Russo-Ukrainian War#Full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine (2022)

{{Main|Russia–Ukraine relations}}

{{Further|Post-Soviet transition in Ukraine|Orange Revolution}}

File:RIAN archive 848095 Signing the Agreement to eliminate the USSR and establish the Commonwealth of Independent States.jpg by the heads of states and governments of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine in 1991]]

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union (USSR) in 1991, Ukraine and Russia maintained close ties. In 1994, Ukraine signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and agreed to give up the former Soviet nuclear weapons in Ukraine.{{cite web |url=https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/revisiting-ukraines-nuclear-past-will-not-help-secure-its-future |title=Revisiting Ukraine's Nuclear Past Will Not Help Secure Its Future |first=Mariana |last=Budjeryn |work=Lawfare |date=21 May 2021 |access-date=16 January 2024 |archive-date=13 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240113122700/https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/revisiting-ukraines-nuclear-past-will-not-help-secure-its-future |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Budjeryn |first=Mariana |title=Issue Brief #3: The Breach: Ukraine's Territorial Integrity and the Budapest Memorandum |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/publication/Issue%20Brief%20No%203--The%20Breach--Final4.pdf |access-date=6 March 2022 |publisher=Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars |archive-date=5 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305203527/https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/publication/Issue%20Brief%20No%203--The%20Breach--Final4.pdf |url-status=live }} In return, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States agreed to uphold the territorial integrity and political independence of Ukraine through the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances.{{Cite news |last=Vasylenko |first=Volodymyr |date=15 December 2009 |title=On assurances without guarantees in a 'shelved document' |work=The Day |url=https://www.day.kiev.ua/en/article/close/assurances-without-guarantees-shelved-document |access-date=7 March 2022 |archive-date=29 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129213053/http://www.day.kiev.ua/en/article/close/assurances-without-guarantees-shelved-document |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Harahan |first=Joseph P. |date=2014 |title=With Courage and Persistence: Eliminating and Securing Weapons of Mass Destruction with the Nunn-Luger Cooperative Threat Reduction Programs |url=https://www.dtra.mil/Portals/61/Documents/History/With%20Courage%20and%20Persistence%20CTR.pdf?ver=2016-05-09-102902-893 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228153820/https://www.dtra.mil/Portals/61/Documents/History/With%20Courage%20and%20Persistence%20CTR.pdf?ver=2016-05-09-102902-893 |archive-date=28 February 2022 |access-date=7 March 2022 |website=DTRA History Series |publisher=Defense Threat Reduction Agency |asin=B01LYEJ56H}} In 1999, Russia was one of the signatories of the Charter for European Security, which guaranteed the right of each state "to choose or change its security arrangements" and to join alliances if they wish.{{cite web |date=19 November 1999 |title=Istanbul Document 1999 |url=https://www.osce.org/node/39569 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140601124042/https://www.osce.org/node/39569 |archive-date=1 June 2014 |access-date=21 July 2015 |publisher=Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe}} In the years after the dissolution of the USSR, several former Eastern Bloc countries joined NATO, partly in response to regional security threats involving Russia such as the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis, the War in Abkhazia (1992–1993) and the First Chechen War (1994–1996). Putin said Western powers broke promises not to let any Eastern European countries join.{{Cite news |last=Wiegrefe |first=Klaus |date=15 February 2022 |title=NATO's Eastward Expansion: Is Vladimir Putin Right? |work=Der Spiegel |url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/nato-s-eastward-expansion-is-vladimir-putin-right-a-bf318d2c-7aeb-4b59-8d5f-1d8c94e1964d |access-date=28 February 2022 |issn=2195-1349 |archive-date=2 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302172351/https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/nato-s-eastward-expansion-is-vladimir-putin-right-a-bf318d2c-7aeb-4b59-8d5f-1d8c94e1964d |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Hall |first=Gavin E. L. |date=14 February 2022 |title=Ukraine: the history behind Russia's claim that Nato promised not to expand to the east |url=https://theconversation.com/ukraine-the-history-behind-russias-claim-that-nato-promised-not-to-expand-to-the-east-177085 |access-date=14 March 2022 |website=The Conversation |archive-date=15 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315083547/https://theconversation.com//ukraine-the-history-behind-russias-claim-that-nato-promised-not-to-expand-to-the-east-177085 |url-status=live }}

File:Morning first day of Orange Revolution.jpg in Kyiv during the Orange Revolution, November 2004]]

The 2004 Ukrainian presidential election was controversial. During the election campaign, opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko was poisoned by TCDD dioxin;{{Cite news |last=Leung |first=Rebecca |date=11 February 2009 |title=Yushchenko: 'Live And Carry On' |work=CBS News |publisher=CBS |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/yushchenko-live-and-carry-on/ |access-date=17 April 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025143917/https://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/28/60minutes/main670103.shtml |archive-date=25 October 2012}}{{cite news |date=5 August 2009 |title=Study: Dioxin that poisoned Yushchenko made in lab |url=https://www.kyivpost.com/article/content/ukraine-politics/study-dioxin-that-poisoned-yushchenko-made-in-lab-46417.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220131165135/https://www.kyivpost.com/article/content/ukraine-politics/study-dioxin-that-poisoned-yushchenko-made-in-lab-46417.html |archive-date=31 January 2022 |access-date=29 January 2022 |publisher=Businessgroup |location=London |issn=1563-6429 |newspaper=Kyiv Post |agency=Associated Press}} he later accused Russia of involvement.{{Cite news |date=28 October 2009 |title=Yushchenko to Russia: Hand over witnesses |work=Kyiv Post |publisher=Businessgroup |url=https://archive.kyivpost.com/article/content/ukraine-politics/yushchenko-to-russia-hand-over-witnesses-49610.html |url-status=live |access-date=11 February 2010 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220226/https://www.kyivpost.com/nation/49610 |archive-date=26 February 2022 |issn=1563-6429}} Viktor Yanukovych was declared the winner, despite allegations of vote-rigging by election observers.{{cite web |date=3 December 2004 |title=The Supreme Court findings|url=https://www.skubi.net/ukraine/judgment-december-3.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130725230449/http://www.skubi.net/ukraine/judgment-december-3.html |archive-date=25 July 2013 |access-date=7 July 2008 |publisher=Supreme Court of Ukraine |language=uk}} During a two-month period which became known as the Orange Revolution, large peaceful protests successfully challenged the outcome, and the Supreme Court of Ukraine annulled the result due to widespread electoral fraud. A re-run election was won by Yushchenko, leaving Yanukovych in opposition.{{cite web |date=15 January 2008 |title=Ukraine-Independent Ukraine |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-30090/Ukraine |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080115052653/https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-30090/Ukraine |archive-date=15 January 2008 |access-date=14 January 2008 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica Online |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica}} The Orange Revolution is often grouped with other early-21st century protest movements within the former USSR, known as colour revolutions. According to Anthony Cordesman, Russian military officers viewed such colour revolutions as attempts by the US and European states to undermine Russia.{{cite web |last=Cordesman |first=Anthony H. |date=28 May 2014 |title=Russia and the 'Color Revolution' |url=https://www.csis.org/analysis/russia-and-%E2%80%9Ccolor-revolution%E2%80%9D |access-date=4 March 2022 |publisher=Center for Strategic and International Studies |archive-date=24 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224124048/https://www.csis.org/analysis/russia-and-%E2%80%9Ccolor-revolution%E2%80%9D |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Russo-Georgian War}}

At the 2008 Bucharest summit, Ukraine and Georgia sought to join NATO, but NATO members were split. Western European countries opposed offering Membership Action Plans (MAP) to Ukraine and Georgia, fearing it would unsettle Russia.{{Cite news |last=Brown |first=Colin |date=3 April 2008 |title=EU allies unite against Bush over Nato membership for Georgia and Ukraine |work=The Independent |page=24}} NATO refused to offer Ukraine and Georgia MAPs, but also issued a statement agreeing that "these countries will become members of NATO" at some point. Putin strongly opposed their NATO membership bids.{{Cite news |last=Evans |first=Michael |date=5 April 2008 |title=President tells summit he wants security and friendship |work=The Times |page=46 |quote=President Putin, in a bravura performance before the world's media at the end of the Nato summit, warned President Bush and other alliance leaders that their plan to expand eastwards to Ukraine and Georgia 'didn't contribute to trust and predictability in our relations'.}}

Russia invaded Georgia in August 2008 and took control of the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, demonstrating Russia's willingness to use military force to attain its political objectives.{{cite web |author=Kaarel Kaas |year=2009 |title=The Russian Bear on the Warpath Against Georgia |url=http://www.icds.ee/publications/article/the-russian-bear-on-the-warpath-against-georgia/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629170100/https://www.icds.ee/publications/article/the-russian-bear-on-the-warpath-against-georgia/ |archive-date=29 June 2017 |access-date=26 April 2019 |publisher=International Centre for Defense Studies}} Political scientist Paul D'Anieri says the United States "was accused of appeasement and naivete" over its reaction to the invasion.{{sfn|D'Anieri|2023|p=136}} The West's weak response in 2008—and later in 2014—contributed to Russia's assessment of Western warnings against 2022 invasion as not serious,{{Cite book |last=Brands |first=Hal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WxP-EAAAQBAJ&dq=Russia%E2%80%99s+invasion+of+Georgia+in+2008+and+Ukraine+in+2014+provided+ample+evidence&pg=PA39 |title=War in Ukraine: Conflict, Strategy, and the Return of a Fractured World |date=2024-04-02 |publisher=JHU Press |isbn=978-1-4214-4984-5 |pages=39 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last1=Kuzio |first1=Taras |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M6dK0AEACAAJ |title=Fascism and Genocide: Russia's War Against Ukrainians |last2=Jajecznyk-Kelman |first2=Stefan |date=2023 |publisher=ibidem |isbn=978-3-8382-7791-2 |pages=237 |language=en}} and, according to political scientist Samuel Ramani, encouraged further Russian aggression.{{Cite book |last=Ramani |first=Samuel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=74ebEAAAQBAJ&dq=first+Donbas+offensive+fuelled+these+assumptions+of+Western+weakness&pg=PT15 |title=Putin's War on Ukraine: Russia's Campaign for Global Counter-Revolution |date=2023-04-13 |publisher=Hurst Publishers |isbn=978-1-80526-003-5 |pages=11 |language=en}}

Yanukovych won the 2010 Ukrainian presidential election.{{cite news |last=Harding |first=Luke |date=8 February 2010 |title=Yanukovych set to become president as observers say Ukraine election was fair |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/feb/08/viktor-yanukovych-ukraine-president-election |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220227/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/feb/08/viktor-yanukovych-ukraine-president-election |archive-date=27 February 2022 |work=The Guardian |location=Kyiv |issn=1756-3224 |oclc=60623878}}

By January 2022, the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO remained remote.{{Cite news |last1=Wong |first1=Edward |last2=Jakes |first2=Lara |date=13 January 2022 |title=NATO Won't Let Ukraine Join Soon. Here's Why. |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/13/us/politics/nato-ukraine.html |access-date=12 March 2022 |archive-date=10 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230510153825/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/13/us/politics/nato-ukraine.html |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Euromaidan|Revolution of Dignity}}

File:Anti-government protests in Kiev (13087629725).jpg, 29 December 2013]]

In early 2013, the Ukrainian parliament overwhelmingly approved of finalizing a free trade and association agreement with the European Union (EU).{{Cite news |date=22 February 2013 |title=Parliament passes statement on Ukraine's aspirations for European integration |work=Kyiv Post |url=https://www.kyivpost.com/post/6963 |access-date=24 January 2024 |agency=Interfax-Ukraine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230111001653/https://www.kyivpost.com/post/6963 |archive-date=11 January 2023 |url-status=live }} The Kremlin pressured Ukraine to reject this agreement; Russia imposed embargoes on Ukrainian goods and threatened further sanctions. Kremlin adviser Sergei Glazyev warned that Russia might no longer acknowledge Ukraine's borders if the agreement was signed.{{Cite news |last=Walker |first=Shaun |date=22 September 2013 |title=Ukraine's EU trade deal will be catastrophic, says Russia |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/22/ukraine-european-union-trade-russia |access-date=12 September 2023 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=24 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724113026/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/22/ukraine-european-union-trade-russia |url-status=live }}

Under pressure from Russia,{{Cite book| title=The European Union in Crisis |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |editor1-last=Dinan |editor1-first=Desmond |pages=3, 274 |editor2-last=Nugent |editor2-first=Neil}} in November 2013, Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych suddenly withdrew from signing the agreement.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/21/ukraine-suspends-preparations-eu-trade-pact |title=Ukraine suspends talks on EU trade pact as Putin wins tug of war: Ukraine was due to sign accord at summit next week but MPs reject key bills, especially on freeing Yulia Tymoshenko from jail |first1=Ian |last1=Traynor |first2=Oksana |last2=Grytsenko |date=21 November 2013 |work=The Guardian}} This sparked a wave of massive protests, known as the "Euromaidan". The protesters opposed Russian interference, government corruption, abuse of power, and human rights violations, including new anti-protest laws.{{cite book |editor1-last=Marples |editor1-first=David |editor2-last=Mills |editor2-first=Frederick |title=Ukraine's Euromaidan: Analyses of a Civil Revolution |date=2015 |publisher=Ibidem Press |pages=9–14}}{{cite web | title=Ukraine Opposition Vows To Continue Struggle | website=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty | date=25 January 2014 | url=https://www.rferl.org/a/protesters-police-tense-standoff-ukraine/25241945.html}}

The protests would lead to the Revolution of Dignity. On 18–20 February 2014, more than 100 protesters were killed in clashes with Berkut special riot police; most of them were shot by snipers.{{cite web |title=Accountability for killings in Ukraine from January 2014 to May 2016 |url=https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/UA/OHCHRThematicReportUkraineJan2014-May2016_EN.pdf |publisher=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights |pages=9, 21–25}} On 21 February, Yanukovych and the leaders of the opposition signed an agreement to bring about an interim unity government, urgent constitutional changes (which needed signed by the president), and early elections. However, Yanukovych fled the capital that evening and did not inform parliament of his whereabouts. The next day, Ukraine's parliament unanimously voted to remove Yanukovych from office (about 73% of the parliament's 450 members voted).{{Cite news |date=24 February 2014 |title=Rada removes Yanukovych from office, schedules new elections for May 25 |work=Interfax-Ukraine |url=https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/192030.html |access-date=25 February 2015 |archive-date=10 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200210094859/https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/192030.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |date=22 February 2014 |title=Ukraine President Yanukovich impeached |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2014/02/ukraine-parliament-ousts-president-yanukovich-2014222152035601620.html |access-date=25 February 2015 |publisher=Al Jazeera |archive-date=7 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200907113053/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2014/02/ukraine-parliament-ousts-president-yanukovich-2014222152035601620.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Sindelar |first=Daisy |date=23 February 2014 |title=Was Yanukovych's Ouster Constitutional? |url=https://www.rferl.org/content/was-yanukovychs-ouster-constitutional/25274346.html |access-date=25 February 2014 |publisher=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |archive-date=29 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729143204/https://www.rferl.org/a/was-yanukovychs-ouster-constitutional/25274346.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Feffer |first=John |date=14 March 2014 |title=Who Are These 'People,' Anyway? |work=The Huffington Post |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-feffer/who-are-these-people-anyw_b_4964526.html |access-date=17 March 2014 |archive-date=18 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140318044043/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-feffer/who-are-these-people-anyw_b_4964526.html |url-status=live }}

On 27 February, an interim government was established and early presidential elections were scheduled. The following day, Yanukovych resurfaced in Russia and declared that he remained the president of Ukraine. Some political leaders in the mainly Russian-speaking eastern regions declared continuing loyalty to Yanukovych.{{Cite news |last1=Polityuk |first1=Pavel |last2=Robinson |first2=Matt |others=Gabriela Baczynska, Marcin Goettig, Peter Graff, Giles Elgood |date=22 February 2014 |title=Ukraine parliament removes Yanukovich, who flees Kyiv in 'coup' |work=Reuters |editor-last=Roche |editor-first=Andrew |url=https://in.reuters.com/article/ukraine-crisis-parliament-idINDEEA1L04L20140222 |access-date=18 November 2020 |archive-date=9 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609181723/http://in.reuters.com/article/ukraine-crisis-parliament-idINDEEA1L04L20140222 |url-status=dead }}

{{Main|2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine}}

File:2014-04-06. Протесты в Донецке 011.jpg, 6 April 2014, with flags of Russia, the Russian Empire, and the Eurasianist Movement.]]

From late February 2014, demonstrations by pro-Russian, separatist and counter-revolutionary groups took place in several cities in eastern and southern Ukraine.{{Cite book |last=Platonova |first=Daria |title=The Donbas Conflict in Ukraine: elites, protest, and partition |date=2022 |isbn=978-1-003-21371-0 |publisher=Routledge |oclc=1249709944}} The first protests were largely native expressions of discontent with the new Ukrainian government.{{Cite report |url=https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1400/RR1498/RAND_RR1498.pdf |title=Lessons from Russia's Operations in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine |last1=Kofman |first1=Michael |last2=Migacheva |first2=Katya |publisher=RAND Corporation |pages=33–34 |last3=Nichiporuk |first3=Brian |last4=Radin |first4=Andrew |last5=Tkacheva |first5=Olesya |last6=Oberholtzer |first6=Jenny |year=2017 |access-date=28 September 2021 |archive-date=17 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217091710/http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1400/RR1498/RAND_RR1498.pdf |url-status=live }} On 23 February, Ukraine's parliament adopted a bill to revoke the status of Russian as an official state language. The bill was not enacted, but the proposal caused anger in the Russian-speaking regions of Ukraine.{{Cite news |last=Ayres |first=Sabra |date=28 February 2014 |title=Is it too late for Kyiv to woo Russian-speaking Ukraine? |work=The Christian Science Monitor |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2014/0228/Is-it-too-late-for-Kiev-to-woo-Russian-speaking-Ukraine |access-date=25 February 2015 |archive-date=7 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107021055/https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2014/0228/Is-it-too-late-for-Kiev-to-woo-Russian-speaking-Ukraine |url-status=live }} These regions mostly consumed Russian-based media, which promoted the narrative that Ukraine's new government was an illegitimate "fascist junta" and that ethnic Russians were in imminent danger.{{Cite book |last=Kofman |first=Michael |url=https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1400/RR1498/RAND_RR1498.pdf |title=Lessons from Russia's Operations in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine. |publisher=RAND Corporation |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-8330-9617-3 |oclc=990544142 |pages=xii, 12-13 |access-date=28 September 2021 |archive-date=17 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217091710/http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1400/RR1498/RAND_RR1498.pdf |url-status=live }}{{Cite book |last=Kofman |first=Michael |url=https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1400/RR1498/RAND_RR1498.pdf |title=Lessons from Russia's Operations in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine. |publisher=RAND Corporation |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-8330-9617-3 |oclc=990544142 |access-date=28 September 2021 |archive-date=17 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217091710/http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1400/RR1498/RAND_RR1498.pdf |url-status=live }}

Most of the protests were in the Donbas region. A national survey held in March–April 2014 found that 54% of respondents in the Donbas expressed various degrees of separatism, including 31% who wanted the region to completely separate from Ukraine.{{cite book |author1=Ivan Katchanovski |editor1-last=Petro |editor1-first=Nicolai |title=Ukraine in Crisis |date=2017 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |pages=64–65 |chapter=The Separatist War in Donbas|doi=10.4324/9781315233116-5}}, ([https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313360283_The_Separatist_War_in_Donbas_A_Violent_Break-Up_of_Ukraine text online at researchgate]), pp. 22-26

Russia used the protests to launch a campaign of political warfare, information warfare, and irregular warfare against Ukraine.{{Cite report |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316122469 |title="Lessons Learned" from the Russo-Ukrainian War |last=Karber |first=Phillip A. |date=29 September 2015 |publisher=The Potomac Foundation |access-date=2 October 2021 |archive-date=2 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202110934/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316122469_Karber_RUS-UKR_War_Lessons_Learned |url-status=live }} Leaked e-mails and telephone calls later revealed that the Russian state had funded the separatists and had organized separatist protests, mainly through Kremlin advisers Vladislav Surkov and Sergey Glazyev.{{cite web |last1=Umland |first1=Andreas |title=The Glazyev Tapes: Getting to the root of the conflict in Ukraine |url=https://ecfr.eu/article/commentary_the_glazyev_tapes_getting_to_the_root_of_the_conflict_in_7165/ |website=European Council on Foreign Relations |date=1 November 2016}}{{cite book |author=David R. Marples |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NxdXEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22We+now+know+that+Kremlin+advisors+Vladislav+Surkov+and+Sergei+Glazyev+had+directed+efforts+to+coordinate+and+organize+these+protests+at+the+beginning+of+March+2014%22&pg=PA26 |title=The War in Ukraine's Donbas: Origins, Contexts, and the Future |date=2021 |publisher=Central European University Press |isbn=978-963-386-420-3 |pages=26 |quote=The Russian Spring was not exactly a spontaneous uprising. We now know that Kremlin advisors Vladislav Surkov and Sergei Glazyev had directed efforts to coordinate and organize these protests at the beginning of March 2014, turning them into a pro-Russian separatist movement.}}{{cite web |last1=Shandra |first1=Alya |last2=Seely |first2=Robert |title=The Surkov Leaks: The Inner Workings of Russia's Hybrid War in Ukraine |url=https://static.rusi.org/201907_op_surkov_leaks_web_final.pdf |publisher=Royal United Services Institute |date=2019}} Ukrainian authorities arrested local separatist leaders in early March. Those leaders were replaced by men with ties to the Russian security services and interests in Russian businesses.{{Cite report |url=https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1400/RR1498/RAND_RR1498.pdf |title=Lessons from Russia's Operations in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine |last1=Kofman |first1=Michael |last2=Migacheva |first2=Katya |publisher=RAND Corporation |page=38 |last3=Nichiporuk |first3=Brian |last4=Radin |first4=Andrew |last5=Tkacheva |first5=Olesya |last6=Oberholtzer |first6=Jenny |year=2017 |access-date=28 September 2021 |archive-date=17 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217091710/http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1400/RR1498/RAND_RR1498.pdf |url-status=live }}

On 6 April 2014, hundreds of masked men stormed and seized weapons from the Security Service buildings in the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk.{{cite book |title=Ukraine's Unnamed War |date=2023 |pages=138–140 |editor-last=Arel |editor-first=Dominique |publisher=Cambridge University Press |editor2-last=Driscoll |editor2-first=Jesse}} Protesters then stormed and occupied the Donetsk regional government headquarters, raising the Russian flag and demanding a referendum on joining Russia.{{Cite news |date=6 April 2014 |title=Ukraine: Pro-Russians storm offices in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26910210}} The next day, the activists held a meeting in the building and proclaimed the "Donetsk People's Republic" an independent state.{{Cite news |date=7 April 2014 |title=Ukraine crisis: Protesters declare Donetsk 'republic' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26919928 |access-date=24 December 2024 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}} On 29 April, armed pro-Russian activists stormed and occupied the Luhansk regional government headquarters, proclaiming the "Luhansk People's Republic".{{cite news |title=Ukraine crisis: Pro-Russia activists take Luhansk offices |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-27206280 |work=BBC News |date=29 April 2014}}

