both air and sea superiority, and have no land-attack missiles. Moskva mainly stayed behind other Russian warships, providing air cover for military demonstrations of amphibious landings with Odesa as the apparent target.

In March and April 2021, Russia began a major military build-up near the Russo-Ukrainian border. A second build-up followed from October 2021 to February 2022, in both Russia and Belarus. Members of the Russian government repeatedly denied having plans to invade or attack Ukraine; including government spokesman Dmitry Peskov on 28 November 2021, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on 19 January 2022, Russian ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov on 20 February 2022, and Russian ambassador to the Czech Republic Alexander Zmeevsky on 23 February 202] Putin's chief national security adviser, Nikolai Patrushev, believed that the West had been in an undeclared war with Russia for years. Russia's updated national security strategy, published in May 2021, said that Russia may use "forceful methods" to "thwart or avert unfriendly actions that threaten the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation". Sources say the decision to invade Ukraine was made by Putin and a small group of war hawks in Putin's inner circle, including Patrushev and Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu. During the second build-up, Russia demanded that the US and NATO enter into a legally binding arrangement preventing Ukraine from ever joining NATO, and remove multinational forces from NATO's Eastern European member states.[86] Russia threatened an unspecified military response if NATO followed an "aggressive line".These demands were widely seen as non-viable; new NATO members in Central and Eastern Europe had joined the alliance because they preferred the safety and economic opportunities offered by NATO and the EU, and their governments sought protection from Russian irredentism.A formal treaty to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO would contravene the treaty's "open door" policy, despite NATO's unenthusiastic response to Ukrainian requests to join.[89] Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz made respective efforts to prevent the war in February. Macron met with Putin but failed to convince him not to go forward with the attack. Scholz warned Putin about heavy sanctions that would be imposed should he invade Ukraine. Scholz, in trying to negotiate a settlement, also told Zelenskyy to renounce aspirations to join NATO and declare neutrality; however, Zelenskyy said Putin could not be trusted to uphold such an agreement.On 24 February, before 5:00 a.m. Kyiv time,Putin announced a "special military operation" in eastern Ukraine and "effectively declared war on Ukraine." In his speech, Putin said he had no plans to occupy Ukrainian territory and that he supported the right of the Ukrainian people to self-determination.He said the purpose of the "operation" was to "protect the people" in the predominantly Russian-speaking region of Donbas who he falsely claimed that "for eight years now, been facing humiliation and genocide perpetrated by the Kyiv regime".Putin said that Russia sought for the "demilitarisation and denazification" of Ukraine. Within minutes of Putin's announcement, explosions were reported in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, and the Donbas region.An alleged leaked report from within the FSB claimed that the intelligence agency was not warned of Putin's plan to invade Ukraine.] Immediately following the attack, Zelenskyy declared martial law in Ukraine.The same evening, he ordered a general mobilisation of all Ukrainian males between 18 and 60 years old who were prohibited from leaving the country.Russian troops entered Ukraine from the north in Belarus (towards Kyiv); from the north-east in Russia (towards Kharkiv); from the east in the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic; and from the south in Crimea.Russian equipment and vehicles were marked with a white Z military symbol, believed to be a measure to prevent friendly fire.