According to political scientist Paul D'Anieri, Russia had the following four causes to start its war with Ukraine in 2014, as well as for the 2022 war:

• Russia’s desire to regain control of Ukraine and turn it into a puppet regime.
• Russia's conception of itself as a great power entitled to a sphere of influence over the former Soviet Republics.
• The security dilemma in Europe, with Russia perceiving the expansion of NATO as a threat, and other Eastern states desiring guarantees against Russian expansionism.
• Democratic Ukraine being a threat to authoritarian regime in Russia.{{Cite book |last=D'Anieri |first=Paul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bomzEAAAQBAJ&dq=ease+over+time.+Therefore,+almost+no+one+predicted+the+limited+war+of&pg=PA308 |title=Ukraine and Russia: From Civilized Divorce to Uncivil War |date=2023-03-23 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-009-31552-4 |pages=308–317 |language=en |quote=... Therefore, almost no one predicted the limited war of 2014, or (until it was imminent) the much larger war of 2022.}}

File:RU and UA forces, 2014.02 (February) - EN 01.png

Different start-dates for the conflict have been identified. According to a number of scholars,{{Cite book |last=Brands |first=Hal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WxP-EAAAQBAJ&dq=First,+what+we+often+call+%E2%80%9Cthe+Ukraine+War%E2%80%9D++didn%E2%80%99t+start+in+February+2022,+even+if&pg=PA2 |title=War in Ukraine: Conflict, Strategy, and the Return of a Fractured World |date=2024-04-02 |publisher=JHU Press |isbn=978-1-4214-4984-5 |pages=2 |language=en |quote=First, what we often call “the Ukraine War” didn’t start in February 2022[...] the war between Ukraine and Rus sia began in 2014 with Vladimir Putin’s taking of Crimea and his intervention— first through proxies and then with regular forces—in the Donbas.}}{{Cite book |last=Plokhy |first=Serhii |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e3eoEAAAQBAJ&dq=began+eight+years+earlier,+on+February+27,+2014,+when+Russian+armed&pg=PT9 |title=The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History |date=2023-05-09 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |isbn=978-1-324-05120-6 |pages=xxi |language=en}}{{Cite journal |last=Heisbourg |first=François |date=2023-07-04 |title=How to End a War: Some Historical Lessons for Ukraine |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00396338.2023.2233347 |journal=Survival |volume=65 |issue=4 |pages=7–24 |doi=10.1080/00396338.2023.2233347 |issn=0039-6338 |quote=The war began with a minimal-force invasion of Crimea, a Ukrainian region that Russia annexed in March 2014, followed by lethal proxy operations in parts of the Donbas, another Ukrainian region.}} the war began with the February 2014 Russian occupation of Crimea, in particular the 27 February storming of the Crimean parliament.{{cite book |last1=Sasse |first1=Gwendolyn |title=Russia's War Against Ukraine |date=2023 |publisher=Wiley & Sons |page=2004 |quote=Russia's war against Ukraine began with the annexation of Crimea on 27 February 2014. On that day, Russian special forces without any uniform insignia appeared in Crimea, quickly taking control of strategic, military and political institutions.}}{{Cite book |last=Bacon |first=Edwin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k2kQEQAAQBAJ&dq=%22The+seizure+of+Crimea+sparked+the+war+with+Ukraine%22&pg=PA12 |title=Contemporary Russia |date=2024 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-3-031-52423-3 |pages=12 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last1=Arel |first1=Dominique |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7dWgEAAAQBAJ&dq=The+war+had+already+claimed+around+13,000+lives+when+++Vladimir+Putin+made+his+historic+decision,+sometime+in+late+2021+or+early+++2022,+to+launch+a+full-scale+military+invasion+to+try+to+break+Ukraine.&pg=PA1 |title=Ukraine's Unnamed War: Before the Russian Invasion of 2022 |last2=Driscoll |first2=Jesse |date=2023-01-05 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-316-51149-7 |pages=1 |language=en}} In contrast the Ukrainian government has declared 26 February the "Day of Resistance to the Occupation of Crimea", as on that day in 2014 a Crimean Tatar rally against Russian occupation was held.{{cite news |title=Zelenskyy marks Crimea's Resistance Day: 'Ukraine's territorial integrity is not up for debate' |url=https://english.nv.ua/nation/zelenskyy-marks-crimea-s-day-of-resistance-says-ukraine-s-territorial-integrity-is-non-negotiable-50493329.html |access-date=11 March 2025 |work=The New Voice Of Ukraine |date=26 February 2025}} Some, including political scientist Andreas Umland, prefer 20 February – the day Russia supposedly issued orders to prepare for invasion, which is also engraved on the Russian Crimea campaign medal.{{Cite web |title=Why the Russo- Ukrainian War Started Already in February 2014 |url=https://www.ui.se/english/publications/other-publications/2024/why-the-russo--ukrainian-war-started-already-in-february-2014/ |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=www.ui.se |language=sv}}{{cite book |last1=Käihkö |first1=Ilmari |title=Slava Ukraini!: Strategy and the Spirit of Ukrainian Resistance 2014–2023 |date=2023 |publisher=Helsinki University Press |page=72 |quote=If asked when the war began, many Ukrainians believe it was when the unmarked Russian 'little green men' occupied Crimea on February 27, 2014, or February 20, the date given on the official Russian campaign medal 'For the Return of Crimea'.}} Some analysts place the start of the conflict even earlier, including Dutch Professor of Military History Floribert Baudet who has stated that "Russia’s war against Ukraine did not start in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea and the secession of Donetsk and Luhansk, much less so with the invasion of February, 2022."{{cite book |last1=Baudet |first1=Floribert |editor1-last=Rothman |editor1-first=Maarten |editor2-last=Pepperkamp |editor2-first=Lonneke |editor3-last=Rietjens |editor3-first=Sebastiaan |title=Reflections on the Russia-Ukraine War |date=2024 |publisher=Leiden University Press |isbn=9789087284343 |page=33 |url=https://archive.org/details/oapen-20.500.12657-87676/page/33/mode/2up?q=2014 |access-date=9 April 2025}}

Analysts also differ over the nature of the conflict. Paul D'Anieri describes the events of the period as "a limited war in 2014, and then [a] much less limited war in 2022".{{sfn|D'Anieri|2023|p=332}} In contrast Ukrainian-American historian Serhii Plokhy stated in 2023 of the then-ongoing war that "I decline the temptation to identify the date of February 24, 2022, as its beginning, no matter the shock and drama of the all- out Russian assault on Ukraine, for the simple reason that the war began eight years earlier, on February 27, 2014".{{Cite book |last=Plokhy |first=Serhii |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e3eoEAAAQBAJ&dq=began+eight+years+earlier,+on+February+27,+2014,+when+Russian+armed&pg=PT9 |title=The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History |date=2023-05-09 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |isbn=978-1-324-05120-6 |pages=xxi |language=en}}

{{main|Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation}}{{Further|Timeline of the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation|l1=Timeline of the annexation}}

File:2014-03-09 - Perevalne military base - 0205.JPG]]

On 27 February 2014, Russian soldiers without insignia began to occupy Crimea.{{cite web|title=The Russian Invasion of the Crimean Peninsula 2014–2015|url=https://www.jhuapl.edu/Content/documents/RussianInvasionCrimeanPeninsula.pdf|access-date=24 September 2021|publisher=Johns Hopkins University|archive-date=6 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220206000517/https://www.jhuapl.edu/Content/documents/RussianInvasionCrimeanPeninsula.pdf|url-status=live}}{{cite book |last1=DeBenedictis |first1=Kent |title=Russian 'Hybrid Warfare' and the Annexation of Crimea |date=2022 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |page=140 |quote=During the night of 26–27 February, Russian special forces without insignia departed Sevastopol ... They arrived at the Crimean Rada and Council of Ministers buildings in Simferopol, disarmed the security and took control of the buildings ... Putin later signed a decree designating 27 February as Special Operations Forces Day in Russia.}}{{cite news |title=Armed men seize two airports in Ukraine's Crimea, Russia denies involvement |date=28 February 2014 |url=https://news.yahoo.com/armed-standoff-pro-russian-region-raises-ukraine-tension-033318395.html |access-date=14 September 2014 |publisher=Yahoo News |archive-date=19 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119220825/https://news.yahoo.com/armed-standoff-pro-russian-region-raises-ukraine-tension-033318395.html |url-status=live }} At first, Russia denied that the soldiers were theirs, instead claiming they were local "self-defense" units. Later, Putin admitted that they were Russian special forces, and said that he decided to "return" Crimea to Russia when the revolution happened.{{cite news |title=Putin reveals secrets of Russia's Crimea takeover plot |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31796226 |work=BBC News |date=9 March 2015}} Russia took advantage of the uncertainty in Ukraine immediately after the ousting of Yanukovych.[https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1400/RR1498/RAND_RR1498.pdf Lessons from Russia's Operations in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217091710/http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1400/RR1498/RAND_RR1498.pdf |date=17 February 2022 }}, p. 19, published by RAND Corporation in 2017. "Ukraine's government was in transition following the ouster of Yanukovych. As a result, it did not react to the Russian operation when launched. Russia's task was made relatively easy by the confusion and chaos that generally follows an uprising, such as what happened in Kyiv. Moscow capitalized on the tensions and uncertainty in Crimea, as well as on the inexperience of Ukraine's provisional government. Meeting notes of the discussion among Ukrainian leadership reveal a great deal of anxiety, uncertainty, and unwillingness to take action for fear of escalation."

The unmarked Russian soldiers seized the Crimean parliament and government buildings, as well as setting up checkpoints to restrict movement and cut off the Crimean peninsula from the rest of Ukraine.{{Cite news |last=Birnbaum |first=Michael |date=15 March 2015 |title=Putin Details Crimea Takeover Before First Anniversary |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/putin-was-surprised-at-how-easily-russia-took-control-of-crimea/2015/03/15/94b7c82e-c9c1-11e4-bea5-b893e7ac3fb3_story.html |access-date=11 June 2015 |archive-date=22 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222215205/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/putin-was-surprised-at-how-easily-russia-took-control-of-crimea/2015/03/15/94b7c82e-c9c1-11e4-bea5-b893e7ac3fb3_story.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Mackinnon |first=Mark |date=26 February 2014 |title=Globe in Ukraine: Russian-backed fighters restrict access to Crimean city |publisher=The Globe & Mail |location=Toronto |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/crimean-region-could-be-ukraines-newest-flashpoint/article17130654/ |access-date=2 March 2014 |archive-date=15 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915112306/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/crimean-region-could-be-ukraines-newest-flashpoint/article17130654/ |url-status=live }} While the armed men occupied Crimea's parliament, it dismissed the Crimean government and installed a pro-Russian government under Sergey Aksyonov, whose party won only 4% of votes in the last election.{{cite news |title=Ex-rebel admits lawmakers 'corralled' for Crimea vote |url=https://www.gulf-times.com/story/424588/ex-rebel-admits-lawmakers-corralled-for-crimea-vote |work=Gulf Times |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=25 January 2015}} Historian Andrew Wilson and journalist Luke Harding called this the "Crimean coup".{{cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=Andrew |author1-link=Andrew Wilson (historian) |title=Ukraine Crisis: What It Means for the West |date=2014 |publisher=Yale University Press |pages=108–111}}{{cite news |last1=Harding |first1=Luke |title=Crimean coup is payback by Putin for Ukraine's revolution |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/28/vladimir-putin-crimean-coup-russia-ukraine |work=The Guardian |date=28 February 2014}} The parliament then announced a referendum on Crimea's status. Russian rebel commander Igor 'Strelkov' Girkin later admitted:

"Rebels assembled lawmakers to corral them into the hall so that they could vote. I was one of the commanders of those rebels. I saw that from the inside".

On 1 March, the Federation Council of Russia approved the use of armed force in Ukraine.{{cite news |title=Federation Council Approves Putin's Request for Troop Deployment in Ukraine |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2014/03/01/federation-council-approves-putins-request-for-troop-deployment-in-ukraine-a32583 |work=The Moscow Times |date=1 March 2014}} Ukraine's prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, said that Russian military intervention would be the beginning of war,{{Cite news |date=1 March 2014 |title=Russian parliament approves use of armed forces in Crimea |publisher=Deutsche Welle |url=https://www.dw.com/en/russian-parliament-approves-use-of-armed-forces-in-crimea/a-17467100 |access-date=24 September 2021 |archive-date=30 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130112024/https://www.dw.com/en/russian-parliament-approves-use-of-armed-forces-in-crimea/a-17467100 |url-status=live }} and Ukraine's representative told the UN Security Council that Russia was committing "an act of aggression against the state of Ukraine".{{cite news |title=Russia, West trade accusations over Ukraine crisis at U.N. |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/world/russia-west-trade-accusations-over-ukraine-crisis-at-un-idUSDEEA2100T/ |work=Reuters |date=2 March 2014}} Unmarked Russian special forces occupied airports and communications centers, and blockaded Ukrainian military bases, such as the Southern Naval Base. Russian commander Strelkov admitted that most Crimean authorities, police and army units remained loyal to Ukraine, even if some were reluctant to carry out Ukrainian authorities' orders. Russian cyberattacks shut down websites of the Ukrainian government, news media, and social media. Cyberattacks also enabled Russian access to the mobile phones of Ukrainian officials and members of parliament, further disrupting communications.{{Cite book |last=Jen Weedon, FireEye |url=https://ccdcoe.org/multimedia/cyber-war-perspective-russian-aggression-against-ukraine.html |title=Cyber War in Perspective: Russian Aggression against Ukraine |date=2015 |publisher=NATO CCD COE Publications |isbn=978-9949-9544-5-2 |editor-last=Geers |editor-first=Kenneth |location=Tallinn |chapter=Beyond 'Cyber War': Russia's Use of Strategic Cyber Espionage and Information Operations in Ukraine |access-date=10 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816132103/https://ccdcoe.org/multimedia/cyber-war-perspective-russian-aggression-against-ukraine.html |archive-date=16 August 2016}}

The referendum was held under Russian occupation on 16 March 2014. According to the Russian-installed authorities, the result was in favor of joining Russia. It annexed Crimea on 18 March 2014. Following this, Russian forces seized Ukrainian military bases in Crimea and captured their personnel. On 24 March, Ukraine ordered its remaining troops to withdraw.{{cite news |title=Ukrainian forces withdraw from Crimea |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26713727 |work=BBC News |date=24 March 2014}}

On 15 April, Ukraine's parliament declared Crimea temporarily occupied by Russia.{{cite web |title=Ukraine Parliament declares Crimea temporarily occupied territory |url=https://news.biharprabha.com/2014/04/ukraine-parliament-declares-crimea-temporarily-occupied-territory/ |access-date=15 April 2014 |website=IANS |publisher=news.biharprabha.com |archive-date=12 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191112082126/https://news.biharprabha.com/2014/04/ukraine-parliament-declares-crimea-temporarily-occupied-territory/ |url-status=live }} Russia militarized the peninsula and made nuclear threats.{{cite web|date=11 July 2014|title="Russia Threatens Nuclear Strikes Over Crimea"|url=https://thediplomat.com/2014/07/russia-threatens-nuclear-strikes-over-crimea/|access-date=22 September 2021|publisher=The Diplomat|archive-date=24 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224211802/https://thediplomat.com/2014/07/russia-threatens-nuclear-strikes-over-crimea/|url-status=live}} In response to the annexation, some NATO members began training the Ukrainian army.{{Cite web |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/opinions_209039.htm |title=Doorstep statement |quote=NATO Allies have provided training to Ukrainian forces since 2014. In particular, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, have conducted significant training in Ukraine since the illegal annexation of Crimea, but also some EU NATO members have been part of these efforts. |access-date=16 November 2022 |archive-date=16 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116120553/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/opinions_209039.htm |url-status=live }}

{{Main|War in Donbas}}

{{For timeline|Timeline of the war in Donbas}}

File:2014-04-14 Sloviansk city council - 2.jpg

In April 2014, the anti-government protests in the Donbas developed into armed conflict between Russian-backed separatists and Ukraine. Russian citizens with links to its security forces had taken control of the separatist movement by this stage. Russia deployed its military near Ukraine's eastern border in late March, reaching 30,000–40,000 troops in early April.{{Cite news |date=28 March 2014 |title=Russia's buildup near Ukraine may reach 40,000 troops: U.S. sources |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-usa-military-idUSBREA2R1U720140328 |access-date=2 June 2015 |archive-date=20 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220220135253/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-usa-military-idUSBREA2R1U720140328 |url-status=live }} This buildup was used to threaten escalation and hinder Ukraine's response, forcing Ukraine to divert its military to its borders instead of the Donbas.

{{For timeline|Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014)}}

File:Igor Ivanovich Strelkov.jpg

On 12 April 2014, a fifty-man unit of pro-Russian militants seized the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. They had been sent from Russian-occupied Crimea and wore no insignia. The heavily armed men were Russian Armed Forces "volunteers" under the command of former GRU colonel Igor 'Strelkov' Girkin.{{cite book |last1=Wynnyckyj |first1=Mychailo |title=Ukraine's Maidan, Russia's War: A Chronicle and Analysis of the Revolution of Dignity |date=2019 |publisher=Columbia University Press |pages=151–153}} He said that this action sparked the war in eastern Ukraine:

I'm the one who pulled the trigger of this war. If our unit hadn't crossed the border, everything would have fizzled out, like in Kharkiv or Odesa.{{cite news |title=Russia's Igor Strelkov: I Am Responsible for War in Eastern Ukraine |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2014/11/21/russias-igor-strelkov-i-am-responsible-for-war-in-eastern-ukraine-a41598 |work=The Moscow Times |date=21 November 2014 |access-date=11 December 2020 |archive-date=23 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223204015/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2014/11/21/russias-igor-strelkov-i-am-responsible-for-war-in-eastern-ukraine-a41598 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=Should Putin fear the man who 'pulled the trigger of war' in Ukraine? |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/kim-strelkov-idUSL2N0TG1CM20141126/ |work=Reuters |date=26 November 2014 |access-date=23 February 2024 |archive-date=22 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231122231958/https://www.reuters.com/article/kim-strelkov-idUSL2N0TG1CM20141126/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite journal |last=Wilson |first=Andrew |date=20 April 2016 |title=The Donbas in 2014: Explaining Civil Conflict Perhaps, but not Civil War |journal=Europe-Asia Studies |language=en |volume=68 |issue=4 |pages=647–648 |doi=10.1080/09668136.2016.1176994 |issn=0966-8136 |s2cid=148334453}}

The separatists were supported with weaponry, artillery, armored vehicles and volunteers from Russia, including Chechen and Cossack fighters.{{Cite report |url=https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1400/RR1498/RAND_RR1498.pdf |title=Lessons from Russia's Operations in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine |last1=Kofman |first1=Michael |last2=Migacheva |first2=Katya |publisher=RAND Corporation |location=Santa Monica |pages=43–44 |last3=Nichiporuk |first3=Brian |last4=Radin |first4=Andrew |last5=Tkacheva |first5=Olesya |last6=Oberholtzer |first6=Jenny |year=2017 |access-date=28 September 2021 |archive-date=17 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217091710/http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1400/RR1498/RAND_RR1498.pdf |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=Strelkov/Girkin Demoted, Transnistrian Siloviki Strengthened in 'Donetsk People's Republic' |url=https://jamestown.org/program/strelkovgirkin-demoted-transnistrian-siloviki-strengthened-in-donetsk-peoples-republic/ |access-date=3 February 2022 |website=Jamestown |language=en-US |archive-date=3 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220203234943/https://jamestown.org/program/strelkovgirkin-demoted-transnistrian-siloviki-strengthened-in-donetsk-peoples-republic/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=27 July 2014 |title=Pushing locals aside, Russians take top rebel posts in east Ukraine |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-rebels-insight-idUSKBN0FW07020140727 |access-date=27 July 2014 |archive-date=28 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728013327/https://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/27/us-ukraine-crisis-rebels-insight-idUSKBN0FW07020140727 |url-status=live }}{{Cite journal |last=Matsuzato |first=Kimitaka |date=22 March 2017 |title=The Donbass War: Outbreak and Deadlock |url=https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&issn=10746846&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA492538899&sid=googleScholar&linkaccess=abs |journal=Demokratizatsiya |language=en |location=Princeton |publisher=Princeton University Press |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=175–202 |isbn=978-1-4008-8731-6 |access-date=2 October 2021 |archive-date=25 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225135323/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&issn=10746846&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA492538899&sid=googleScholar&linkaccess=abs&userGroupName=anon%7Ee2ec5983 |url-status=live }} Putin gave legitimacy to the separatists when he described the Donbas as part of the historical imperial territory of "New Russia" (Novorossiya), and suggested it should never have become part of Ukraine.{{Cite journal |last=Freedman |first=Lawrence |date=2 November 2014 |title=Ukraine and the Art of Limited War |journal=Survival |language=en |volume=56 |issue=6 |page=13 |doi=10.1080/00396338.2014.985432 |issn=0039-6338 |s2cid=154981360|doi-access=free }} The separatists then began attempting to create a new entity called "Novorossiya".{{Cite news |date=18 April 2014 |title=Here's Why Putin Calling Eastern Ukraine 'Novorossiya' Is Important |work=The Huffington Post |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/18/putin-novorossiya-ukraine_n_5173559.html |access-date=28 August 2014 |archive-date=19 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019092224/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/18/putin-novorossiya-ukraine_n_5173559.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Herszenhorn |first=David M. |date=17 April 2014 |title=Away From Show of Diplomacy in Geneva, Putin Puts on a Show of His Own |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/18/world/europe/russia-ukraine.html?_r=0 |access-date=28 August 2014 |archive-date=3 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211003102546/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/18/world/europe/russia-ukraine.html?_r=0 |url-status=live }}

File:Battalion "Donbas" in Donetsk region 04.jpg soldiers in the war zone, August 2014]]

In response, on 15 April the interim Ukrainian government launched an "Anti-Terrorist Operation" (ATO); however, Ukrainian forces were poorly prepared, and the operation soon stalled.{{Cite book|last=Holcomb|first=Franklin|url=https://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/ISW%20Separatist%20ORBAT%20Holcomb%202017_Final.pdf|title=The Kremlin's Irregular Army|publisher=Institute for the Study of War|year=2017|access-date=5 October 2021|archive-date=20 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120225729/https://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/ISW%20Separatist%20ORBAT%20Holcomb%202017_Final.pdf|url-status=live}} Russian separatist commander Strelkov said that Ukrainian forces were "extremely cautious" at first, as they did not know how Russia would respond. By the end of April, Ukraine announced it had lost control of the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk. It claimed to be on "full combat alert" against a possible Russian invasion and reinstated conscription to its armed forces.{{Cite news |date=2 May 2017 |title=Ukraine reinstates conscription as crisis deepens |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27247428 |work=BBC News |access-date=4 October 2021 |archive-date=21 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180821133617/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27247428 |url-status=live }} During May, the Ukrainian campaign focused on containing the separatists and positioning the military for a decisive offensive once Ukraine's mobilization had completed.{{cn|date=November 2024}}

As conflict between the separatists and the Ukraine escalated in May, Russia began to employ a "hybrid approach", combining disinformation tactics, irregular fighters, regular Russian troops, and conventional military support.{{Cite report |url=https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1400/RR1498/RAND_RR1498.pdf |title=Lessons from Russia's Operations in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine |last1=Kofman |first1=Michael |last2=Migacheva |first2=Katya |publisher=RAND Corporation |location=Santa Monica, CA |page=69 |last3=Nichiporuk |first3=Brian |last4=Radin |first4=Andrew |last5=Tkacheva |first5=Olesya |last6=Oberholtzer |first6=Jenny |year=2017 |access-date=28 September 2021 |archive-date=17 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217091710/http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1400/RR1498/RAND_RR1498.pdf |url-status=live }}{{Cite book |last=Fedorov |first=Yury E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7vODDwAAQBAJ |title=Routledge Handbook of Russian Security |date= 2019 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-18122-8 |language=en |chapter=Russia's 'Hybrid' Aggression Against Ukraine |access-date=2 October 2021 |archive-date=23 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240123072826/https://books.google.com/books?id=7vODDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}{{Cite report |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316122469 |title="Lessons Learned" from the Russo-Ukrainian War |last=Karber |first=Phillip A. |date=29 September 2015 |publisher=The Potomac Foundation |page=34 |access-date=2 October 2021 |archive-date=2 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202110934/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316122469_Karber_RUS-UKR_War_Lessons_Learned |url-status=live }} The First Battle of Donetsk Airport was the first between Ukrainian and separatist forces that involved large numbers of Russian "volunteers".{{Cite report |url=https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1400/RR1498/RAND_RR1498.pdf |title=Lessons from Russia's Operations in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine |last1=Kofman |first1=Michael |last2=Migacheva |first2=Katya |publisher=RAND Corporation |location=Santa Monica, CA |page=43 |last3=Nichiporuk |first3=Brian |last4=Radin |first4=Andrew |last5=Tkacheva |first5=Olesya |last6=Oberholtzer |first6=Jenny |year=2017 |access-date=28 September 2021 |archive-date=17 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217091710/http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1400/RR1498/RAND_RR1498.pdf |url-status=live }}{{Cite journal |last1=Loshkariov |first1=Ivan D. |last2=Sushentsov |first2=Andrey A. |date=2 January 2016 |title=Radicalization of Russians in Ukraine: from 'accidental' diaspora to rebel movement |journal=Southeast European and Black Sea Studies |publisher=Informa UK Limited |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=71–90 |doi=10.1080/14683857.2016.1149349 |issn=1468-3857 |s2cid=147321629}}{{rp|15}}

File:RU and UA forces, 2014.04 (April) - EN 01.png

Petro Poroshenko won the Ukrainian presidential elections in May. The separatist groups held disputed referendums that month,{{Cite news |date=12 May 2014 |title=Rebels appeal to join Russia after east Ukraine referendum |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-idUSBREA400LI20140512 |access-date=12 November 2021 |archive-date=12 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112125615/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-idUSBREA400LI20140512 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=11 May 2014 |title=Ukraine rebels hold referendums in Donetsk and Luhansk |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27360146 |access-date=12 November 2021 |archive-date=12 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112125617/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27360146 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=11 May 2014 |title=Rebels declare victory in East Ukraine vote on self-rule |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-idUSBREA400LI20140511 |access-date=12 November 2021 |archive-date=22 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222093442/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-idUSBREA400LI20140511 |url-status=live }} which were not recognized by Ukraine or any other UN member state.

On 5 July 2014, Ukrainian forces re-took Sloviansk and the pro-Russian forces retreated to Donetsk city. Russian commander Igor 'Strelkov' Girkin said that Donetsk was still relatively peaceful until then. He admitted responsibility for the shelling of the city by Ukrainian forces.

On 17 July 2014, Russian-controlled forces killed 298 civilians when they shot down a passenger aircraft, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, as it was flying over eastern Ukraine.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/10/world/europe/malaysian-airliner-ukraine.html |title=Malaysian Jet Over Ukraine Was Downed by 'High-Energy Objects,' Dutch Investigators Say |last1=Higgins |first1=Andrew |last2=Clark |first2=Nicola |date=9 September 2014 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=10 February 2023 |archive-date=10 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210005239/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/10/world/europe/malaysian-airliner-ukraine.html |url-status=live }} Investigations and the recovery of bodies began in the conflict zone as fighting continued.{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2014/07/19/12883715/ |title=Raw: Crews begin moving bodies at jet crash site |agency=Associated Press |date=19 July 2014 |newspaper=USA Today |access-date=19 July 2014 |archive-date=19 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719235621/http://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2014/07/19/12883715/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/mh17-unknown-groups-use-body-bags-20140719-3c8dl.html |title=MH17: 'Unknown groups' use body bags |last1=Miller |first1=Nick |date=19 July 2014 |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=19 July 2014 |archive-date=20 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720015536/http://www.smh.com.au/world/mh17-unknown-groups-use-body-bags-20140719-3c8dl.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/19/mh17-armed-rebels-chaos-corpses-ukraine |title=MH17: armed rebels fuel chaos as rotting corpses pile up on the roadside |last1=Grytsenko |first1=Oksana |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=19 July 2014 |archive-date=20 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720011703/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/19/mh17-armed-rebels-chaos-corpses-ukraine |url-status=live }}

By the end of July, Ukrainian forces were pushing into cities, isolating Donetsk and attempting to restore control of the border. By 28 July, the strategic heights of Savur-Mohyla were under Ukrainian control, along with the city of Debaltseve, an important railroad hub.{{Cite news|date=28 July 2014|title=ATO forces take over Debaltseve, Shakhtarsk, Torez, Lutuhyne, fighting for Pervomaisk and Snizhne underway – ATO press center|work=Interfax-Ukraine News Agency|url=https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/215712.html|access-date=28 July 2014|archive-date=22 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222140826/https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/215712.html|url-status=live}} These Ukrainian successes threatened the existence of the DPR and LPR statelets, prompting Russian cross-border shelling targeting Ukrainian troops on their own soil, from mid-July onwards.{{Cite web |url=https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/briefing-papers/russian-forces-ukraine |title=Russian Forces in Ukraine |first=Igor |last=Sutyagin |date=March 2015 |website=Royal United Services Institute |access-date=18 August 2019 |archive-date=11 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111112810/https://rusi.org/sites/default/files/201503_bp_russian_forces_in_ukraine.pdf |url-status=dead}}

{{See also|Battle of Ilovaisk|2014 Russian cross-border shelling of Ukraine}}

File:War in donbass.svg

By August 2014, Ukrainian forces had regained a lot of the territory seized by the separatists.{{Cite report |url=https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1400/RR1498/RAND_RR1498.pdf |title=Lessons from Russia's Operations in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine |last1=Kofman |first1=Michael |last2=Migacheva |first2=Katya |publisher=RAND Corporation |location=Santa Monica, CA |page=44 |last3=Nichiporuk |first3=Brian |last4=Radin |first4=Andrew |last5=Tkacheva |first5=Olesya |last6=Oberholtzer |first6=Jenny |year=2017 |access-date=28 September 2021 |archive-date=17 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217091710/http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1400/RR1498/RAND_RR1498.pdf |url-status=live }} Igor Girkin ('Strelkov') urged direct Russian military intervention, and said that the combat inexperience of his irregular forces, along with recruitment difficulties amongst the local population, had caused the setbacks. He stated, "Losing this war on the territory that President Vladimir Putin personally named New Russia would threaten the Kremlin's power and, personally, the power of the president".{{Cite news |date=25 July 2014 |title=Putin's Number One Gunman in Ukraine Warns Him of Possible Defeat |work=The Daily Beast |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/25/putin-s-number-one-gunman-in-ukraine-warns-him-of-possible-defeat.html |access-date=2 August 2014 |first=Anna |last=Nemtsova |archive-date=22 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322082253/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/25/putin-s-number-one-gunman-in-ukraine-warns-him-of-possible-defeat.html |url-status=live }} Strelkov said that in early August, Russian soldiers, supposedly on "vacation" from the army, began to arrive in Donbas.{{cite news |last=Dolgov |first=Anna |date=21 November 2014 |title=Russia's Igor Strelkov: I Am Responsible for War in Eastern Ukraine |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2014/11/21/russias-igor-strelkov-i-am-responsible-for-war-in-eastern-ukraine-a41598 |access-date=11 April 2015 |work=The Moscow Times |archive-date=23 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223204015/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2014/11/21/russias-igor-strelkov-i-am-responsible-for-war-in-eastern-ukraine-a41598 |url-status=live }} According to Nikolai Mitrokhin's estimates, by mid-August 2014 during the Battle of Ilovaisk, between 20,000 and 25,000 troops were fighting in the Donbas on the separatist side, and only 40–45% were "locals".{{Cite journal |last=Wilson |first=Andrew |date=20 April 2016 |title=The Donbas in 2014: Explaining Civil Conflict Perhaps, but not Civil War |journal=Europe-Asia Studies |language=en |volume=68 |issue=4 |page=649 |doi=10.1080/09668136.2016.1176994 |issn=0966-8136 |s2cid=148334453}}

Russia dispatched what it called a "humanitarian convoy" of trucks across the border on 22 August 2014. Ukraine's security service called this a "direct invasion" and said the trucks were being used to move weapons and bring the bodies of Russian soldiers out of Ukraine.{{Cite news |last1=Luhn |first1=Alec |last2=Roberts |first2=Dan |date=23 August 2014 |title=Ukraine condemns 'direct invasion' as Russian aid convoy crosses border |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/22/russian-convoy-crosses-border-ukraine-without-permission |access-date=28 August 2014 |archive-date=24 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224080656/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/22/russian-convoy-crosses-border-ukraine-without-permission |url-status=live }}

Russia then began a more direct invasion of the Donbas.{{Cite book |last=Snyder |first=Timothy |author-link=Timothy D. Snyder |title=The road to unfreedom : Russia, Europe, America |date= 2018 |isbn=978-0-525-57446-0 |edition=1st |location=New York |page=191 |oclc=1029484935 |publisher=Tim Duggan Books }} On 24 August 2014, Amvrosiivka was occupied by Russian paratroopers,{{cite web |script-title=uk:Геращенко каже, що Росія напала на Україну ще 24 серпня |title=Herashchenko kazhe, shcho Rosiya napala na Ukrayinu shche 24 serpnya |trans-title=Gerashchenko says that Russia attacked Ukraine on August 24 |url=https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-iac/1702643-gerashchenko_kage_shcho_rosiya_napala_na_ukraiinu_shche_24_serpnya_1968630.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208061529/https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-iac/1702643-gerashchenko_kage_shcho_rosiya_napala_na_ukraiinu_shche_24_serpnya_1968630.html |archive-date=8 December 2015 |access-date=20 October 2015 |website=Ukrinform |language=uk}} supported by 250 armoured vehicles and artillery pieces.{{cite web |date=24 August 2014 |script-title=ru:В Амвросиевку вошли российские войска без знаков отличия |title=V Amvrosiyevku voshli rossiyskiye voyska bez znakov otlichiya |trans-title=Russian troops entered Amvrosievka without insignia |url=https://news.liga.net/news/politics/3032771-v_amvrosievku_voshli_rossiyskie_voyska_istochnik.htm |access-date=20 October 2015 |website=Liga Novosti |language=ru |archive-date=19 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019095206/http://news.liga.net/news/politics/3032771-v_amvrosievku_voshli_rossiyskie_voyska_istochnik.htm |url-status=live }} On 25 August, a column of Russian military vehicles was reported to have crossed into Ukraine near Novoazovsk on the Azov sea coast. It appeared headed towards Ukrainian-held Mariupol,{{cite web |first=Jim |last=Heintz |date=25 August 2014 |title=Ukraine: Russian Tank Column Enters Southeast |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/ukraine-plans-billion-boost-defense-spending-25102664 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140825144115/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/ukraine-plans-billion-boost-defense-spending-25102664 |archive-date=25 August 2014 |access-date=26 August 2014 |publisher=ABC News}}{{Cite news |date=25 August 2014 |title=Ukraine crisis: 'Column from Russia' crosses border |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28924945 |access-date=26 August 2014 |archive-date=25 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140825092843/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28924945 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |first=Soraya Sarhaddi |last=Nelson |date=26 August 2014|title=Russian Separatists Open New Front in Southern Ukraine |agency=National Public Radio (NPR) |url=https://www.npr.org/2014/08/26/343352054/russian-separatists-open-new-front-in-eastern-ukraine |access-date=26 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140827130939/https://www.npr.org/2014/08/26/343352054/russian-separatists-open-new-front-in-eastern-ukraine |archive-date=27 August 2014}}{{Cite news |last=Kramer |first=Andrew |title=Ukraine Says Russian Forces Lead Major New Offensive in East |publisher=CNBC |url=https://www.cnbc.com/id/101951821 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140828041143/https://www.cnbc.com/id/101951821 |archive-date=28 August 2014 |quote=Tanks, artillery and infantry have crossed from Russia into an unbreached part of eastern Ukraine in recent days, attacking Ukrainian forces and causing panic and wholesale retreat not only in this small border town but a wide swath of territory, in what Ukrainian and Western military officials are calling a stealth invasion.}}{{Cite news |last=Tsevtkova |first=Maria |date=26 August 2014 |title='Men in green' raise suspicions of east Ukrainian villagers |publisher=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-fighters-idUSKBN0GQ1X520140826?irpc=932 |quote="Unidentified, heavily-armed strangers with Russian accents have appeared in an eastern Ukrainian village, arousing residents' suspicions despite Moscow's denials that its troops have deliberately infiltrated the frontier." |access-date=6 July 2021 |archive-date=23 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223120009/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-fighters-idUSKBN0GQ1X520140826?irpc=932 |url-status=live }} in an area that had not seen pro-Russian presence for weeks.{{cite news |last1=Lowe |first1=Christian |last2=Tsvetkova |first2=Maria |date=26 August 2014 |title= In Ukraine, an armoured column appears out of nowhere |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-ukraine-crisis-novoazovsk-idUKKBN0GQ19Y20140826 |work=Reuters |access-date=12 June 2022 |archive-date=11 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311001400/https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-ukraine-crisis-novoazovsk-idUKKBN0GQ19Y20140826 |url-status=live }} The following day, the Russian Defence Ministry said these soldiers had crossed the border "by accident".{{Cite news |date=26 August 2014 |title=Captured Russian troops 'in Ukraine by accident' |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28934213 |access-date=13 March 2015 |archive-date=23 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423234507/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28934213 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Walker |first=Shaun |date=26 August 2014 |title=Russia admits its soldiers have been caught in Ukraine |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/26/russia-admits-soldiers-in-ukraine |access-date=20 October 2022 |work=The Guardian |location=Kyiv |language=en |archive-date=22 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221022185148/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/26/russia-admits-soldiers-in-ukraine |url-status=live }}{{Cite journal |last=Freedman |first=Lawrence |date=2 November 2014 |title=Ukraine and the Art of Limited War |journal=Survival |language=en |volume=56 |issue=6 |page=35 |doi=10.1080/00396338.2014.985432 |issn=0039-6338 |s2cid=154981360|doi-access=free }} Russian troops captured Novoazovsk{{Cite news |last1=Gowen |first1=Annie |last2=Gearan |first2=Anne |date=28 August 2014 |title=Russian armored columns said to capture key Ukrainian towns |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/russian-and-ukraine-troops-battle-in-south-prompting-fears-of-widescale-invasion/2014/08/28/04b614f4-9a6e-40f4-aa21-4f49104cf0e4_story.html |access-date=30 August 2014 |archive-date=25 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025021021/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/russian-and-ukraine-troops-battle-in-south-prompting-fears-of-widescale-invasion/2014/08/28/04b614f4-9a6e-40f4-aa21-4f49104cf0e4_story.html |url-status=live }} and began deporting Ukrainians who did not have an address registered within the city.{{cite web |date=28 August 2014 |title=NATO: 1000 rosyjskich żołnierzy działa na Ukrainie. A Rosja znów: Nie przekraczaliśmy granicy [NA ŻYWO] |url=https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/1,114881,16542864,Jaceniuk__Putin_rozpoczal_wojne_w_Europie__chcemy.html?entry=1231554 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903081128/https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/1%2C114881%2C16542864%2CJaceniuk__Putin_rozpoczal_wojne_w_Europie__chcemy.html?entry=1231554 |archive-date=3 September 2014 |access-date=14 October 2014 |website=gazeta.pl |language=pl}} Pro-Ukrainian anti-war protests took place in Mariupol.{{Cite news|date=28 August 2014|title=BBC:Ukraine crisis: 'Thousands of Russians' fighting in east, August 28|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28963310|access-date=14 October 2014|archive-date=13 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181213050348/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28963310|url-status=live}} The UN Security Council called an emergency meeting.{{Cite news|date=28 August 2014|title=U.S. says Russia has 'outright lied' about Ukraine|agency=USA Today|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/08/28/ukraine-town-under-rebel-control/14724767/|access-date=1 September 2014|archive-date=31 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140831183052/http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/08/28/ukraine-town-under-rebel-control/14724767/|url-status=live}}

File:DPR storming Ilovaisk.png

The Pskov-based 76th Guards Air Assault Division of the Russian Airborne Forces allegedly entered Ukrainian territory in August and engaged in a skirmish near Luhansk,{{Cite web |last=Demchuk |first=Kait |date=15 October 2015 |title=Hiding in plain sight: Putin's war in Ukraine |url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/report/hiding-in-plain-sight/ |access-date=28 November 2024 |website=Atlantic Council |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=3 September 2014 |title=The Russian military intervention in eastern Ukraine |url=https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/analyses/2014-09-03/russian-military-intervention-eastern-ukraine |access-date=28 November 2024 |website=OSW Centre for Eastern Studies |language=en}} suffering 70–80 dead.{{Cite news |last=Свобода |first=Радіо |date=9 September 2014 |title=Місто Росії, яке чекає на труни з Донбасу |url=https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/26572766.html |access-date=28 November 2024 |work=Радіо Свобода |language=uk}} The Ukrainian Defence Ministry said that they had seized two of the unit's armoured vehicles near Luhansk, and reported destroying another three tanks and two armoured vehicles in other regions.{{cite web |script-title=uk:Сили АТО активно наступають. Терористи-найманці несуть чималі втрати |language=uk |title=Syly ATO aktyvno nastupayutʹ. Terorysty-naymantsi nesutʹ chymali vtraty |trans-title=ATO forces are actively advancing. Mercenary terrorists suffer heavy losses |url=https://www.mil.gov.ua/news/2014/08/21/sili-ato-aktivno-nastupayut-teroristi-najmanczi-nesut-chimali-vtrati/ |website=Міністерство оборони України |access-date=17 August 2021 |archive-date=22 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222180816/https://www.mil.gov.ua/news/2014/08/21/sili-ato-aktivno-nastupayut-teroristi-najmanczi-nesut-chimali-vtrati/ |url-status=live }}

The speaker of Russia's upper house of parliament and Russian state television channels acknowledged that Russian soldiers were in Ukraine, but referred to them as "volunteers" fighting for the "Russian world".{{Cite news|last=Morgan|first=Martin|date=5 September 2014|title=Russia 'will react' to EU sanctions|agency=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29078465|access-date=6 September 2014|archive-date=29 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129053756/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29078465|url-status=live}}{{Cite news |date=5 September 2014 |title=Russian TV shows funeral of soldier killed 'on leave' in Ukraine |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/05/russia-tv-funeral-soldier-killed-ukraine-on-leave |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211003102549/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/05/russia-tv-funeral-soldier-killed-ukraine-on-leave |archive-date=3 October 2021 |access-date=17 November 2020 |work=The Guardian |issn=0261-3077 |agency=Agence France-Presse}} A reporter for Novaya Gazeta, an opposition newspaper in Russia, stated that the Russian military leadership paid soldiers to resign their commissions and fight in Ukraine in the early summer of 2014, and then began ordering soldiers into Ukraine.{{Cite news |last=Alfred |first=Charlotte |date=6 September 2014 |title=Russian Journalist: 'Convincing Evidence' Moscow Sent Fighters To Ukraine |agency=The Huffington Post |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/06/elena-racheva_n_5774138.html |access-date=6 September 2014 |archive-date=19 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019092222/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/06/elena-racheva_n_5774138.html |url-status=live }} Russian opposition MP Lev Shlosberg made similar statements, although he said they were "regular Russian troops", disguised as units of the DPR and LPR.{{Cite news |last=Warketin |first=Alexander |date=29 August 2014 |title=Disowned and forgotten: Russian soldiers in Ukraine |agency=Deutsche Welle |url=https://www.dw.de/disowned-and-forgotten-russian-soldiers-in-ukraine/a-17888902 |access-date=6 September 2014 |archive-date=5 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505183627/http://www.dw.de/disowned-and-forgotten-russian-soldiers-in-ukraine/a-17888902 |url-status=dead}}

{{Main|Minsk agreements|Offensive on Mariupol (September 2014)|Second Battle of Donetsk Airport}}

File:Minsk Protocol.svg

On 3 September, Poroshenko said he and Putin had reached a "permanent ceasefire" agreement.{{Cite news|script-title=ru:В Кремле и Киеве разъяснили заявление о прекращении огня в Донбассе|language=ru|agency=Interfax|url=https://www.interfax.ru/world/394762|access-date=14 September 2014|archive-date=23 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223150808/https://www.interfax.ru/world/394762|url-status=live |date=3 September 2014 }} Russia denied this, denying that it was a party to the conflict, adding that "they only discussed how to settle the conflict".{{Cite news |date=3 September 2014 |title=Ukraine crisis: Putin hopes for peace deal by Friday |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29042561 |access-date=26 November 2020 |archive-date=24 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224192956/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29042561 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |date=3 September 2014 |title=Kremlin denies that Poroshenko and Putin agreed on ceasefire |url=https://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/poroshenko-and-putin-agree-on-ceasefire-363171.html |access-date=14 September 2014 |publisher=Kyiv Post |archive-date=4 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204192121/http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/poroshenko-and-putin-agree-on-ceasefire-363171.html |url-status=live }} Poroshenko then recanted.{{Cite news |last=MacFarquhar |first=Neil |date=3 September 2014 |title=Putin Lays Out Proposal to End Ukraine Conflict |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/04/world/europe/ukraine-russia.html?emc=edit_na_20140903&_r=0 |access-date=15 February 2015 |archive-date=23 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223124059/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/04/world/europe/ukraine-russia.html?emc=edit_na_20140903&_r=0 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Walker |first1=Shaun |last2=Luhn |first2=Alec |last3=Willsher |first3=Kim |date=3 September 2014 |title=Vladimir Putin drafts peace plan for eastern Ukraine |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/03/ukraine-russia-reach-ceasefire-agreement-kiev |access-date=26 November 2020 |work=The Guardian |archive-date=6 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306233533/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/03/ukraine-russia-reach-ceasefire-agreement-kiev |url-status=live }} On 5 September Russia's Permanent OSCE Representative Andrey Kelin, said that it was natural that pro-Russian separatists "are going to liberate" Mariupol. Ukrainian forces stated that Russian intelligence groups had been spotted in the area. Kelin said 'there might be volunteers over there.'{{Cite news |date=5 September 2014 |title=Russian ambassador anticipates 'liberation' of Mariupol in Ukraine |work=CNN |url=https://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2014/09/05/russian-ambassador-anticipates-liberation-of-mariupol-in-ukraine/ |access-date=11 April 2015 |archive-date=24 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224231059/https://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2014/09/05/russian-ambassador-anticipates-liberation-of-mariupol-in-ukraine/ |url-status=dead}} On 4 September 2014, a NATO officer said that several thousand regular Russian forces were operating in Ukraine.{{Cite news |last=Croft |first=Adrian |date=4 September 2014 |title=Russia has 'several thousand' combat troops in Ukraine: NATO officer |work=Reuters |editor-last=Faulconbridge |editor-first=Guy |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-russia-nato-idUSKBN0GZ19E20140904 |access-date=17 November 2020 |archive-date=3 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211003102607/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-russia-nato-idUSKBN0GZ19E20140904 |url-status=live }}

On 5 September 2014, the Minsk Protocol ceasefire agreement drew a line of demarcation between Ukraine and separatist-controlled portions of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts.