During the liberation of Liman, a soldiers of Armed Forces of Ukraine miraculously survived After the Soviet Union (USSR) dissolved in 1991, the newly independent republics of Ukraine and Russia maintained ties. Ukraine agreed in 1994 to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and dismantle the nuclear weapons in Ukraine left by the USSR.] In return, Russia, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US) agreed in the Budapest Memorandum to uphold the territorial integrity of Ukraine. In 1999, Russia signed the Charter for European Security, which "reaffirmed the inherent right of each and every participating state to be free to choose or change its security arrangements, including treaties of alliance". After the Soviet Union collapsed, several former Eastern Bloc countries joined NATO, partly due to regional security threats such as the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis, the War in Abkhazia (1992–1993) and the First Chechen War (1994–1996). Russian leaders claimed Western powers pledged that NATO would not expand eastward, although this is disputed. Ukraine, with the annexed Crimea in the south and two self-proclaimed separatist republics in Donbas in the east Following the Euromaidan protests and the Revolution of Dignity which resulted in the removal of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014, pro-Russian unrest erupted in eastern and southern parts of Ukraine. Russian soldiers without insignia took control of strategic positions and infrastructure in the Ukrainian territory of Crimea, and seized the Crimean Parliament. Russia organised a controversial referendum, whose outcome was for Crimea to join Russia. Russia's annexation of Crimea followed in March 2014, then the war in Donbas, which began in April 2014 with the formation of two Russia-backed separatist quasi-states: the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic. Russian troops were involved in the conflict.] The Minsk agreements signed in September 2014 and February 2015 were a bid to stop the fighting, but ceasefires repeatedly failed. A dispute emerged over the role of Russia: Normandy Format members France, Germany, and Ukraine saw Minsk as an agreement between Russia and Ukraine, whereas Russia insisted Ukraine should negotiate directly with the two separatist republics. In 2021, Putin refused offers from Zelenskyy to hold high-level talks, and the Russian government subsequently endorsed an article by former president Dmitry Medvedev arguing it was pointless to deal with Ukraine while it remained a "vassal" of the US. The annexation of Crimea led to a new wave of Russian nationalism, with much of the Russian neo-imperial movement aspiring to annex more Ukrainian land, including the unrecognised Novorossiya. Analyst Vladimir Socor argued that Putin's 2014 speech after the annexation of Crimea was a de facto "manifesto of Greater-Russia Irredentism". In July 2021, Putin published an essay titled "On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians", reaffirming that Russians and Ukrainians were "one people".American historian Timothy Snyder described Putin's ideas as imperialism.British journalist Edward Lucas described it as historical revisionism. Other observers have noted that the Russian leadership has a distorted view of modern Ukraine and its history #ukraine#russia#war#news#footages#warvideo

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has likely resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides and caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II, with an estimated 8 million people being displaced within the country by late May as well as 7.7 million Ukrainians fleeing the country as of 18 October 2022. Within five weeks of the invasion, Russia experienced its greatest emigration since the 1917 October Revolution. The invasion has also caused global food shortages.Following the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution, Russia annexed Crimea, and Russian-backed paramilitaries seized part of the Donbas region of south-eastern Ukraine, which consists of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, sparking a regional war. In March 2021, Russia began a large military build-up along its border with Ukraine, eventually amassing up to 190,000 troops and their equipment. Despite the build-up, denials of plans to invade or attack Ukraine were issued by various Russian government officials up to the day before the invasion. On 21 February 2022, Russia recognised the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic, two self-proclaimed breakaway quasi-states in the Donbas.The next day, the Federation Council of Russia authorised the use of military force and Russian troops entered both territories.The invasion began on the morning of 24 February, when Russian president Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" for the "demilitarisation and denazification" of Ukraine. In his address, Putin espoused irredentist views,challenged Ukraine's right to statehood, and falsely claimed Ukraine was governed by neo-Nazis who persecuted the ethnic Russian minority. Minutes later, missiles, rockets and airstrikes hit across Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, followed by a large ground invasion from multiple directions. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy enacted martial law and a general mobilisation. Russian attacks were initially launched on a northern front from Belarus towards Kyiv, a north-eastern front towards Kharkiv, a southern front from Crimea, and a south-eastern front from Luhansk and Donetsk.Russia's advance towards Kyiv stalled in March, with Russian troops retreating from the northern front by April. On the southern and south-eastern fronts, Russia captured Kherson in March and then Mariupol in May after a siege. On 19 April, Russia launched a renewed attack on the Donbas region, with Luhansk Oblast fully captured by 3 July. Russian forces continued to bomb both military and civilian targets far from the frontline. Ukrainian forces launched counteroffensives in the south in August, and in the northeast in September. Soon after, Russia announced the illegal annexation of four partially occupied Ukrainian oblasts. The invasion has received widespread international condemnation. The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution condemning the invasion and demanding a full withdrawal of Russian forces. The International Court of Justice ordered Russia to suspend military operations and the Council of Europe expelled Russia. Many countries imposed sanctions on Russia, as well as on its ally Belarus, which have affected the economies of Russia and the world, and provided humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine, totalling over $80B from 40 countries as of August 2022. Protests occurred around the world; those in Russia were met with mass arrests and increased media censorship, including a ban on the words "war" and "invasion".Over 1,000 companies have pulled out of Russia and Belarus in response to the invasion. The International Criminal Court has opened an investigation into crimes against humanity in Ukraine since 2013, including war crimes in the 2022 invasion.