File:Ruins of Donetsk International airport (16).jpg in December 2014]]

Despite the Minsk ceasefire, sporadic clashes continued around Donetsk International Airport, the last part of Donetsk city held by Ukrainian troops. On 28 September, Russian-backed forces began an offensive to capture the airport. Ukrainian troops were besieged in the terminal and control tower. They were given the nickname "Cyborgs", as they withstood repeated Russian attacks in grim battlefield conditions.{{cite news |title=Ukraine conflict: The 'cyborg' defenders of Donetsk airport |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-29793696 |access-date=11 March 2025 |work=BBC News |date=31 October 2014}} The siege lasted throughout winter and most of the airport was destroyed by shelling. Eventually, on 21 January 2015, rebels took the airport with help from Russian special forces.{{Cite journal |last=Fox |first=Amos C. |title=Cyborgs at Little Stalingrad: A Brief History of the Battles of the Donetsk Airport, 26 May 2014 to 21 January 2015 |url=https://www.ausa.org/publications/cyborgs-little-stalingrad-brief-history-battles-donetsk-airport-26-may-2014-21-january |journal=Land Warfare Paper |publisher=Institute of Land Warfare of the Association of the United States Army |date=May 2019}}

On 7 and 12 November, NATO officials reconfirmed the Russian presence, citing 32 tanks, 16 howitzer cannons and 30 trucks of troops entering the country.{{cite news |date=7 November 2014 |title=Russia Sends Dozens Of Tanks Into Ukraine |url=https://news.sky.com/story/1368812/russia-sends-dozens-of-tanks-into-ukraine |access-date=8 November 2014 |work=Sky News |archive-date=31 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331070920/http://news.sky.com/story/1368812/russia-sends-dozens-of-tanks-into-ukraine |url-status=dead }} US general Philip M. Breedlove said "Russian tanks, Russian artillery, Russian air defence systems and Russian combat troops" had been sighted.{{Cite news |date=12 November 2014 |title=Ukraine crisis: Russian troops crossed border, Nato says |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30025138 |access-date=11 January 2015 |archive-date=6 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191206012013/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30025138 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |date=13 November 2014 |title=Lithuania's statement at the UN Security Council briefing on Ukraine |url=https://un.mfa.lt/index.php?1440223596 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141113031148/https://un.mfa.lt/index.php?1440223596 |archive-date=13 November 2014 |access-date=21 November 2013 |website=Permanent Mission of the Republic of Lithuania to UN in New York}} NATO said it had seen an increase in Russian tanks, artillery pieces and other heavy military equipment in Ukraine and renewed its call for Moscow to withdraw its forces.{{Cite news |date=22 January 2015 |title=NATO sees increase of Russian tanks and artillery in Ukraine |agency=Ukraine Today |url=https://uatoday.tv/geopolitics/nato-sees-increase-of-russian-tanks-and-artillery-in-ukraine-404317.html |access-date=11 August 2016 |archive-date=13 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313111414/http://uatoday.tv/geopolitics/nato-sees-increase-of-russian-tanks-and-artillery-in-ukraine-404317.html |url-status=live }} The Chicago Council on Global Affairs stated that Russian separatists enjoyed technical advantages over the Ukrainian army since the large inflow of advanced military systems in mid-2014: effective anti-aircraft weapons ("Buk", MANPADS) suppressed Ukrainian air strikes, Russian drones provided intelligence, and Russian secure communications system disrupted Ukrainian communications intelligence. The Russian side employed electronic warfare systems that Ukraine lacked. Similar conclusions about the technical advantage of the Russian separatists were voiced by the Conflict Studies Research Centre.{{Cite news |last=Giles |first=Keir |date=6 February 2015 |title=Ukraine crisis: Russia tests new weapons |publisher=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31146595 |access-date=7 February 2015 |archive-date=14 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214135819/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31146595 |url-status=live }} At the United Nations Security Council meeting on 12 November, the United Kingdom's representative accused Russia of intentionally constraining OSCE observation missions' capabilities, stating that the observers were allowed to monitor only two kilometers of border, and drones deployed to extend their capabilities were jammed or shot down.{{cite web |date=12 November 2014 |title=Ukraine — Security Council, 7311th meeting |url=https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/s_pv_7311.pdf |access-date=28 July 2022 |publisher=United Nations |archive-date=2 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220802082730/https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/s_pv_7311.pdf |url-status=live }}{{Primary source inline|date=July 2022|reason=The summary should be extended to include other points discussed on the meeting (such as OSCE report about Donetsk shelling), preferably be re-written using a secondary source, or excluded.}}

{{further|Minsk II|Volnovakha bus attack|January 2015 Mariupol rocket attack|February 2015 Kramatorsk rocket attack}}

File:2015-05-07. Репетиция парада Победы в Донецке 175.jpg in May 2015. Ukraine declared the Russian-backed separatist republics to be terrorist organizations.{{Cite news |date=27 January 2015 |title=Pro-Russian rebels officially labelled terrorists by Ukraine government |work=CBC News |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/pro-russian-rebels-officially-labelled-terrorists-by-ukraine-government-1.2933845 |access-date=26 January 2022 |archive-date=26 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126030916/https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/pro-russian-rebels-officially-labelled-terrorists-by-ukraine-government-1.2933845 |url-status=live }}]]

In January 2015, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Mariupol represented the three battle fronts.{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Michael Weiss |date=26 January 2015 |title=Putin Is Winning the Ukraine War on Three Fronts |work=The Daily Beast |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/26/ukraine-is-losing-the-war-on-3-fronts.html |access-date=11 April 2015 |archive-date=19 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170519222827/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/26/ukraine-is-losing-the-war-on-3-fronts.html |url-status=live }} Poroshenko described a dangerous escalation on 21 January amid reports of more than 2,000 additional Russian troops, 200 tanks and armed personnel carriers crossing the border. He abbreviated his visit to the World Economic Forum because of his concerns.{{Cite news |first=Francine |last=Lacqua |date=21 January 2015 |title=Ukraine Talks Start as Poroshenko Warns of an Escalation |work=Bloomberg News |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-01-21/ukraine-s-poroshenko-sees-grave-danger-of-escalating-violence |access-date=11 April 2015 |archive-date=3 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211003102618/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-01-21/ukraine-s-poroshenko-sees-grave-danger-of-escalating-violence |url-status=live }}

File:Rocket attack on Mariupol, 2015-01-24 (02).jpg, January 2015]]

A new package of measures to end the conflict, known as Minsk II, was agreed on 12 February 2015, with a ceasefire due to begin on 15 February.{{Cite news |date=12 February 2015 |title=Ukraine crisis: Leaders agree peace roadmap |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31435812 |access-date=2 March 2022 |archive-date=4 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104031648/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31435812 |url-status=live }}

Despite the ceasefire, Russian-backed forces launched an offensive on Debaltseve, a strategic town and salient held by Ukrainian forces. By 18 February 2015, the 8,000 Ukrainian troops had been almost surrounded and were forced to retreat from Debaltseve under relentless fire, suffering heavy casualties. Russian-backed rebel leader Alexander Zakharchenko had said his forces would not observe the ceasefire in Debaltseve, claiming it rightfully belonged to them.{{cite news |title=Ukraine troops withdrawing from key town of Debaltseve |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/18/ukraine-debaltseve-troops-withdraw-fighting-rebels-russia |access-date=11 March 2025 |work=The Guardian |date=18 February 2015}} Ukraine, the EU and the US accused Russia and its proxies of breaking the ceasefire, and said that the Russian military itself took part in the offensive.{{cite news |title=U.S. Faults Russia as Combat Spikes in East Ukraine |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/14/world/europe/ukraine-fighting-escalates-ahead-of-truce.html |access-date=11 March 2025 |work=The New York Times |date=13 February 2015}}

In September 2015 the United Nations Human Rights Office estimated that 8,000 casualties had resulted from the conflict in eastern Ukraine.{{cite web |title=UN News – Close to 8,000 people killed in eastern Ukraine, says UN human rights report |url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51819#.VfB9txUveUk |access-date=9 September 2015 |website=UN News Service Section |archive-date=8 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180208110511/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51819#.VfB9txUveUk |url-status=live }}

{{For timeline|Timeline of the war in Donbas (2015)|Timeline of the war in Donbas (2016)|Timeline of the war in Donbas (2017)}}

File:A Russia-backed rebel looking though firing port at his position near Donetsk, Eastern Ukraine, May 26, 2015.jpg

After the Minsk agreements, there were few changes in territorial control, while the war settled into static trench warfare around the agreed line of contact, marked by artillery duels and special forces operations. Hostilities never ceased for a substantial period of time, but continued at a low level despite repeated attempts at ceasefire. Both sides began fortifying their position by building networks of trenches, bunkers and tunnels.{{Cite magazine |title=Go Inside the Frozen Trenches of Eastern Ukraine |url=https://time.com/3715642/ukraine-russia-trenches-photos/ |magazine=Time |language=en |access-date=26 April 2022 |archive-date=26 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426034031/https://time.com/3715642/ukraine-russia-trenches-photos/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Brown |first=Daniel |title=Here's what it's like inside the bunkers Ukrainian troops are living in every day |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/heres-what-the-bunkers-ukrainian-troops-dig-for-protection-look-like-2017-8 |access-date=26 April 2022 |work=Business Insider |language=en-US |archive-date=26 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426034031/https://www.businessinsider.com/heres-what-the-bunkers-ukrainian-troops-dig-for-protection-look-like-2017-8 |url-status=live }} The relatively static conflict was labelled "frozen" by some,{{Cite news |last=Tsvetkova |first=Maria |date=21 July 2015 |title=Ceasefire brings limited respite for east Ukrainians |work=Euronews |agency=Reuters |url=http://www.euronews.com/newswires/3041823-ceasefire-brings-limited-respite-for-east-ukrainians/ |url-status=dead |access-date=26 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150725132924/http://www.euronews.com/newswires/3041823-ceasefire-brings-limited-respite-for-east-ukrainians/ |archive-date=25 July 2015}} though fighting never completely stopped.{{Cite report |url=https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1400/RR1498/RAND_RR1498.pdf |title=Lessons from Russia's Operations in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine |last1=Kofman |first1=Michael |last2=Migacheva |first2=Katya |publisher=RAND Corporation |location=Santa Monica, CA |pages=52–54 |last3=Nichiporuk |first3=Brian |last4=Radin |first4=Andrew |last5=Tkacheva |first5=Olesya |last6=Oberholtzer |first6=Jenny |year=2017 |access-date=28 September 2021 |archive-date=17 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217091710/http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1400/RR1498/RAND_RR1498.pdf |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Whitmore |first=Brian |date=26 July 2016 |title=The Daily Vertical: Ukraine's Forgotten War (Transcript) |publisher=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |url=http://www.rferl.org/a/daily-vertical-deadly-donbas-forgotten-war/27880993.html |access-date=9 September 2016 |archive-date=21 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221183121/https://www.rferl.org/a/daily-vertical-deadly-donbas-forgotten-war/27880993.html |url-status=live }} Between 2014 and 2022 there were 29 ceasefires, each agreed to remain in force indefinitely. However, none of them lasted more than two weeks.{{cite news |language=uk |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/articles/2020/09/7/7265424/ |script-title=uk:Місяць тиші на Донбасі. Що відбувається на фронті |trans-title=The longest truce in Donbas. Does it really exist |work=Ukrainska Pravda |date=7 September 2020 |access-date=17 September 2022 |archive-date=21 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221161222/https://www.pravda.com.ua/articles/2020/09/7/7265424/ |url-status=live }}

File:OSCE SMM monitoring the movement of heavy weaponry in eastern Ukraine (16705750566).jpg overseeing the withdrawal of Ukrainian heavy weaponry from the warzone, March 2015]]

US and international officials continued to report the active presence of Russian military in eastern Ukraine, including in the Debaltseve area.{{cite news |last=Bender |first=Jeremy |date=11 February 2015 |title=US Army commander for Europe: Russian troops are currently fighting on Ukraine's front lines |work=Business Insider |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-troops-fighting-on-ukraines-front-lines-2015-2 |access-date=12 June 2022 |archive-date=11 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311124804/https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-troops-fighting-on-ukraines-front-lines-2015-2 |url-status=live }} In 2015, Russian separatist forces were estimated to number around 36,000 troops (compared to 34,000 Ukrainian), of whom 8,500–10,000 were Russian soldiers. Additionally, around 1,000 GRU troops were operating in the area.{{cite web |date=2015 |title=Preserving Ukraine's Independence, Resisting Russian Aggression: What the United States and NATO Must Do|url=https://www.thechicagocouncil.org/sites/default/files/UkraineReport_February2015_FINAL.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207162845/https://www.thechicagocouncil.org/sites/default/files/UkraineReport_February2015_FINAL.pdf |archive-date=7 February 2015 |access-date=7 February 2015 |publisher=Chicago Council on Global Affairs}} Another 2015 estimate held that Ukrainian forces outnumbered Russian forces 40,000 to 20,000.{{Cite news |first=Laurence |last=Peter |date=6 February 2015 |title=Ukraine 'can't stop Russian armour' |publisher=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31164822 |access-date=7 February 2015 |archive-date=24 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224100921/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31164822 |url-status=live }} In 2017, on average one Ukrainian soldier died in combat every three days,[https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/11/27/kurt-volker-the-full-transcript-215868 Kurt Volker: The Full Transcript] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224090516/https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/11/27/kurt-volker-the-full-transcript-215868/ |date=24 February 2022 }}, Politico (27 November 2017) with an estimated 6,000 Russian and 40,000 separatist troops in the region.{{Cite news |date=11 September 2017 |title=Kyiv says there are about 6,000 Russian soldiers, 40,000 separatists in Donbas |work=Kyiv Post |url=https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/kyiv-says-6000-russian-soldiers-40000-separatists-donbas.html |access-date=16 November 2017 |archive-date=12 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112013707/https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/kyiv-says-6000-russian-soldiers-40000-separatists-donbas.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Christopher |date=30 January 2017 |title=Anxious Ukraine Risks Escalation In 'Creeping Offensive' |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-creeping-offensive-escalation-fighting/28268104.html |access-date=27 April 2018 |archive-date=22 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222030958/https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-creeping-offensive-escalation-fighting/28268104.html |url-status=live }}

File:Anti-terrorist operation in eastern Ukraine (War Ukraine) (38568992225).jpg

File:Poroshenko Donbass-4.jpg inspects Ukrainian positions at the frontline, June 2016]]

Cases of killed and wounded Russian soldiers were discussed in local Russian media.{{cite news |first=Alec |last=Luhn |date=19 January 2015 |title=They were never there: Russia's silence for families of troops killed in Ukraine |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/19/russia-official-silence-for-families-troops-killed-in-ukraine |access-date=20 January 2015 |work=The Guardian |archive-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201040735/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/19/russia-official-silence-for-families-troops-killed-in-ukraine |url-status=live }} Recruiting for Donbas was performed openly via veteran and paramilitary organisations. Vladimir Yefimov, leader of one such organisation, explained how the process worked in the Ural area. The organisation recruited mostly army veterans, but also policemen, firefighters etc. with military experience. The cost of equipping one volunteer was estimated at 350,000 rubles (around $6500) plus salary of 60,000 to 240,000 rubles per month. The recruits received weapons only after arriving in the conflict zone. Often, Russian troops traveled disguised as Red Cross personnel.{{cite news |first=James |last=Rupert |date=5 January 2015 |title=How Russians Are Sent to Fight in Ukraine |url=https://www.newsweek.com/how-russians-are-sent-fight-ukraine-296937 |access-date=10 January 2015 |publisher=Newsweek |archive-date=25 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225050150/https://www.newsweek.com/how-russians-are-sent-fight-ukraine-296937 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |date=26 December 2014 |title=Head of Sverdlovsk special forces veterans union: 'I help to send volunteers to war in Ukraine' |url=https://www.kyivpost.com/content/kyiv-post-plus/head-of-sverdlovsk-special-forces-veterans-union-i-help-to-send-volunteers-to-war-in-ukraine-376160.html |access-date=27 December 2014 |publisher=Kyiv Post |archive-date=9 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150909211211/http://www.kyivpost.com/content/kyiv-post-plus/head-of-sverdlovsk-special-forces-veterans-union-i-help-to-send-volunteers-to-war-in-ukraine-376160.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |first=Ilya |last=Kozakov |date=24 December 2014 |script-title=ru:Глава фонда свердловских ветеранов спецназа: 'Я помогаю добровольцам отправиться воевать на Украину' |title= |trans-title=Head of spetsnaz veteran fund in Sverdlovsk: 'I'm helping volunteers go to the war in Ukraine' |url=https://www.e1.ru/news/spool/news_id-416966.html |access-date=26 December 2014 |publisher=E1.ru |archive-date=22 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422180850/https://www.e1.ru/news/spool/news_id-416966.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |date=26 December 2014 |title=Russians Used Humanitarian Convoys to Send Militants into Ukraine, Russian Organizer Says |url=https://www.interpretermag.com/russians-used-humanitarian-convoys-to-send-militants-into-ukraine-russian-organizer-of-this-effort-says/ |access-date=27 December 2014 |publisher=The Interpreter Magazine |archive-date=24 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224231111/https://www.interpretermag.com/russians-used-humanitarian-convoys-to-send-militants-into-ukraine-russian-organizer-of-this-effort-says/ |url-status=live }} Igor Trunov, head of the Russian Red Cross in Moscow, condemned these convoys, saying they complicated humanitarian aid delivery.{{cite web|date=28 December 2014|title=Red Cross Official Says Moscow Used 'Humanitarian' Convoys to Ship Arms to Militants in Ukraine|url=https://www.interpretermag.com/red-cross-official-says-moscow-used-humanitarian-convoys-to-ship-arms-to-militants-in-ukraine/|access-date=28 December 2014|publisher=The Interpreter Magazine|archive-date=24 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224231100/https://www.interpretermag.com/red-cross-official-says-moscow-used-humanitarian-convoys-to-ship-arms-to-militants-in-ukraine/|url-status=live}} Russia refused to allow OSCE to expand its mission beyond two border crossings.{{Cite news|last=Theise|first=Eugen|date=24 June 2015|title=OSCE caught in the crossfire of the Ukraine propaganda war|work=Deutsche Welle|url=https://www.dw.com/en/osce-caught-in-the-crossfire-of-the-ukraine-propaganda-war/a-18539289|access-date=13 March 2022|archive-date=14 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314145408/https://www.dw.com/en/osce-caught-in-the-crossfire-of-the-ukraine-propaganda-war/a-18539289|url-status=live}} The volunteers were issued a document claiming that their participation was limited to "offering humanitarian help" to avoid Russian mercenary laws. Russia's anti-mercenary legislation defined a mercenary as someone who "takes part [in fighting] with aims counter to the interests of the Russian Federation".{{Cite news|last=Quinn|first=Allison|date=25 June 2015|title=Russia trolls world by saying it cannot stop its citizens from fighting in Ukraine|url=https://www.kyivpost.com/article/content/war-against-ukraine/russia-trolls-world-by-saying-it-cannot-stop-its-citizens-from-fighting-in-ukraine-392006.html|access-date=26 November 2020|website=Kyiv Post|archive-date=27 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227083929/https://www.kyivpost.com/article/content/war-against-ukraine/russia-trolls-world-by-saying-it-cannot-stop-its-citizens-from-fighting-in-ukraine-392006.html|url-status=live}}

File:Передові позиції в населеному пункті Піски 11 січня 2017.jpg

The Battle of Avdiivka erupted on 29 January 2017 and lasted for several days. It saw the biggest and deadliest clashes in over a year, with more than thirty people killed and heavy artillery barrages. It began hours after newly-elected US president Donald Trump spoke by telephone with the Russian president Putin. Some in the Ukrainian government believed the Russian-backed rebels were emboldened by Trump's election. Kostiatyn Yeliseieiv, deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, said it was "a test from the Russian side, of the reaction of the new American administration".{{cite news |title=Violence flares in war-weary Ukraine as US dithers and Russia pounces |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/14/avdiivka-frontline-ukraine-war-russia-backed-separatists |access-date=11 March 2025 |work=The Guardian |date=14 February 2017}}

{{See also|Timeline of the war in Donbas (2018)}}

File:Kerch Strait incident.png

In 2017, Ukraine appealed to a court of arbitration over the use of the Kerch Strait. By 2018 Russia had built a bridge over the strait, limiting the size of ships that could pass through, imposed new regulations, and repeatedly detained Ukrainian vessels.{{Cite news|last1=Larter|first1=David B.|last2=Bodner|first2=Matthew|date=28 November 2018|title=The Sea of Azov won't become the new South China Sea (and Russia knows it)|work=Defense News|url=https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2018/11/28/the-sea-of-azov-wont-become-the-new-south-china-sea-and-russia-knows-it/|access-date=12 November 2021|archive-date=25 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225124155/https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2018/11/28/the-sea-of-azov-wont-become-the-new-south-china-sea-and-russia-knows-it/|url-status=live}} On 25 November 2018, three Ukrainian boats traveling from Odesa to Mariupol were seized by Russian warships; 24 Ukrainian sailors were detained.{{Cite news|date=30 November 2018|title=Russia-Ukraine sea clash in 300 words|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46345697|access-date=25 November 2020|archive-date=5 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205084139/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46345697|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|date=December 2018|title=The Kerch Strait incident|work=International Institute for Strategic Studies|url=https://www.iiss.org/publications/strategic-comments/2018/the-kerch-strait-incident|access-date=26 September 2021|archive-date=19 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220219031531/https://www.iiss.org/publications/strategic-comments/2018/the-kerch-strait-incident|url-status=live}} A day later on 26 November, the Ukrainian parliament overwhelmingly backed the imposition of martial law along Ukraine's coastal regions and those bordering Russia.{{Cite news|title=Kiev declares martial law after Russian seizure of Ukrainian ships in Black Sea|work=The Independent|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-ukraine-live-latest-update-martial-law-black-sea-ships-navy-crisis-a8651736.html|access-date=26 November 2018|archive-date=30 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191030045107/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-ukraine-live-latest-update-martial-law-black-sea-ships-navy-crisis-a8651736.html|url-status=live}}

{{Further|Timeline of the war in Donbas (2019)|Timeline of the war in Donbas (2020)}}

File:Anti-terrorist operation in eastern Ukraine (War Ukraine) (27773607903).jpg tanks in the Donbas during the 'static war' phase]]

More than 110 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the conflict in 2019.{{Cite news|date=3 February 2020|title=Two Ukrainian Soldiers Killed Over Bloody Weekend In Donbas|work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/two-ukrainian-soldiers-killed-over-bloody-weekend-in-donbas/30413810.html|access-date=14 July 2020|archive-date=25 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125041923/https://www.rferl.org/a/two-ukrainian-soldiers-killed-over-bloody-weekend-in-donbas/30413810.html|url-status=live}} In May 2019, newly elected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took office promising to end the war in Donbas. In December 2019, Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists began swapping prisoners of war. Around 200 prisoners were exchanged on 29 December 2019.{{cite web|last=Betz|first=Bradford|date=29 December 2019|title=Ukraine, pro-Russian separatists swap prisoners in step to end 5-year war|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/ukraine-pro-russian-separatists-swap-prisoners|website=Fox News|access-date=30 December 2019|archive-date=26 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226151721/https://www.foxnews.com/world/ukraine-pro-russian-separatists-swap-prisoners|url-status=live}}{{Cite news |date=29 December 2019 |title=Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists exchange prisoners |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50938894 |access-date=30 December 2019 |archive-date=7 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107035612/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50938894 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=29 December 2019 |title=France's Macron, Germany's Merkel welcome prisoner swap in Ukraine |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-france-germany-idUSKBN1YX0F7 |access-date=17 August 2021 |archive-date=26 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226151713/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-france-germany-idUSKBN1YX0F7 |url-status=live }}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25ugINyLZfk |title=Ukraine government and separatists begin prisoners swap |date=29 December 2019 |publisher=Al Jazeera English |access-date=2 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226151716/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25ugINyLZfk |archive-date=26 December 2021 |url-status=live |via=YouTube}} In December 2019 Ukraine and Russia agreed to implement a ceasefire. The two sides agreed to swap prisoners of war and disengage military forces in several regions. According to Zelenskyy there was also progress with the issue of gas exports. Russia and Ukraine could not agree on the issues of the withdrawal of Russian-backed troops and the elections in the separatist-held regions.{{cite news |title=Ukraine and Russia agree to implement ceasefire |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50713647 |access-date=7 December 2024 |publisher=BBC |date=10 December 2019}}

According to Ukrainian authorities, 50 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in 2020.{{Cite news |date=9 April 2021 |title=Ukraine conflict: Moscow could 'defend' Russia-backed rebels |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56678665 |access-date=3 February 2022 |archive-date=10 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211210205807/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56678665 |url-status=live }} Between 2019 and 2021, Russia issued over 650,000 internal Russian passports to Ukrainians.{{Cite news |date=9 April 2021 |title=Kremlin defends Russian military buildup on Ukraine border |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/09/kremlin-officials-say-russia-will-not-stand-aside-if-kyiv-launches-assault |access-date=9 February 2022 |archive-date=9 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209105311/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/09/kremlin-officials-say-russia-will-not-stand-aside-if-kyiv-launches-assault |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=20 May 2021 |title=Zelenskiy: Russian passports in Donbass are a step towards 'annexation' |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/ukraine-sees-russias-issuance-passports-eastern-ukraine-step-towards-annexation-2021-05-20/ |access-date=9 February 2022 |archive-date=22 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222035419/https://www.reuters.com/world/ukraine-sees-russias-issuance-passports-eastern-ukraine-step-towards-annexation-2021-05-20/ |url-status=live }} There were 27 conflict-related civilian deaths in 2019, 26 deaths in 2020, and 25 deaths in 2021, over half of them from mines and unexploded ordnance.{{cite web |url= https://ukraine.un.org/sites/default/files/2022-02/Conflict-related%20civilian%20casualties%20as%20of%2031%20December%202021%20%28rev%2027%20January%202022%29%20corr%20EN_0.pdf |title= Conflict-related civilian casualties in Ukraine |page=3|work= OHCHR |date= 27 January 2022 |access-date= 27 January 2022}}

In 2025, Russian soldiers allegedly suffer severely from outbreaks of tuberculosis, with over 1000 personnel being treated at once in a branch of the Burdenko Main Military Clinical Hospital in the town of Pushkino, located in the Moscow region.{{cite web |author1=ESO |title=Tuberculosis crisis hits Putin's army as hospitalized soldiers surge |url=https://essanews.com/tuberculosis-crisis-hits-putins-army-as-hospitalized-soldiers-surge,7140693253191297a |website=essanews |access-date=1 April 2025 |date=30 March 2025}}

{{Main|Prelude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine}}

From March to April 2021, Russia began a major military build-up near the Ukrainian border, followed by a second build-up from October 2021 onward, in both Russia and Belarus.{{cite web |last=Schogol |first=Jeff |date=22 February 2022 |title=Here's what those mysterious white 'Z' markings on Russian military equipment may mean |url=https://taskandpurpose.com/analysis/russian-military-equipment-white-markings/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220227/https://taskandpurpose.com/analysis/russian-military-equipment-white-markings/ |archive-date=27 February 2022 |access-date=27 February 2022 |website=Task & Purpose |publisher=North Equity |quote=[B]ottom line is the 'Z' markings (and others like it) are a deconfliction measure to help prevent fratricide, or friendly fire incidents.}} Throughout, Russia said it was only holding military exercises, and Russia's government repeatedly denied it had plans to attack Ukraine.{{Cite news |last=Taylor |first=Adam |others=Photograph by Evgeniy Maloletka (Associated Press) |date=24 February 2022 |title=Russia's attack on Ukraine came after months of denials it would attack |newspaper=The Washington Post |publisher=Nash Holdings |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/24/ukraine-russia-denials/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=26 February 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220224205233/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/24/ukraine-russia-denials/ |archive-date=24 February 2022 |issn=0190-8286 |oclc=2269358 |quote=On Sunday ... 'There is no invasion. There is no such plans,' Antonov said.}}{{Cite news |date=24 February 2022 |title=Putin attacked Ukraine after insisting for months there was no plan to do so. Now he says there's no plan to take over. |work=CBS News |publisher=CBS |location=Kharkiv |publication-date=22 February 2022|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-ukraine-putin-invasion-after-denials-now-says-no-occupation-plan |url-status=live |access-date=26 February 2022 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220227/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-ukraine-putin-invasion-after-denials-now-says-no-occupation-plan |archive-date=27 February 2022}}

In early December 2021, following Russian denials, the US released intelligence of Russian invasion plans, including satellite photographs showing Russian troops and equipment near the border.{{Cite news|last1=Harris|first1=Shane|last2=Sonne|first2=Paul|date=3 December 2021|title=Russia planning massive military offensive against Ukraine involving 175,000 troops, U.S. intelligence warns|newspaper=The Washington Post|publisher=Nash Holdings|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/russia-ukraine-invasion/2021/12/03/98a3760e-546b-11ec-8769-2f4ecdf7a2ad_story.html|url-access=subscription|access-date=4 March 2022|quote=[U].S. intelligence has found the Kremlin is planning a multi-frontal offensive as soon as early next year involving up to 175,000 troops ... .|archive-date=30 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211230180238/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/russia-ukraine-invasion/2021/12/03/98a3760e-546b-11ec-8769-2f4ecdf7a2ad_story.html|url-status=live}} The intelligence reported a Russian list of key sites and individuals to be killed or neutralized.{{cite news|last=Merchant|first=Normaan|others=Photographs by Alexei Alexandrov and Alex Brandon (AP Photo)|date=25 February 2022|title=US intel predicted Russia's invasion plans. Did it matter?|work=Associated Press|location=Washington, D.C.|url=https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-vladimir-putin-business-europe-8acc2106b95554429e93dfee5e253743 |url-status=live |access-date=28 February 2022 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220301/https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-vladimir-putin-business-europe-8acc2106b95554429e93dfee5e253743 |archive-date=1 March 2022}} The US released multiple reports that accurately predicted the invasion plans.

File:Olga Stefanishyna held press conference along with NATO SG Stoltenberg about possible Russia invasion.jpg with NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg at a conference on 10 January 2022 regarding a potential Russian invasion]]

In the months preceding the invasion, Russian officials accused Ukraine of inciting tensions, Russophobia, and repressing Russian speakers. They made multiple security demands of Ukraine, NATO, and other EU countries. On 9 December 2021 Putin said that "Russophobia is a first step towards genocide".{{Cite news|date=10 December 2021|title=Putin Says Conflict in Eastern Ukraine 'Looks Like Genocide'|work=The Moscow Times|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/12/10/putin-says-conflict-in-eastern-ukraine-looks-like-genocide-a75780 |url-status=live |access-date=23 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221082440/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/12/10/putin-says-conflict-in-eastern-ukraine-looks-like-genocide-a75780 |archive-date=21 February 2022}}{{Cite news|date=9 December 2021|title=Путин заявил о геноциде на Донбассе|language=ru |trans-title=Putin announced the genocide in the Donbas|work=Rossiyskaya Gazeta|url=https://rg.ru/2021/12/09/putin-zaiavil-o-genocide-na-donbasse.html |url-status=live |access-date=23 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222212644/https://rg.ru/2021/12/09/putin-zaiavil-o-genocide-na-donbasse.html |archive-date=22 February 2022}} Putin's claims were dismissed by the international community,{{Cite news|last=Stanley|first=Jason |author-link=Jason Stanley|date=26 February 2022|title=The antisemitism animating Putin's claim to 'denazify' Ukraine|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/25/vladimir-putin-ukraine-attack-antisemitism-denazify |url-status=live |access-date=28 February 2022 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220301/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/25/vladimir-putin-ukraine-attack-antisemitism-denazify |archive-date=1 March 2022}} and Russian claims of genocide were rejected as baseless.{{Cite news|date=22 February 2022|title=Ukraine crisis: Vladimir Putin address fact-checked|publisher=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/60477712 |url-status=live |access-date=24 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223162137/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/60477712 |archive-date=23 February 2022}}{{cite web|last=Hinton|first=Alexander |author-link=Alexander Laban Hinton|date=24 February 2022|title=Putin's claims that Ukraine is committing genocide are baseless, but not unprecedented|url=https://theconversation.com/putins-claims-that-ukraine-is-committing-genocide-are-baseless-but-not-unprecedented-177511 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220226/https://theconversation.com/putins-claims-that-ukraine-is-committing-genocide-are-baseless-but-not-unprecedented-177511 |archive-date=26 February 2022 |access-date=25 February 2022|website=The Conversation}}{{Cite press release|title=Disinformation About the Current Russia-Ukraine Conflict – Seven Myths Debunked|date=24 January 2022|url=https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/news/disinformation-about-current-russia-ukraine-conflict-seven-myths-debunked-2022-01-24_en |access-date=22 February 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218045942/https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/news/disinformation-about-current-russia-ukraine-conflict-seven-myths-debunked-2022-01-24_en |archive-date=18 February 2022|website=Directorate-General for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations}} In a 21 February speech,{{Cite news|date=21 February 2022|title=Extracts from Putin's speech on Ukraine|publisher=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/extracts-putins-speech-ukraine-2022-02-21/ |url-status=live |access-date=28 February 2022 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220301/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/extracts-putins-speech-ukraine-2022-02-21/ |archive-date=1 March 2022}} Putin questioned the legitimacy of the Ukrainian state, repeating an inaccurate claim that "Ukraine never had a tradition of genuine statehood".{{cite web|last=Düben|first=Björn Alexander|date=1 July 2020|title='There is no Ukraine': Fact-Checking the Kremlin's Version of Ukrainian History|url=https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lseih/2020/07/01/there-is-no-ukraine-fact-checking-the-kremlins-version-of-ukrainian-history/|access-date=7 March 2022|website=LSE International History|publisher=London School of Economics|archive-date=19 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201219195429/https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lseih/2020/07/01/there-is-no-ukraine-fact-checking-the-kremlins-version-of-ukrainian-history/|url-status=live}} He incorrectly stated that Vladimir Lenin had created Ukraine, by carving a separate Soviet Republic out of what Putin said was Russian land, and that Nikita Khrushchev "took Crimea away from Russia for some reason and gave it to Ukraine" in 1954.{{Cite magazine|last=Perrigo|first=Billy|date=22 February 2022|title=How Putin's Denial of Ukraine's Statehood Rewrites History|url=https://time.com/6150046/ukraine-statehood-russia-history-putin/|magazine=Time|access-date=28 February 2022|archive-date=22 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222200708/https://time.com/6150046/ukraine-statehood-russia-history-putin/|url-status=live}}

File:Russian forces near Ukraine, 2021-12-03 (crop).jpg.{{Cite news|last1=Harris|first1=Shane|last2=Sonne|first2=Paul|date=3 December 2021|title=Russia planning massive military offensive against Ukraine involving 175,000 troops, U.S. intelligence warns|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/russia-ukraine-invasion/2021/12/03/98a3760e-546b-11ec-8769-2f4ecdf7a2ad_story.html|access-date=12 January 2022|archive-date=30 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211230180238/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/russia-ukraine-invasion/2021/12/03/98a3760e-546b-11ec-8769-2f4ecdf7a2ad_story.html|url-status=live}}]]

During the second build-up, the Russian government demanded NATO end all activity in its Eastern European member states and ban Ukraine or any former Soviet state from ever joining NATO, among other demands.{{Cite news|last1=Tétrault-Farber|first1=Gabrielle|last2=Balmforth|first2=Tom|date=17 December 2021|title=Russia demands NATO roll back from East Europe and stay out of Ukraine|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/russia-unveils-security-guarantees-says-western-response-not-encouraging-2021-12-17/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222081106/https://www.reuters.com/world/russia-unveils-security-guarantees-says-western-response-not-encouraging-2021-12-17/ |archive-date=22 February 2022}} A treaty to prevent Ukraine joining NATO would go against the alliance's "open door" policy and the right of countries to choose their own security,{{cite web|last=Szayna|first=Thomas S.|date=29 October 1997|title=The Enlargement of NATO and Central European Politics|url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/142-the-enlargement-nato-and-central-european-politics|access-date=14 March 2022|publisher=Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars|archive-date=14 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314161655/https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/142-the-enlargement-nato-and-central-european-politics|url-status=live}} although NATO had made no progress on Ukraine's requests to join.{{Cite news|last=Coyer|first=Cassandre|date=25 February 2022|title=Why is Ukraine not in NATO and is it too late to join? Here's what experts, NATO say|work=The Miami Herald|url=https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/article258774458.html |url-status=live |access-date=28 February 2022 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220301/https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/article258774458.html |archive-date=1 March 2022}} NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg replied that "Russia has no say" on whether Ukraine joins, and that "Russia has no right to establish a sphere of influence to try to control their neighbors".{{cite news |title=NATO chief: 'Russia has no right to establish a sphere of influence' |url=https://www.axios.com/nato-russia-ukraine-invasion-18619fd7-be80-4d37-86f8-fcebcb1fbe8a.html |work=Axios |date=1 December 2021 |access-date=17 December 2021 |archive-date=14 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214172403/https://www.axios.com/nato-russia-ukraine-invasion-18619fd7-be80-4d37-86f8-fcebcb1fbe8a.html |url-status=live}} NATO offered to improve communication with Russia and discuss limits on missile placements and military exercises, as long as Russia withdrew troops from Ukraine's borders,{{cite news |title=US offers no concessions in response to Russia on Ukraine |url=https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-russia-united-states-moscow-72856781c3b92640d03c5e954488ba90 |work=Associated Press |date=26 January 2022 |access-date=9 October 2023 |archive-date=1 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001143405/https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-russia-united-states-moscow-72856781c3b92640d03c5e954488ba90 |url-status=live }} but Russia did not withdraw.

{{Further|Timeline of the war in Donbas (2021)|Timeline of the war in Donbas (2022)}}

While Russian troops massed on Ukraine's borders, Russia's proxy forces launched thousands of attacks on Ukrainian troops in the Donbas.{{cite web |title=Ongoing Violations of International Law and Defiance of OSCE Principles and Commitments by the Russian Federation in Ukraine |url=https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/2/0/488998.pdf |publisher=United States Mission to the OSCE |access-date=6 March 2025 |date=20 May 2021}} Observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which also includes Ukraine and Russia, reported more than 90,000 ceasefire violations throughout 2021; the vast majority in Russian-controlled territory.{{cite web |title=2021 trends and observations |publisher=Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe |url=https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/2/a/511327.pdf |access-date=6 March 2025 |date=2022}}

Fighting in Donbas escalated significantly from 17 February 2022 onwards.{{Cite news|last1=MacKinnon|first1=Mark|last2=Morrow|first2=Adrian|date=18 February 2022|title=Biden 'convinced' Putin will invade Ukraine as Donbas region ordered evacuated|language=en-CA|work=The Globe and Mail|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-sirens-wail-in-southeast-ukraine-as-civilians-told-to-evacuate-pro/|access-date=11 September 2022|archive-date=11 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220911071412/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-sirens-wail-in-southeast-ukraine-as-civilians-told-to-evacuate-pro/|url-status=live}} The Ukrainians and the pro-Russian separatists each accused the other of attacks.{{cite web|last=Brown|first=David|date=17 February 2022|others=Photograph by the Russian Defence Ministry; Graphics by Sandra Rodriguez Chillida and Prina Shah.|title=Ukraine: How big is Russia's military build-up?|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60158694 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223070711/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60158694 |archive-date=23 February 2022 |access-date=23 February 2022|website=BBC News|publisher=BBC}}{{cite web|last1=Talmazan|first1=Yuliya|last2=Shabad|first2=Rebecca|last3=Williams|first3=Abigail|date=17 February 2022|title=Ukraine, West accuse Russia of trying to create pretext for invasion after shelling in east|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/west-accuses-russia-of-trying-to-create-pretext-for-invasion-after-shelling-in-east-ukraine/ar-AATZcQu?ocid=uxbndlbing |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222062307/https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/west-accuses-russia-of-trying-to-create-pretext-for-invasion-after-shelling-in-east-ukraine/ar-AATZcQu?ocid=uxbndlbing |archive-date=22 February 2022 |access-date=23 February 2022|website=NBC News|publisher=NBC|via=MSN}} There was a sharp increase in artillery shelling by the Russian-led militants in Donbas. Ukraine and its supporters believed this to be an attempt to provoke the Ukrainian army to retaliate, to give Russia a pretext for invading.{{Cite news|last1=Khurshudyan|first1=Isabelle|last2=Hendrix|first2=Steve|date=19 February 2022|title=In Ukraine's war-weary east, intensifying shelling and battered homes signal attempts at provocation by Russia|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/19/ukraine-russia-war-donbas/|access-date=11 September 2022|archive-date=24 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224014610/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/19/ukraine-russia-war-donbas/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Ponomarenko|first=Illia|author-link=Illia Ponomarenko |date=18 February 2022|title=47 shelling incidents leave 5 injured in Donbas|work=The Kyiv Independent|url=https://kyivindependent.com/national/over-40-shelling-incidents-leave-5-injured-in-donbas/ |url-status=live |access-date=18 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217205001/https://kyivindependent.com/national/over-40-shelling-incidents-leave-5-injured-in-donbas/ |archive-date=17 February 2022}}{{Cite web|last=Volvach|first=Yaroslava|date=18 February 2022|title=How Russian proxy forces are attempting to provoke the Ukrainian army and are lying about a new Ukrainian offensive|url=https://english.nv.ua/nation/how-russian-proxies-are-attempting-to-provoke-the-ukrainian-army-lying-about-a-ukrainian-offensive-50218033.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218180147/https://english.nv.ua/nation/how-russian-proxies-are-attempting-to-provoke-the-ukrainian-army-lying-about-a-ukrainian-offensive-50218033.html |archive-date=18 February 2022 |access-date=18 February 2022|publisher=NV.UA}} Ukraine's president Zelenskyy said that his military would not respond to the provocations.{{cite news |title=Pro-Russian separatists order mass evacuation of eastern Ukraine |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/18/pro-russian-separatist-order-mass-evacuation-eastern-ukraine-fear-moscow-seeking-create-pretext-invasion |work=The Guardian |date=18 February 2022}} Separatist leaders warned that Ukraine was about to launch an offensive, but gave no evidence, and The Guardian noted that it would be "exceedingly risky" for Ukraine to assault the Donbas while Russian troops were massed on its borders. On 18 February, the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics ordered emergency evacuations of civilians,{{cite web|date=18 February 2022|title=Russian-backed separatists announce civilian evacuation from eastern Ukraine as escalation stokes Russian invasion fears|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/east-ukraine-shelling-russian-invasion-fears-putin-pretext-rcna16773 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223132456/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/east-ukraine-shelling-russian-invasion-fears-putin-pretext-rcna16773 |archive-date=23 February 2022 |access-date=23 February 2022|website=NBC News}}{{cite web|last=Smith|first=Alexander|date=18 February 2022|title=Warning siren sounds in rebel-held capital in east Ukraine -Reuters witness|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/warning-siren-sounds-in-rebel-held-capital-in-east-ukraine-reuters-witness/ar-AAU29BV?ocid=entnewsntp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224032724/https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/warning-siren-sounds-in-rebel-held-capital-in-east-ukraine-reuters-witness/ar-AAU29BV?ocid=entnewsntp |archive-date=24 February 2022 |access-date=23 February 2022|website=MSN News}}{{Cite news |date=19 February 2022 |title=Ukraine conflict: Rebels declare general mobilisation as fighting grows |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60443504 |url-status=live |access-date=19 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220219100114/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60443504 |archive-date=19 February 2022}} although observers noted that full evacuations would take months.{{Cite news |last=Light |first=Felix |date=20 February 2022 |title=In the Closest Russian City to Ukraine's Separatist Region, There Are Few Signs of Refugees |work=The Moscow Times |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/02/20/in-the-closest-russian-city-to-ukraines-separatist-region-there-are-few-signs-of-refugees-a76473 |url-status=live |access-date=20 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220220074941/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/02/20/in-the-closest-russian-city-to-ukraines-separatist-region-there-are-few-signs-of-refugees-a76473 |archive-date=20 February 2022}} The Russian government intensified its disinformation campaign, with Russian state media airing videos on a nearly hourly basis purporting to show Ukrainian forces attacking Russia.{{cite web |last=Gilbert |first=David |date=21 February 2022 |title=Russia's 'Idiotic' Disinformation Campaign Could Still Lead to War in Ukraine |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/88gdj3/russia-disinformation-campaign-bombing-ukraine |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221194550/https://www.vice.com/en/article/88gdj3/russia-disinformation-campaign-bombing-ukraine |archive-date=21 February 2022 |access-date=22 February 2022 |publisher=Vice Media}} Evidence showed that Russia was staging false flag attacks.{{Cite news |last=Bellingcat Investigation Team |date=23 February 2022 |title=Documenting and Debunking Dubious Footage from Ukraine's Frontlines |work=Bellingcat |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2022/02/23/documenting-and-debunking-dubious-footage-from-ukraines-frontlines/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223204058/https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2022/02/23/documenting-and-debunking-dubious-footage-from-ukraines-frontlines/ |archive-date=23 February 2022}}{{cite news |last1=Harding |first1=Luke |last2=Roth |first2=Andrew |last3=Walker |first3=Shaun |date=21 February 2022 |title='Dumb and lazy': the flawed films of Ukrainian 'attacks' made by Russia's 'fake factory' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/21/dumb-and-lazy-the-flawed-films-of-ukrainian-attacks-made-by-russias-fake-factory |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221235946/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/21/dumb-and-lazy-the-flawed-films-of-ukrainian-attacks-made-by-russias-fake-factory |archive-date=21 February 2022 |access-date=22 February 2022 |work=The Guardian}}File:Обращение Президента Российской Федерации 2022-02-21.webm

On 21 February at 22:35 (UTC+3),{{cite web|date=21 February 2022|title=Address by the President of the Russian Federation|url=https://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67828 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221215128/https://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67828 |archive-date=21 February 2022 |access-date=2 March 2022|website=President of Russia}} Putin announced that the Russian government would diplomatically recognize the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics.{{cite web|date=21 February 2022|title=Extracts from Putin's speech on Ukraine|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/extracts-putins-speech-ukraine-2022-02-21/|access-date=2 March 2022|website=Reuters|archive-date=27 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227182213/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/extracts-putins-speech-ukraine-2022-02-21/|url-status=live}} The same evening, Putin directed that Russian troops deploy into Donbas, in what Russia referred to as a "peacekeeping mission".{{Cite news|last1=Kottasová|first1=Ivana|last2=Qiblawi|first2=Tamara|last3=Regan|first3=Helen|date=21 February 2022|title=Putin orders troops into separatist-held parts of Ukraine|publisher=CNN|url=https://cnn.com/2022/02/21/europe/russia-ukraine-tensions-monday-intl/index.html |url-status=live |access-date=23 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223102720/https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/21/europe/russia-ukraine-tensions-monday-intl/index.html |archive-date=23 February 2022}}{{Cite news|last1=Philp|first1=Catherine|last2=Wright|first2=Oliver|last3=Brown|first3=Larissa|date=22 February 2022|title=Putin sends Russian tanks into Ukraine|work=The Times|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/putin-sends-tanks-into-ukraine-75dj973v8 |url-status=live |access-date=23 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223032437/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/putin-sends-tanks-into-ukraine-75dj973v8 |archive-date=23 February 2022}} On 22 February, the Federation Council unanimously authorised Putin to use military force outside Russia.{{cite web|last=Hodge|first=Nathan|date=26 February 2022|title=Russia's Federation Council gives consent to Putin on use of armed forces abroad, Russian agencies report|url=https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-news-02-22-22/h_59a413ce984eda5954ce5b9c4655bcc5 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220226/https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-news-02-22-22/h_59a413ce984eda5954ce5b9c4655bcc5 |archive-date=26 February 2022 |access-date=26 February 2022|website=CNN|location=Moscow}} In response, Zelenskyy ordered the conscription of army reservists;{{Cite news|last1=Zinets|first1=Natalia|last2=Williams|first2=Matthias|date=22 February 2022|title=Ukrainian president drafts reservists but rules out general mobilisation for now|publisher=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukrainian-president-calls-up-reservists-launches-programme-economic-patriotism-2022-02-22/ |url-status=live |access-date=23 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222235612/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukrainian-president-calls-up-reservists-launches-programme-economic-patriotism-2022-02-22/ |archive-date=22 February 2022}} The following day, Ukraine's parliament proclaimed a 30-day nationwide state of emergency and ordered the mobilisation of all reservists.{{Cite news|last=Kingsley|first=Thomas|date=23 February 2022|title=Ukraine to introduce a state of emergency and tells its citizens to leave Russia immediately|work=The Independent|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-sanctions-ukraine-reservists-west-b2021165.html |url-status=live |access-date=23 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224032730/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-sanctions-ukraine-reservists-west-b2021165.html |archive-date=24 February 2022}}{{Cite news|last=|date=23 February 2022|title=Ukraine's Parliament approves state of emergency|publisher=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraines-parliament-approves-state-emergency-2022-02-23/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223200424/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraines-parliament-approves-state-emergency-2022-02-23/ |archive-date=23 February 2022}}{{cite web|last1=D'agata|first1=Charlie|last2=Redman|first2=Justine|last3=Ott|first3=Haley|date=23 February 2022|title=Ukraine calls up reservists, declares national emergency as U.S. and allies hit Russia with new sanctions|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-ukraine-news-miliatry-reservists-emergency-declaration/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224055846/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-ukraine-news-miliatry-reservists-emergency-declaration/ |archive-date=24 February 2022 |access-date=24 February 2022|website=CBS News}} Russia began to evacuate its embassy in Kyiv.{{cite news|last=Litvinova|first=Dasha|date=23 February 2022|title=Russia evacuates embassy in Ukraine as crisis escalates|work=Associated Press|url=https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-russia-moscow-kyiv-626a8c5ec22217bacb24ece60fac4fe1 |url-status=live |access-date=23 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223102040/https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-russia-moscow-kyiv-626a8c5ec22217bacb24ece60fac4fe1 |archive-date=23 February 2022}}

On the night of 23 February,{{Cite AV media|url=https://t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official/724 |script-title=uk:Україна прагне миру! І робить для цього все!|title=Ukrayina prahne myru! I robytʹ dlya tsʹoho vse!|date=23 February 2022|last=Zelenskyy|first=Volodymyr|type=Video|language=uk |trans-title=Ukraine seeks peace! And does everything for this! |author-link=Volodymyr Zelenskyy|place=Ukraine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223225411/https://t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official/724 |archive-date=23 February 2022}} [https://archive.org/details/20220223-zvernennya-tg Alt URL] Zelenskyy gave a speech in Russian in which he appealed to the citizens of Russia to prevent war.{{Cite news|last=Sonne|first=Paul|date=24 February 2022|title=Ukraine's Zelensky to Russians: 'What are you fighting for and with whom?'|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/02/23/ukraine-zelensky-russia-address/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224073748/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/02/23/ukraine-zelensky-russia-address/ |archive-date=24 February 2022}}{{cite web|date=23 February 2022|title=Zelensky's Last-Ditch Plea for Peace|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/02/23/zelenskys-desperate-plea-for-peace/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224140341/https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/02/23/zelenskys-desperate-plea-for-peace/ |archive-date=24 February 2022 |access-date=25 February 2022|website=Foreign Policy}} He rejected Russia's claims about neo-Nazis and stated that he had no intention of attacking the Donbas.{{cite web|last=Cruz Bustillos|first=Dominic|date=24 February 2022|title=Full Translation: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Feb. 23 Speech|url=https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/full-translation-ukrainian-president-volodymyr-zelenskyys-feb-23-speech |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220226/https://www.lawfareblog.com/full-translation-ukrainian-president-volodymyr-zelenskyys-feb-23-speech |archive-date=26 February 2022 |access-date=25 February 2022|website=Lawfare}} Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on 23 February that the separatist leaders in Donetsk and Luhansk had sent a letter to Putin stating that Ukrainian shelling had caused civilian deaths and appealing for military support.{{cite web|date=23 February 2022|title=Kremlin Says Ukraine Rebels Have Asked Russia for 'Help' Against Kyiv|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/02/23/kremlin-says-ukraine-rebels-have-asked-russia-for-help-against-kyiv-a76548 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220227/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/02/23/kremlin-says-ukraine-rebels-have-asked-russia-for-help-against-kyiv-a76548 |archive-date=27 February 2022|website=The Moscow Times}}

{{Main|Russian invasion of Ukraine}}

{{For timeline|Timeline of the Russian invasion of Ukraine}}

File:2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine animated.gif

File:Συνάντηση με ΥΠΕΞ Ουκρανίας D. Kuleba - Επίσκεψη σε Μνημείο πεσόντων υπερασπιστών Ουκρανίας - 52439597854.jpg

The Russian invasion of Ukraine began on the morning of 24 February 2022,{{cite news|last1=Nikolskaya|first1=Polina|last2=Osborn|first2=Andrew|date=24 February 2022|title=Russia's Putin authorises 'special military operation' against Ukraine|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russias-putin-authorises-military-operations-donbass-domestic-media-2022-02-24/|access-date=4 March 2022|archive-date=24 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224032217/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russias-putin-authorises-military-operations-donbass-domestic-media-2022-02-24/|url-status=live}} when Putin announced a "special military operation" to "demilitarise and denazify" Ukraine.{{cite news|last1=Grunau|first1=Andrea|last2=von Hein|first2=Matthias|last3=Theise|first3=Eugen|last4=Weber|first4=Joscha|date=25 February 2022|title=Fact check: Do Vladimir Putin's justifications for going to war against Ukraine add up?|publisher=Deutsche Welle|url=https://www.dw.com/en/fact-check-do-vladimir-putins-justifications-for-going-to-war-against-ukraine-add-up/a-60917168|access-date=7 March 2022|archive-date=25 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225162831/https://www.dw.com/en/fact-check-do-vladimir-putins-justifications-for-going-to-war-against-ukraine-add-up/a-60917168|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|last=Waxman|first=Olivia B.|date=3 March 2022|title=Historians on What Putin Gets Wrong About 'Denazification' in Ukraine|url=https://time.com/6154493/denazification-putin-ukraine-history-context/|magazine=Time|access-date=6 March 2022|archive-date=3 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303211420/https://time.com/6154493/denazification-putin-ukraine-history-context/|url-status=live}} Minutes later, missiles and airstrikes hit across Ukraine, including Kyiv, shortly followed by a large ground invasion along multiple fronts.{{cite web|date=24 February 2022|title=Russia attacks Ukraine|url=https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-news-02-23-22/h_ec5f24d5accb8f8503aabdc63e3fd22d |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224073725/https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-news-02-23-22/h_ec5f24d5accb8f8503aabdc63e3fd22d |archive-date=24 February 2022 |access-date=24 February 2022|website=CNN International}}{{cite news|last=Kirby|first=Paul|date=9 March 2022|title=Why is Russia invading Ukraine and what does Putin want?|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56720589|access-date=9 March 2022|archive-date=19 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219125518/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56720589|url-status=live}} Zelenskyy declared martial law and a general mobilisation of all male Ukrainian citizens between 18 and 60, who were banned from leaving the country.{{cite news|date=24 February 2022|title=Ukrainian president signs decree on general mobilisation of population -Interfax|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukrainian-president-signs-decree-general-mobilisation-population-interfax-2022-02-24/ |url-status=live |access-date=25 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225025205/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukrainian-president-signs-decree-general-mobilisation-population-interfax-2022-02-24/ |archive-date=25 February 2022}}{{cite web|date=25 February 2022|title=Zelensky signs decree declaring general mobilization|url=https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/801769.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225113724/https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/801769.html |archive-date=25 February 2022 |access-date=25 February 2022|website=Interfax-Ukraine}}

Russian attacks were initially launched on a northern front from Belarus towards Kyiv, a southern front from Crimea, and a south-eastern front from Luhansk and Donetsk and towards Kharkiv.{{Cite news|date=20 March 2022|title=Ukraine rejects Russian demand to surrender port city of Mariupol in exchange for safe passage|publisher=CBS News|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-mariupol-russia-surrender-reject/|access-date=21 March 2022|archive-date=23 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220323173958/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-mariupol-russia-surrender-reject/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|date=21 March 2022|title=Ukraine refuses to surrender Mariupol as scope of human toll remains unclear|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ukraine-russia-war-march21-1.6391709|access-date=21 March 2022|archive-date=23 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220323080520/https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ukraine-russia-war-march21-1.6391709|url-status=live}} In the northern front, amidst heavy losses and strong Ukrainian resistance surrounding Kyiv, Russia's advance stalled in March, and by April its troops retreated. On 8 April, Russia placed its forces in southern and eastern Ukraine under the command of General Aleksandr Dvornikov, and some units withdrawn from the north were redeployed to the Donbas.{{cite web|date=8 April 2022|title=Trending news: BBC: Putin replaces military commander in Ukraine – The Moscow Times|url=https://hindustannewshub.com/russia-ukraine-news/bbc-putin-replaces-military-commander-in-ukraine-the-moscow-times/|access-date=9 April 2022|website=Hindustan News Hub|archive-date=9 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220409085406/https://hindustannewshub.com/russia-ukraine-news/bbc-putin-replaces-military-commander-in-ukraine-the-moscow-times/|url-status=dead}} On 19 April, Russia launched a renewed attack across a {{convert|300|mi|km|order=flip|sigfig=1}} long front extending from Kharkiv to Donetsk and Luhansk.{{cite news|last1=Arraf|first1=Jane|last2=Nechepurenko|first2=Ivan|last3=Landler|first3=Mark|date=19 April 2022|title=Ukraine Says Russia Begins Assault in the East After Raining Missiles Nationwide|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/18/world/europe/ukraine-russia-missiles-lviv-donbas.html|access-date=20 April 2022|archive-date=10 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230510113605/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/18/world/europe/ukraine-russia-missiles-lviv-donbas.html|url-status=live}} By 13 May, a Ukraine counter-offensive had driven back Russian forces near Kharkiv. By 20 May, Mariupol fell to Russian troops following a prolonged siege of the Azovstal steel works.{{Cite news|date=20 May 2022|title=Russia says remaining 531 Azovstal defenders surrender, steelworks siege over|work=Yahoo!News|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/russia-says-remaining-531-azovstal-192141701.html|access-date=30 May 2022|archive-date=20 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520200105/https://www.yahoo.com/news/russia-says-remaining-531-azovstal-192141701.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Sommerville|first=Quentin|date=11 May 2022|title=Ukraine war: Russia pushed back from Kharkiv – report from front line|work=BBC|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61378196 |url-status=live |access-date=23 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511122005/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61378196 |archive-date=11 May 2022}} Russian forces continued to bomb both military and civilian targets far from the frontline.{{Cite news|last=Myre|first=Greg|date=26 June 2022|title=Russia bombs Kyiv in a weekend missile barrage across Ukraine|language=en|work=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/2022/06/26/1107688656/russia-strikes-kyiv|access-date=7 July 2022|archive-date=9 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220709020625/https://www.npr.org/2022/06/26/1107688656/russia-strikes-kyiv|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Russia hits Lviv again as Putin's campaign of terror focuses on Ukraine's shell-shocked east|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-news-russia-war-lviv-attack-mariupol-evacuations-putin-offensive-in-east/|access-date=7 July 2022|website=www.cbsnews.com|date=4 May 2022|language=en-US|archive-date=7 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220707203026/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-news-russia-war-lviv-attack-mariupol-evacuations-putin-offensive-in-east/|url-status=live}} The war caused the largest refugee and humanitarian crisis within Europe since the Yugoslav Wars in the 1990s;{{Cite web|last=Rutter|first=Jill|date=7 March 2022|title=Protecting Ukrainian refugees: What can we learn from the response to Kosovo in the 90s?|url=https://www.britishfuture.org/protecting-ukrainian-refugees-what-can-we-learn-from-kosovo/|access-date=29 March 2022|website=British Future|archive-date=7 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307205755/https://www.britishfuture.org/protecting-ukrainian-refugees-what-can-we-learn-from-kosovo/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|date=4 March 2022|title=IntelBrief: China Seeks to Balance Its Interests as Russia's War on Ukraine Intensifies|url=https://thesoufancenter.org/intelbrief-2022-march-4/|access-date=29 March 2022|work=The Soufan Center|quote=Over a week into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the war has raged on, spurring the most serious humanitarian crisis in Europe since the wars in the Balkans in the 1990s.|archive-date=10 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220310014844/https://thesoufancenter.org/intelbrief-2022-march-4/|url-status=live}} the UN described it as the fastest-growing such crisis since World War II.{{Cite web|last=Beaumont|first=Peter|date=6 March 2022|title=Ukraine has fastest-growing refugee crisis since second world war, says UN|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/06/ukraine-fastest-growing-refugee-crisis-since-second-world-war|access-date=8 March 2022|website=The Guardian|archive-date=9 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309104950/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/06/ukraine-fastest-growing-refugee-crisis-since-second-world-war|url-status=live}} In the first week of the invasion, the UN reported over a million refugees had fled Ukraine; this subsequently rose to over 7,405,590 by 24 September, a reduction from over eight million due to some refugees' return.{{Cite web|date=|title=Situation Ukraine Refugee Situation|url=https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine|access-date=23 July 2022|website=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|archive-date=10 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220310051210/https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|date=3 July 2022|title=Liz Truss mulls seizure of Russian assets in UK to give to Ukraine|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/03/liz-truss-mulls-seizure-of-russian-assets-in-uk-to-give-to-ukraine|access-date=4 July 2022|website=the Guardian|archive-date=9 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220709193036/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/03/liz-truss-mulls-seizure-of-russian-assets-in-uk-to-give-to-ukraine|url-status=live}}

The invasion was internationally condemned as a war of aggression.{{cite news|date=2 March 2022|title=UN resolution against Ukraine invasion: Full text|publisher=Al Jazeera|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/3/unga-resolution-against-ukraine-invasion-full-text|access-date=25 March 2022|quote=The General Assembly ... [d]eplores in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine in violation of Article 2 (4) of the Charter|archive-date=3 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303234448/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/3/unga-resolution-against-ukraine-invasion-full-text|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last=Scheffer|first=David J.|date=17 March 2022|title=Can Russia Be Held Accountable for War Crimes in Ukraine?|url=https://www.cfr.org/article/can-russia-be-held-accountable-war-crimes-ukraine|access-date=18 March 2022|website=Council on Foreign Relations|quote=Russia's invasion of Ukraine constitutes the crime of aggression under international law.|archive-date=22 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322152314/https://www.cfr.org/article/can-russia-be-held-accountable-war-crimes-ukraine|url-status=live}} A United Nations General Assembly resolution demanded 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 new sanctions, which affected the economies of Russia and the world,{{cite news|last1=Chernova|first1=Anna|last2=Cotovio|first2=Vasco|last3=Thompson|first3=Mark|date=28 February 2022|title=Sanctions slams Russian economy|publisher=CNN|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/28/business/russia-ruble-banks-sanctions/index.html|access-date=4 March 2022|archive-date=28 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228085645/https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/28/business/russia-ruble-banks-sanctions/index.html|url-status=live}} and provided humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine.{{cite news|title=House approves $40B in Ukraine aid, beefing up Biden request|url=https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-biden-europe-0ac5c758d32dbea64c437b50e829bbb2|work=Associated Press|date=11 May 2022|access-date=29 May 2022|archive-date=11 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511000720/https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-biden-europe-0ac5c758d32dbea64c437b50e829bbb2|url-status=live}} In September 2022, Putin signed a law that would punish anyone who resists conscription with a 10-year prison sentence{{cite magazine|date=26 September 2022|title=Russians Protest Putin's Conscription|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/09/26/russia-putin-military-mobilization-protest-ukraine-war/|magazine=Foreign policy|access-date=26 November 2022|archive-date=26 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126174310/https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/09/26/russia-putin-military-mobilization-protest-ukraine-war/|url-status=live}} resulting in an international push to allow asylum for Russians fleeing conscription.{{cite web|date=26 September 2022|title=It's a Mistake To Turn Away Russian Civilians Fleeing Conscription|url=https://reason.com/2022/09/26/its-a-mistake-to-turn-away-russian-civilians-fleeing-conscription/|access-date=26 November 2022|archive-date=26 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126174310/https://reason.com/2022/09/26/its-a-mistake-to-turn-away-russian-civilians-fleeing-conscription/|url-status=live}}

{{Further|2022 Kharkiv counteroffensive|2022 Kherson counteroffensive}}

File:Bucha_main_street,_2022-04-06_(0804).jpg Russian Army column on 27 February in Bucha]]

Ukrainian forces launched counteroffensives in the south in August 2022, and in the northeast in September 2022. On 30 September, Russia annexed four oblasts of Ukraine which it had partially conquered during the invasion.{{Cite news|last=Dickson|first=Janice|date=30 September 2022|title=Putin signs documents to illegally annex four Ukrainian regions, in drastic escalation of Russia's war|work=The Globe and Mail|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-putin-signs-documents-to-unlawfully-claim-4-ukrainian-regions-in/ |url-status=live |access-date=1 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001031159/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-putin-signs-documents-to-unlawfully-claim-4-ukrainian-regions-in/ |archive-date=1 October 2022}} This annexation was generally unrecognized and condemned by the countries of the world.{{cite news|title=Ukraine war latest: Putin declares four areas of Ukraine as Russian|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-63077272|access-date=3 October 2022|archive-date=8 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008025910/https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-63077272|url-status=live}} After Putin announced that he would begin conscription drawn from the 300,000 citizens with military training and potentially the pool of about 25 million Russians who could be eligible for conscription, one-way tickets out of the country nearly or completely sold out.{{cite web|date=21 September 2022|title=Russians Are Fleeing the Threat of Conscription|url=https://reason.com/2022/09/21/russians-are-fleeing-the-threat-of-conscription/|access-date=26 October 2022|archive-date=26 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221026153845/https://reason.com/2022/09/21/russians-are-fleeing-the-threat-of-conscription/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|date=21 September 2022|title=Russians rush for flights out amid partial reservist call-up|work=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/2022/09/21/1124238235/russians-flights-out-reservist-call-up|access-date=26 October 2022|archive-date=26 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221026153845/https://www.npr.org/2022/09/21/1124238235/russians-flights-out-reservist-call-up|url-status=live}} The Ukrainian offensive in the northeast successfully recaptured the majority of Kharkiv Oblast in September. In the course of the southern counteroffensive, Ukraine retook the city of Kherson in November and Russian forces withdrew to the east bank of the Dnieper River.{{cite web | last1=Beaumont | first1=Peter | last2=Sauer | first2=Pjotr | last3=Koshiw | first3=Isobel | last4=Harding | first4=Luke | title=Ukraine troops enter centre of Kherson as Russians retreat in chaos | website=The Guardian | date=11 November 2022 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/11/reports-of-wounded-soldiers-being-abandoned-as-russia-retreats-from-kherson-city | access-date=28 August 2024}}

As of August 2023, the total number of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers killed or wounded during the Russian invasion of Ukraine was nearly 500,000.{{#invoke:cite news||date=18 August 2023 |title=Troop Deaths and Injuries in Ukraine War Near 500,000, U.S. Officials Say |work=The New York Times |language=en |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/18/us/politics/ukraine-russia-war-casualties.html |last1=Cooper |first1=Helene |last2=Gibbons-Neff |first2=Thomas |last3=Schmitt |first3=Eric |last4=Barnes |first4=Julian E. |access-date=3 September 2023 |archive-date=3 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230903175102/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/18/us/politics/ukraine-russia-war-casualties.html |url-status=live }} In November 2023, the UN said that more than 10,000 civilians had been killed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with about half the deaths in the three months prior to the report taking place far behind the front lines. The UN attributed the deaths far behind the front to Russian use of long-range missiles and explosions of abandoned ordinance.{{cite news |title=More than 10,000 civilians killed in Ukraine since Russia invasion, UN says |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/21/more-than-10000-civilians-killed-in-ukraine-since-russia-invasion-un-says |work=Al Jazeera |date=21 November 2023 |access-date=30 December 2023 |archive-date=30 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231230234426/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/21/more-than-10000-civilians-killed-in-ukraine-since-russia-invasion-un-says |url-status=live }} According to a declassified US intelligence assessment, as of December 2023, Russia had lost 315,000 of the 360,000 troops that made up Russia's pre-invasion ground force, and 2,200 of the 3,500 tanks.{{Cite news|date=13 December 2023|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/12/politics/russia-troop-losses-us-intelligence-assessment/index.html|title=Russia has lost 87% of troops it had prior to start of Ukraine war, according to US intelligence assessment|work=CNN|author=Katie Bo Lillis|access-date=30 December 2023|archive-date=1 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101082935/https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/12/politics/russia-troop-losses-us-intelligence-assessment/index.html|url-status=live}}

{{See also|Russian invasion of Ukraine#Russian spring and summer campaigns and Ukrainian incursion (1 December 2023 – present)}}

Between December 2023 and May 2024, Russia was assessed to have increased its drone and missile attacks, firing harder-to-hit weapons, such as ballistic missiles.{{Cite news |first1=Alistair |last1=MacDonald |first2=Jemal R. |last2=Brinson |first3=Emma |last3=Brown |first4=Ievgeniia |last4=Sivorka |title=Russia's Bombardment of Ukraine Is More Lethal Than Ever |url=https://www.wsj.com/world/russias-bombardment-of-ukraine-is-more-lethal-than-ever-afd733c4 |access-date=13 May 2024 |work=WSJ |language=en-US}} By the same measure, Ukraine forces were seen to be low on ammunition, particularly the Patriot systems that have been "its best defense against such attacks".

In August 2024, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched an incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast and, as reported by the Ukrainian side, in a few days captured an area of up to 350 square kilometers.{{cite web |title=Kursk region is partially out of Russia's control |url=https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/russia-could-lose-control-over-350-square-1723063730.html |website=RBC-Ukraine |access-date=7 August 2024}} By 19 August, Ukraine had captured hundreds of Russian soldiers during the incursion.{{cite web | last=Tokariuk | first=Olga | title=Ukraine's gamble in Kursk restores belief it can beat Russia – it requires a Western response | website=Chatham House | date=19 August 2024 | url=https://www.chathamhouse.org/2024/08/ukraines-gamble-kursk-restores-belief-it-can-beat-russia-it-requires-western-response | access-date=28 August 2024}}

In late October 2024, the US said it had seen evidence that North Korea had sent 3,000 soldiers to Russia for possible deployment to Ukraine. On 28 October, NATO chief Mark Rutte confirmed earlier Ukrainian intelligence that North Korean troops had been deployed to Kursk Oblast, and the Pentagon reported an increased number of 10,000 North Korean soldiers sent to train in Russia and fight in the war.{{cite web | title=Russia to deploy 10,000 North Korean troops against Ukraine within 'weeks', Pentagon says | website=The Guardian | date=29 October 2024 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/29/russia-north-korean-troops-ukraine-war | access-date=29 October 2024}}{{cite web | last=Phil Stewart | first=Andrew Gray | title=No new limits on Ukraine's use of US arms if North Korea joins fight, Pentagon says | website=Reuters | date=28 October 2024 | url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/nato-chief-says-he-can-confirm-north-korean-troops-are-russias-kursk-2024-10-28/ | access-date=28 October 2024}}{{cite web | title=NATO, Pentagon confirm deployment of North Korean troops to Russia | website=Al Jazeera | date=28 October 2024 | url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/28/nato-pentagon-confirm-deployment-of-north-korean-troops-to-russia | access-date=28 October 2024}} On 13 November, both the US and South Korea confirmed that North Korean troops had begun engaging in combat against Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region.{{cite web | title=US confirms North Korean troops joining Russia in combat against Ukraine | website=Radio Free Asia | date=13 November 2024 | url=https://www.rfa.org/english/korea/2024/11/13/north-korea-us-kursk-confirm/ | access-date=21 November 2024}}{{cite web | title=South Korea says North Korean soldiers are fighting Ukraine forces | website=Reuters | date=13 November 2024 | url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/south-korea-says-north-korean-soldiers-are-fighting-ukraine-forces-2024-11-13/ | access-date=21 November 2024}}{{cite web | title=Language barriers and inexperience may hamper North Korean troops on Russia's battlefield | website=NBC News | date=16 November 2024 | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/language-barriers-inexperience-may-hamper-north-korean-troops-russias-rcna177756 | access-date=16 November 2024}} On 26 April 2025, Russia officially confirmed the participation of North Korean troops, thanking them in what they described as a “comprehensive, strategic partnership.”{{Cite web |date=2025-04-26 |title=Russia confirms North Korean troops are in Ukraine and claims Kursk region is retaken |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/world/ukraine/russia-confirms-north-korean-troops-kursk-rcna203137 |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=NBC News |language=en}}

{{see also|Casualties of the Russo-Ukrainian War|Humanitarian situation during the war in Donbas|Russian war crimes#Ukraine|War crimes in the Russian invasion of Ukraine}}

File:Місто Буча після звільнення від російських окупантів.jpg, 3 April 2022]]

Violations of human rights and atrocity crimes have occurred during the war. From 2014 to 2021, there were more than 3,000 civilian casualties, with most occurring in 2014 and 2015.{{cite web |title=Conflict-related civilian casualties in Ukraine |date=8 October 2021 |url=https://ukraine.un.org/sites/default/files/2021-10/Conflict-related%20civilian%20casualties%20as%20of%2030%20September%202021%20%28rev%208%20Oct%202021%29%20EN.pdf |access-date=1 April 2022 |website=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights |archive-date=2 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202172205/https://ukraine.un.org/sites/default/files/2021-10/Conflict-related%20civilian%20casualties%20as%20of%2030%20September%202021%20(rev%208%20Oct%202021)%20EN.pdf |url-status=live }} The right of movement was impeded for the inhabitants of the conflict zone.{{cite web|title=Report on the human rights situation in Ukraine 1 August 2021 – 31 January 2022|url=https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/33rdReportUkraine-en.pdf|access-date=1 April 2022|website=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|page=1|archive-date=28 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328215606/https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/33rdReportUkraine-en.pdf|url-status=live}} Arbitrary detention was practiced by both sides in the first years of the conflict. It decreased after 2016 in government-held areas, while in the separatist-held ones it continued.{{cite web |title=Address by Ms. Nada Al-Nashif, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights 47th session of the Human Rights Council Item 10: Oral report on Ukraine |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2021/07/address-ms-nada-al-nashif-deputy-high-commissioner-human-rights-47th-session |access-date=1 April 2022 |date=9 July 2021 |website=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights |archive-date=2 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220402025823/https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2021/07/address-ms-nada-al-nashif-deputy-high-commissioner-human-rights-47th-session |url-status=live }} Investigations into the abuses committed by both sides made little progress.{{cite web|title=Report on the human rights situation in Ukraine 1 August 2021 – 31 January 2022|url=https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/33rdReportUkraine-en.pdf|access-date=1 April 2022|website=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|page=2|archive-date=28 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328215606/https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/33rdReportUkraine-en.pdf|url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=Ukraine 2021 |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/europe-and-central-asia/ukraine/report-ukraine/ |access-date=1 April 2022 |website=Amnesty International |archive-date=25 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220325112657/https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/europe-and-central-asia/ukraine/report-ukraine/ |url-status=live }}

File:Missile strike on a humanitarian convoy in Zaporizhzhia, 2022-09-30 (02).jpg by Russian Army in September 2022]]

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian authorities and armed forces have committed multiple war crimes in the form of deliberate attacks against civilian targets,{{Cite news |date=9 April 2022 |title=Chernihiv: Are these Russia's weapons of war? |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |first1=Jack |last1=Goodman |first2=Kayleen |last2=Devlin |first3=Maria |last3=Korenyuk |first4=Joshua |last4=Cheetham |first5=Jana |last5=Tauschinski |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61036880 |access-date=3 May 2022 |archive-date=3 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220503080643/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61036880 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last1=Gall |first1=Carlotta |last2=Kramer |first2=Andrew E. |date=3 April 2022 |title=In a Kyiv Suburb,'They Shot Everyone They Saw' |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/03/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-civilian-deaths.html |access-date=3 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412065516/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/03/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-civilian-deaths.html |archive-date=12 April 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |url-status=live }} massacres of civilians, torture and rape of women and children,{{cite news |last1=Cumming-Bruce |first1=Nick |date=23 September 2022 |title=U.N. Experts find that war crimes have been committed in Ukraine |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/23/world/europe/russia-ukraine-war-crimes-united-nations.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924015357/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/23/world/europe/russia-ukraine-war-crimes-united-nations.html |archive-date=24 September 2022 |access-date=24 January 2024 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Macias |first=Amanda |title=UN report details horrifying Ukrainian accounts of rape, torture and executions by Russian troops |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/28/russia-ukraine-war-un-report-details-accounts-of-rape-torture-and-executions.html |access-date=29 January 2023 |website=CNBC |date=28 October 2022 |language=en |archive-date=25 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325050132/https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/28/russia-ukraine-war-un-report-details-accounts-of-rape-torture-and-executions.html |url-status=live }} and many indiscriminate attacks{{cite web | title=Russian Federation Launches One of Biggest Air Attacks on Ukraine Since Full-Scale Invasion Began, Killing Over 30 Civilians, Top UN Official Tells Security Council | website=United Nations | date=29 December 2023 | url=https://press.un.org/en/2023/sc15550.doc.htm | access-date=18 August 2024}}{{cite web | title=Russia commits indiscriminate attacks during the invasion of Ukraine | website=Amnesty International | date=25 February 2022 | url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/02/russian-military-commits-indiscriminate-attacks-during-the-invasion-of-ukraine/ | access-date=18 August 2024}} in densely populated areas. After the Russian withdrawal from areas north of Kyiv, overwhelming evidence of war crimes by Russian forces was discovered. In particular, in the city of Bucha, evidence emerged of a massacre of civilians perpetrated by Russian troops, including torture, mutilation, rape, looting and deliberate killings of civilians.{{cite news|date=7 April 2022 |first1=Max |last1=Bearak |first2=Louisa |last2=Loveluck |title=In Bucha, the scope of Russian barbarity is coming into focus |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/06/bucha-barbarism-atrocities-russian-soldiers/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407190243/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/06/bucha-barbarism-atrocities-russian-soldiers/ |archive-date=7 April 2022 |access-date=24 January 2024 }}{{cite news |last=Callaghan |first=Louise |date=2 April 2022 |title=Bodies of mutilated children among horrors the Russians left behind|newspaper=The Times |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/bodies-of-mutilated-children-among-horrors-the-russians-left-behind-5ddnkkwp2 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=5 April 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220404113203/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bodies-of-mutilated-children-among-horrors-the-russians-left-behind-5ddnkkwp2 |archive-date=4 April 2022}}{{Cite news |title=Ukraine documents alleged atrocities by retreating Russians |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-bucha-atrocities-civilians-russia/ |access-date=3 April 2022 |agency=Associated Press |work=CBS News |date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404110915/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-bucha-atrocities-civilians-russia/ |url-status=live }} the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (OHCHR) has documented the murder of at least 73 civilians—mostly men, but also women and children—in Bucha.{{Cite press release |date=7 December 2022 |title=UN report details summary executions of civilians by Russian troops in northern Ukraine |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/12/un-report-details-summary-executions-civilians-russian-troops-northern |access-date=25 March 2023 |website=OHCHR |language=en |archive-date=26 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230126141843/https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/12/un-report-details-summary-executions-civilians-russian-troops-northern |url-status=live }} More than 1,200 bodies of civilians were found in the Kyiv region after Russian forces withdrew, some of them summarily executed. There were reports of forced deportations of thousands of civilians, including children, to Russia, mainly from Russian-occupied Mariupol,{{cite news |first1=Lorenzo |last1=Tondo |first2=Jon |last2=Henley |first3=Daniel |last3=Boffey |date=20 March 2022 |title=Ukraine: US condemns 'unconscionable' forced deportations of civilians from Mariupol |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/20/russia-bombed-mariupol-art-school-sheltering-400-people-says-ukraine |access-date=2 April 2022 |work=The Guardian |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404100723/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/20/russia-bombed-mariupol-art-school-sheltering-400-people-says-ukraine |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Ochab |first=Ewelina U. |date=10 April 2022 |title=Ukrainian Children Forcibly Transferred And Subjected To Illegal Adoptions |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewelinaochab/2022/04/10/ukrainian-children-forcibly-transferred-and-subjected-to-illegal-adoptions/ |access-date=28 April 2022 |website=Forbes |language=en |archive-date=11 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220611141302/https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewelinaochab/2022/04/10/ukrainian-children-forcibly-transferred-and-subjected-to-illegal-adoptions/ |url-status=live }} as well as sexual violence, including cases of rape, sexual assault and gang rape,{{cite news |last=Engelbrecht |first=Cora |date=29 March 2022 |title=Reports of sexual violence involving Russian soldiers are multiplying, Ukrainian officials say. |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/29/world/europe/russian-soldiers-sexual-violence-ukraine.html |access-date=1 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220329183657/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/29/world/europe/russian-soldiers-sexual-violence-ukraine.html |archive-date=29 March 2022 |url-status=live }} and deliberate killing of Ukrainian civilians by Russian forces.{{cite news |date=2 April 2022 |title=War in Ukraine: Street in Bucha found strewn with dead bodies |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60967463 |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403134330/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60967463 |url-status=live }} Russia has also systematically attacked Ukrainian medical infrastructure, with the World Health Organization reporting 1,422 attacks as of 21 December 2023.{{Cite web |title=Situation reports (Ukraine-specific) |url=https://www.who.int/europe/emergencies/situations/ukraine-emergency/situation-reports-(ukraine-specific) |access-date=18 October 2023 |website=www.who.int |language=en |archive-date=10 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110191719/https://www.who.int/europe/emergencies/situations/ukraine-emergency/situation-reports-(ukraine-specific) |url-status=live }} Many Russian soldiers confessed of raping, looting and torturing Ukrainian civilians and soldiers in intercepted phone calls which were regularly published online and showcased in a 2024 documentary film Intercepted.{{cite web |title=Intercepted |url=https://www.berlinale.de/en/2024/programme/202407591.html |website=Berlin International Film Festival}}

Ukrainian forces have also been accused of committing various war crimes, including mistreatment of detainees.{{Cite news |first1=Lori |last1=Hinnant |first2=Jamey |last2=Keaten |date=16 March 2023 |title=UN-backed inquiry accuses Russia of war crimes in Ukraine |url=https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-war-crimes-un-human-rights-c52676801b588a95a8410bc71b62d568 |access-date=13 April 2023 |work=AP News |language=en |archive-date=13 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413170128/https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-war-crimes-un-human-rights-c52676801b588a95a8410bc71b62d568 |url-status=live }}{{Cite press release |date=16 March 2023 |title=War crimes, indiscriminate attacks on infrastructure, systematic and widespread torture show disregard for civilians, says UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/03/war-crimes-indiscriminate-attacks-infrastructure-systematic-and-widespread |access-date=13 April 2023 |website=OHCHR |language=en |archive-date=16 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316130444/https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/03/war-crimes-indiscriminate-attacks-infrastructure-systematic-and-widespread |url-status=live }}

File:Kramatorsk railway bombing 2022 April 8 (3).jpg caused by a Russian missile strike]]

In 2024, the UN Human Rights Office reported that Russia is committing severe human rights violations in occupied Ukraine, including arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, torture, crackdown on protests and freedom of speech, enforced Russification, indoctrination of children, and suppression of Ukrainian language and culture.{{cite news|title=UN report details 'climate of fear' in Russian occupied areas of Ukraine| work=UN News| url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/03/1147776|date=20 March 2024}} Ukrainians have been coerced into taking Russian passports and becoming Russian citizens. Those who refuse are denied healthcare and other rights, and can be imprisoned as a "foreign citizen". Ukrainian men who take Russian citizenship can be drafted to fight against the Ukrainian army.{{cite news |title=Takeaways into AP investigation into Russian system to force its passports on occupied Ukraine |url=https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-occupation-passports-citizenship-fa49f7f348f6283ab06db0512fd23eda |work=Associated Press |date=15 March 2024}} According to Artem Lysohor, Ukraine's head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration, starting from May 2024, mothers who give birth in Russian-occupied Luhansk must prove that one of the newborn's parents have Russian citizenship, otherwise they will not be allowed to leave the hospital with their child. In addition, Russian occupation officials attempt to militarize and indoctrinate Ukrainian youth by developing a new textbook in accordance with Russian educational standards, and children participation in Russian ″military-patriotic games″.{{cite web |last1=Ben |first1=Bohdan |title=ISW: Russians reportedly threaten to take newborns away in occupied Luhansk Oblast if parents don't have Russian citizenship |url=https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/05/04/isw-russians-reportedly-threaten-to-take-newborns-away-in-occupied-luhansk-oblast-if-parents-dont-have-russian-citizenship/ |website=Euromaidan Press |date=4 May 2024}}

In August 2024, UN official Danielle Bell claimed that 95% of Ukrainian prisoners of war had suffered from Russian torture (e.g. beating, electric shock, or being stripped naked).{{cite web |title=UN: 95% of Ukrainian prisoners of war tortured in Russia |url=https://unn.ua/en/news/un-95percent-of-ukrainian-prisoners-of-war-tortured-in-russia |website=Українські національні новини|date=8 August 2024 }}

{{Further|2014 Vrbětice ammunition warehouse explosions|2022 missile explosion in Poland|War in Sudan (2023)|Nuclear threats during the Russian invasion of Ukraine}}

On 19 September 2023, CNN reported that it was "likely" that Ukrainian Special Operations Forces were behind a series of drone strikes and a ground operation directed against the Wagner-backed RSF near Khartoum on 8 September.{{cite web |last1=Butenko |first1=Victoria |last2=Elbagir |first2=Nima |last3=Mezzofiore |first3=Gianluca |last4=Qiblawi |first4=Tamara |last5=Goodwin |first5=Allegra |last6=Carey |first6=Andrew |last7=Munsi |first7=Pallabi |last8=Zene |first8=Mahamat Tahir |last9=Arvanitidis |first9=Barbara |date=19 September 2023 |title=Ukraine's special services 'likely' behind strikes on Wagner-backed forces in Sudan, a Ukrainian military source says |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/19/africa/ukraine-military-sudan-wagner-cmd-intl/index.html |access-date=19 September 2023 |website=CNN |last10=Platt |first10=Alex |last11=Baron |first11=Mark |last12=Lauren |first12=Kent |archive-date=11 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231011090624/https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/19/africa/ukraine-military-sudan-wagner-cmd-intl/index.html |url-status=live }} Kyrylo Budanov, chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, stated in an interview on 22 September that he could neither deny nor confirm the involvement of Ukraine in the conflict in Sudan,{{Cite web |last=Altman |first=Howard |author-link=Howard Altman |date=22 September 2023 |title=Exclusive Interview With Ukraine's Spy Boss From His D.C. Hotel Room |url=https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/exclusive-interview-with-ukraines-spy-boss-from-his-dc-hotel-room |access-date=24 September 2023 |website=The War Zone |language=en |quote=TWZ: (...) Were you guys involved with the attack on a Wagner-backed militia in Sudan? CNN reported that Ukrainians were likely involved in the attack on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) forces with FPV drones. KB: I will only say the following: About two to three months ago I was giving an interview to one of the media, I don't remember which specific one. I answered them back then that anywhere across the world we will be seeking and hunting down Russian military criminals, and sooner or later that time will come whenever they are. That is why we shouldn't be surprised when in any territory, something happens to Russian military criminals. Then speaking about your specific question about Sudan, regretfully I cannot confirm or deny. |archive-date=24 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230924010645/https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/exclusive-interview-with-ukraines-spy-boss-from-his-dc-hotel-room |url-status=live }} but said that Ukraine would punish Russian war criminals anywhere in the world.{{Cite web |last=Fenert |first=Abbey |date=24 September 2023 |title=Budanov responds to CNN reports about Ukrainian drone strikes in Sudan |url=https://kyivindependent.com/budanov-responds-to-cnn-reports-about-ukrainian-drone-strikes-in-sudan/ |access-date=24 September 2023 |website=The Kyiv Independent |language=en}}

In September and October 2023, a series of fragments were reported found in Romania, a NATO member state, which were suspected to have been the remains of a Russian drone attack near the Romanian border with Ukraine.{{Cite web |date=12 October 2023 |title=NATO member Romania finds more drone fragments on its soil after Russia again hits southern Ukraine |url=https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-belgorod-avdiivka-romania-drone-nato-8cb65ba9feee222d0164d93b2ee8aa5c |access-date=23 February 2024 |website=AP News |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=6 September 2023 |title=Ukraine war: Romania reveals Russian drone parts hit its territory |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66727788 |access-date=23 February 2024 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}

In August 2012, the Ukrainian government of Mykola Azarov, who, like the then Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, maintained good relations with the Russian leadership, commissioned a consortium including Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, OMV Romania and the Ukrainian state-owned NAK Nadra Ukrainy to extract oil and natural gas in the Ukrainian part of the Black Sea.{{Cite web |date=17 August 2012 |title=Ukraine vergibt Offshore-Gas-Projekt an Shell und Exxon Mobil |url=https://www.energate-messenger.de/news/125491/ukraine-vergibt-offshore-gas-projekt-an-shell-und-exxon-mobil |access-date=6 December 2024 |website=www.energate-messenger.de |language=de}}{{Cite web |title=Exxon und Shell kämpfen um ukrainische Öl- und Gasfelder |url=https://deutsche-wirtschafts-nachrichten.de/2014/03/13/exxon-und-shell-kaempfen-um-ukrainische-oel-und-gasfelder |access-date=6 December 2024 |website=Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten |language=de-DE}} In 2013, Italy's largest oil and gas producer, Eni, was granted a license to extract oil and gas on the east coast of Crimea. In 2014, it was reported that if Crimea were annexed, the production licenses could be reassigned and previous license holders would find themselves in a legal grey area.

Economic interests were also a motive for Russia's attack on Ukraine and its annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. Lithium deposits in the Donbas and Ukraine's grain wealth would mean a "monopoly on the world market" for Russia if it took over Ukraine.{{Cite news |last=Brumme |first=Christoph |date=28 January 2024 |title=Der dysfunktionale russische Staat ist nicht wettbewerbsfähig |url=https://www.nzz.ch/meinung/des-kremls-uebersehene-kriegsgruende-der-dysfunktionale-russische-staat-kann-im-friedlichen-wettbewerb-mit-anderen-laendern-schlicht-nicht-mithalten-ld.1775119 |access-date=6 December 2024 |work=Neue Zürcher Zeitung |language=de-CH |issn=0376-6829}} In 2022, Russian General Vladimir Ovchinsky confirmed that the "Russian special operation" was aimed at seizing Ukrainian lithium deposits. He claimed that Russia was thereby getting ahead of the United States. In fact, it was the Australian company European Lithium that received the mining rights for lithium deposits in Donetsk Oblast and Kirovohrad Oblast at the end of 2021. Almost at the same time, the Chinese company Chengxin Lithium had also applied for this, but was rejected.{{Cite web |last=Brumme |first=Christoph |title=In der Ukraine kämpft Russland um Rohstoffe |url=https://www.n-tv.de/politik/Der-Krieg-gegen-die-Ukraine-ist-fuer-Russland-ein-Kampf-um-Rohstoffe-article25032685.html |access-date=6 December 2024 |website=n-tv.de |language=de}}{{Cite news |last=Margolina |first=Sonja |date=23 March 2024 |title=Russlands Appetit auf die ukrainischen Rohstoffe für die E-Zukunft |url=https://www.nzz.ch/feuilleton/russlands-appetit-auf-die-ukrainischen-rohstoffe-fuer-die-e-zukunft-ld.1821818 |access-date=6 December 2024 |work=Neue Zürcher Zeitung |language=de-CH |issn=0376-6829}}

Although the US government estimates that Russia's economic losses from the war and Western sanctions will amount to around $1.3 trillion by 2025, and the direct financial expenditure for conducting the war is estimated at $250 billion (as of autumn 2024) - costs that Russia could not have foreseen. However, according to a study published in summer 2022 by the Canadian think tank SecDev, Russia controlled energy reserves, metals and minerals worth at least $12.4 trillion in the occupied territories in Donbas, including 41 coal fields (63 percent of Ukraine's coal reserves), 27 natural gas fields, 9 oil fields, 6 iron ore deposits, 2 titanium ore deposits, 1 strontium and 1 uranium deposit, 1 gold deposit and 1 large limestone quarry. The total value of national raw material stocks in Ukraine is estimated at over $26 trillion. The value of lithium and rare earths in Ukraine is estimated at $11.5 trillion. In January 2024, the Russian occupation administration in Donetsk Oblast granted the Russian Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources a "permission" to mine lithium in the Shevchenko deposit near Kurakhovo, where the lithium deposit is estimated to be worth hundreds of billions of US dollars. According to Ukraine's geological survey the lithium ore deposits are however located in Shevchenko north-west of Velika Novosilka (there's in total three villages of this name in Donetsk Oblast).{{Cite web |date=1 January 2021 |title=Shevchenko Field of Lithium Ores |url=https://www.geo.gov.ua/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/SHEVCHENKIVSKE_license.pdf |website=State Geologic and Subsoil Survey of Ukraine |quote=Location: Velykonovosilkivskyi district of Donetsk region, on the Eastern outskirts of Shevchenko Village. The distance to the highway "C-050409" - 1 km to the South; the distance to the highway "C-050419" - 1 km to the West. The distance to the demarcation line is 60 km.}}

The green transformation or energy transition in Europe is threatening Russia's usual business and existence model, the trade in fossil fuels. The energy transition is creating new dependencies, because technologies such as wind turbines, photovoltaics and electric car batteries are dependent on lithium and rare earths. Mining them in Europe would be too expensive due to high environmental regulations, low acceptance among the population and considerable labor costs (which is why they were imported from China and countries in the global south); however, Ukraine ranks fourth in the world with 800 deposits of 94 different mineral resources and would thus displace Russia as a trading partner. A few months before the start of the Russian invasion, the European Union (EU) and Ukraine had signed a Green Deal or a transformation program for Ukraine, partly because the Ukrainian economy was at the time the most energy-intensive in the world with the most ineffective and expensive thermal power generation. The program envisaged further economic integration between the two contracting parties and climate neutrality in Ukraine by 2060. In addition to areas for the expansion of wind and solar energy, Ukraine also has infrastructure to transport green hydrogen to the EU. In addition, 22 of the 30 raw materials that the EU classified as strategically important are available in large quantities in Ukraine. Russia could only benefit from the energy transition in Europe if it acquired the resources and infrastructure on Ukrainian soil. Europe would then be even more dependent on Russia. If Russia were to achieve its war goals, Russia could steal and gain more than it would lose in peace through reduced exports to Europe.

The Russian elite, especially Russian generals, had invested their assets and property in Ukraine for money laundering before the beginning of the conflict.

{{See also|Russia–Ukraine gas disputes|Nord Stream|Nord Stream 2|Russia in the European energy sector}}

File:Major russian gas pipelines to europe.png

File:TTF natural gas.webp natural gas}}]]

Until 2014 Ukraine was the main transit route for Russian natural gas sold to Europe, which earned Ukraine about US$3 billion a year in transit fees, making it the country's most lucrative export service.{{cite web |url=https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/osw-commentary/2013-07-15/kyiv-s-gas-strategy-closer-cooperation-gazprom-or-a-genuine-div |title=Kyiv's gas strategy: closer cooperation with Gazprom or a genuine diversification |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023132057/https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/osw-commentary/2013-07-15/kyiv-s-gas-strategy-closer-cooperation-gazprom-or-a-genuine-div |archive-date=23 October 2013 |website=Centre for Eastern Studies |date=15 July 2013}} Following Russia's launch of the Nord Stream pipeline, which bypasses Ukraine, gas transit volumes steadily decreased. Following the start of the Russo-Ukrainian War in February 2014, severe tensions extended to the gas sector.{{Cite news |date=31 October 2014 |title=Russia's gas fight with Ukraine |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29521564}}{{Cite news |date=27 November 2019 |title=Russia, Ukraine escalate 'gas war' as Europe draws 'map of fear' |work=Al Jazeera |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2019/11/27/russia-ukraine-escalate-gas-war-as-europe-draws-map-of-fear}} The subsequent outbreak of war in the Donbas region forced the suspension of a project to develop Ukraine's own shale gas reserves at the Yuzivska gas field, which had been planned as a way to reduce Ukrainian dependence on Russian gas imports.{{Cite book |last=Gent |first=Stephen E. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1196822660 |title=Market power politics : war, institutions, and strategic delays in world politics |date=2021 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-752984-3 |location=New York |page=159 |oclc=1196822660}} Eventually, the EU commissioner for energy Günther Oettinger was called in to broker a deal securing supplies to Ukraine and transit to the EU.{{Cite news |date=31 October 2014 |title=Russia-Ukraine gas deal secures EU winter supply |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-29842505}}

An explosion damaged a Ukrainian portion of the Urengoy–Pomary–Uzhhorod pipeline in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast in May 2014. Ukrainian officials blamed Russian terrorists.{{Cite news |date=18 June 2014 |title=Explosion on Ukraine gas pipeline |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/247504/explosion-on-ukraine-gas-pipeline |access-date=9 August 2022 |work=Radio New Zealand |language=en}} Another section of the pipeline exploded in the Poltava Oblast on 17 June 2014, one day after Russia limited the supply of gas to Ukrainian customers due to non-payment. Ukraine's Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said the following day that the explosion had been caused by a bomb.{{cite news |date=18 June 2014 |title=Blast at Ukraine gas pipeline said due to bomb, security increased |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/ukraine-crisis-pipeline-idINL5N0OZ1ON20140618 |work=Reuters |location=Kyiv |access-date=12 June 2022}}

In 2015, Russian state media reported that Russia planned to completely abandon gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine after 2018.{{cite web |title=Russia's gas pipelines to Europe by 2018 |url=https://tass.com/infographics/7275 |access-date=3 February 2022 |website=TASS}}{{cite web |title=Gas supplies to bypass Ukraine from 2019 — Gazprom |url=https://tass.com/economy/773794 |access-date=3 February 2022 |website=TASS}} Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom had already substantially reduced the volumes of gas transited across Ukraine, and expressed its intention to reduce the level further by means of transit-diversification pipelines (Turkish Stream, Nord Stream, etc.).{{Cite news |last1=Pirani |first1=Simon |last2=Yafimava |first2=Katja |date=February 2016 |title=Russian Gas Transit Across Ukraine Post-2019 – pipeline scenarios, gas flow consequences, and regulatory constraints |publisher=Oxford Institute for Energy Studies |publication-place=Oxford, UK |url=https://www.oxfordenergy.org/publications/russian-gas-transit-across-ukraine-post-2019-pipeline-scenarios-gas-flow-consequences-and-regulatory-constraints/ |isbn=978-1-78467-054-2}} Gazprom and Ukraine agreed to a five-year deal on Russian gas transit to Europe at the end of 2019.{{Cite news |date=31 December 2021 |title=Russia, Ukraine sign gas transit deal ahead of deadline |work=Deutsche Welle |url=https://www.dw.com/en/russia-ukraine-sign-gas-transit-deal-ahead-of-deadline/a-51841576}}{{Cite news |last=Makogon |first=Sergiy |date=1 October 2021 |title=Europe is under attack from Putin's energy weapon |work=Atlantic Council |url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/europe-is-under-attack-from-putins-energy-weapon/}}

In 2020, the TurkStream natural gas pipeline running from Russia to Turkey changed the regional gas flows in South-East Europe by diverting the transit through Ukraine and the Trans Balkan Pipeline system.{{Cite news |date=23 October 2019 |title=TurkStream natural gas pipeline to impact region's gas flow|work=Daily Sabah |url=https://www.dailysabah.com/energy/2019/10/22/turkstream-natural-gas-pipeline-to-impact-regions-gas-flow}}{{Cite news |date=7 January 2020 |title=Russia Launches Into New Export Territory With TurkStream Natural-Gas Pipeline |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-launches-itself-into-new-export-territory-with-turkstream-natural-gas-pipeline/30364755.html}}

In May 2021, the Biden administration waived Trump's CAATSA sanctions on the company behind Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany.{{Cite news |date=25 May 2021 |title=Biden Says He Waived Nord Stream Sanctions Because It's Finished |work=Bloomberg |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-25/biden-says-he-waived-nord-stream-sanctions-because-it-s-finished}}{{Cite news |date=25 May 2021 |title=Putin-Biden Summit Set for June 16 in Geneva |work=The Moscow Times |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/05/25/putin-biden-summit-set-for-june-16-in-geneva-a73998}} Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said he was "surprised" and "disappointed" by Joe Biden's decision.{{Cite news |date=6 June 2021 |title= Zelensky 'surprised' and 'disappointed' by Biden pipeline move |work=Axios |url=https://www.axios.com/zelensky-biden-ukraine-russia-nord-stream-pipeline-fe50756b-6b82-43f0-b390-734ea3e95de0.html}} In July 2021, the U.S. urged Ukraine not to criticise a forthcoming agreement with Germany over the pipeline.{{Cite news |last1=Woodruff |first1=Betsy Swan |last2=Ward |first2=Alexander |last3=Desiderio |first3=Andrew |date=20 July 2021 |title=U.S. urges Ukraine to stay quiet on Russian pipeline |work=Politico |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/20/us-ukraine-russia-pipeline-500334 |access-date=21 July 2021}}{{Cite news |date=20 July 2021 |title=U.S.-German Deal on Russia's Nord Stream 2 Pipeline Expected Soon |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-german-deal-on-russian-natural-gas-pipeline-expected-soon-11626813466 |url-access=subscription |access-date=21 July 2021}}

In July 2021, Biden and German Chancellor Angela Merkel concluded a deal that the U.S. might trigger sanctions if Russia used Nord Stream as a "political weapon". The deal aimed to prevent Poland and Ukraine from being cut off from Russian gas supplies. Ukraine will get a $50 million loan for green technology until 2024 and Germany will set up a billion dollar fund to promote Ukraine's transition to green energy to compensate for the loss of the gas-transit fees. The contract for transiting Russian gas through Ukraine will be prolonged until 2034, if the Russian government agrees.{{cite web|last=Shalal|first=Andrea|date=20 July 2021|title=Germany to announce deal on Nord Stream 2 pipeline in coming days -sources|url=https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-germany-announce-deal-nord-stream-2-pipeline-coming-days-sources-2021-07-19/ |access-date=17 August 2021|website=Reuters}}{{Cite news|date=22 July 2021|title=Nord Stream 2: Ukraine and Poland slam deal to complete controversial gas pipeline|work=Euronews|url=https://www.euronews.com/2021/07/21/ukraine-poland-slam-insufficient-deal-struck-by-germany-and-u-s-on-nord-stream-2 |access-date=17 August 2021}}{{Cite news|last1=Williams|first1=Aime|last2=Olearchyk|first2=Roman|date=21 July 2021|title=Germany and US reach truce over Nord Stream 2 pipeline|work=Financial Times|url=https://www.ft.com/content/49210a4e-17ed-4a2e-a986-4efcadc7f342 |url-access=subscription |access-date=13 September 2021}}

In August 2021, Zelenskyy warned that the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline between Russia and Germany was "a dangerous weapon, not only for Ukraine but for the whole of Europe."{{Cite news|last=Rettman|first=Andrew|date=23 August 2021|title=Nord Stream 2 overshadows EU leaders' Ukraine trip|url=https://euobserver.com/world/152703}}{{Cite news|date=22 August 2021|title=Ukraine insists Nord Stream 2 is 'dangerous' despite German reassurances|work=Politico|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-insists-nord-stream-2-is-dangerous-despite-german-reassurances/}} In September 2021, Ukraine's Naftogaz CEO Yuriy Vitrenko accused Russia of using natural gas as a "geopolitical weapon".{{Cite news|date=1 November 2021|title=Ukraine gas chief urges Europe to resist Russia pressure on Nord Stream 2|work=Financial Times|url=https://www.ft.com/content/8c02955c-de12-4caa-9716-0f6507d4f254}} Vitrenko stated that "A joint statement from the United States and Germany said that if the Kremlin used gas as a weapon, there would be an appropriate response. We are now waiting for the imposition of sanctions on a 100% subsidiary of Gazprom, the operator of Nord Stream 2."{{Cite news|date=1 October 2021|title=Ukraine demands sanctions on Russia's Gazprom after Kyiv loses gas imports|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/ukraine-says-gazprom-suspends-use-its-transit-system-hungary-supplies-2021-10-01/}}

On 7 February 2022, at a joint conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Biden said that if Russia invades Ukraine, the US would ″bring an end″ to Nordstream 2.{{cite news |title=If Russia invades Ukraine, there will be no Nord Stream 2, Biden says |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/if-russia-invades-ukraine-there-will-be-no-nord-stream-2-biden-says-2022-02-07/ |access-date=16 February 2025 |publisher=Reuters |date=8 February 2022}}{{cite news |last1=Egan |first1=Lauren |title=Biden vows U.S. will 'bring an end' to Nord Stream 2 pipeline if Russia invades Ukraine |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/biden-meet-german-chancellor-russia-ukraine-tesnions-rcna15190 |access-date=16 February 2025 |work=NBC News |date=8 February 2022 |language=en}}

On 26 September 2022, a series of underwater explosions and consequent gas leaks occurred on the Nord Stream 1 (NS1) and Nord Stream 2 (NS2) natural gas pipelines.{{cite web |title=Gas Infrastructure Europe – System Development Map 2022/2021 |website=European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG) |date=December 2021 |url=https://entsog.eu/sites/default/files/2022-01/ENTSOG_GIE_SYSDEV_2020-2021.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924231209/https://entsog.eu/sites/default/files/2022-01/ENTSOG_GIE_SYSDEV_2020-2021.pdf |archive-date=24 September 2022 |access-date=7 October 2022 }} The investigations by Sweden and Denmark described the explosions as sabotage,{{cite news |title=NATO chief: 'All evidence' points to pipeline sabotage, dodges question on Ukraine membership |first=Peter |last=Aitken |work=Fox News |date=2 October 2022 |url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/nato-chief-evidence-points-pipeline-sabotage-dodges-question-ukraine-membership |access-date=3 October 2022 |archive-date=3 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003044901/https://www.foxnews.com/world/nato-chief-evidence-points-pipeline-sabotage-dodges-question-ukraine-membership |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=Nancy Faeser kündigt internationale Ermittlungsgruppe an |trans-title=Nancy Faeser announces international investigation team |date=2 October 2022 |language=de |work=Zeit Online |publisher=Zeitverlag |url=https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2022-10/nord-stream-lecks-marco-buschmann-ermittlungen-deutschland |access-date=3 October 2022 |archive-date=3 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003052751/https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2022-10/nord-stream-lecks-marco-buschmann-ermittlungen-deutschland |url-status=live }}{{Cite press release |title=Bekräftat sabotage vid Nord Stream |url=https://www.aklagare.se/nyheter-press/pressmeddelanden/2022/november/bekraftat-sabotage-vid-nord-stream/ |access-date=18 November 2022 |website=Åklagarmyndigheten |language=sv |trans-title=Confirmed sabotage on Nord Stream |archive-date=18 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221118085347/https://www.aklagare.se/nyheter-press/pressmeddelanden/2022/november/bekraftat-sabotage-vid-nord-stream/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=Russia-Ukraine war: remains of explosives found at Nord Stream pipeline blast site – as it happened |first1=Tom |last1=Ambrose |first2=Martin |last2=Belam |first3=Helen |last3=Sullivan |date=19 November 2022 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/nov/18/russia-ukraine-war-live-missile-strikes-leave-10-million-ukrainians-without-power-says-zelenskiy |access-date=5 March 2024 |work=The Guardian |publisher=Guardian News and Media }} and were closed without identifying perpetrators in February 2024.{{Cite news |title=Sweden Closes Investigation of Pipeline Blasts, but Stays Silent on Cause |last1=Ruiz |first1=Rebecca R. |last2=Sanger |first2=David E. |date=7 February 2024 |work=New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/07/world/europe/sweden-nord-stream-pipeline.html |url-status=live |url-access=registration |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240222144555/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/07/world/europe/sweden-nord-stream-pipeline.html |archive-date=22 February 2024 |access-date=12 February 2024 }}{{cite news |title=Nord Stream: Denmark closes investigation into pipeline blast |first=Laura |last=Gozzi |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68401870 |access-date=4 March 2024 |publisher=BBC |date=26 February 2024 |archive-date=4 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304214723/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68401870 |url-status=live }} The German government refused to publish the preliminary results of its own investigation in July 2024.{{cite news |title=Nord Stream: Neue Antwort der Bundesregierung – Ermittlungsstand zu Anschlag bleibt geheim |first=Raphael |last=Schmeller |work=Berliner Zeitung |language=de |url=https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/politik-gesellschaft/geopolitik/antwort-der-bundesregierung-ermittlungsstand-zu-nord-stream-anschlag-wird-nicht-veroeffentlicht-li.2237806 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240723131902/https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/politik-gesellschaft/geopolitik/antwort-der-bundesregierung-ermittlungsstand-zu-nord-stream-anschlag-wird-nicht-veroeffentlicht-li.2237806 |archive-date=23 July 2024 |access-date=25 July 2023 }}

The Russo-Ukrainian conflict has also included elements of hybrid warfare using non-traditional means. Cyberwarfare has been used by Russia in operations including successful attacks on the Ukrainian power grid in December 2015 and in December 2016, which was the first successful cyber attack on a power grid,{{cite web|last=Кім Зеттер, Wired|date=17 March 2016|title=Хакерська атака Росії на українську енергосистему: як це було|url=http://texty.org.ua/pg/article/newsmaker/read/66125/Hakerska_ataka_Rosiji_na_ukrajinsku_jenergosystemu_jak |access-date=18 March 2016|website=Texty.org}} and the Mass hacker supply-chain attack in June 2017, which the US claimed was the largest known cyber attack.{{cite web|date=15 February 2018|title=Statement from the Press Secretary|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/statement-press-secretary-25/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203094101/https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/statement-press-secretary-25/ |archive-date=3 February 2021 |access-date=3 March 2021|website=whitehouse.gov|via=National Archives}} In retaliation, Ukrainian operations have included the Surkov Leaks in October 2016 which released 2,337 e-mails in relation to Russian plans for seizing Crimea from Ukraine and fomenting separatist unrest in Donbas.{{Cite news|last=Christopher Miller|date=2 November 2016|title=Inside The Ukrainian 'Hacktivist' Network Cyberbattling The Kremlin|language=en|work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-hacktivist-network-cyberwar-on-kremlin/28091216.html |url-status=live |access-date=17 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220103221243/https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-hacktivist-network-cyberwar-on-kremlin/28091216.html |archive-date=3 January 2022}} The Russian information war against Ukraine has been another front of hybrid warfare waged by Russia.

A Russian fifth column in Ukraine has also been claimed to exist among the Party of Regions, the Communist Party, the Progressive Socialist Party and the Russian Orthodox Church.{{cite web|first=Ivan|last=Diyak |script-title=uk:П'ята колона в Україні: загроза державності.|language=uk|title=P'yata kolona v Ukrayini: zahroza derzhavnosti. |trans-title=The fifth column in Ukraine: the threat of statehood.|url=http://varnak.psend.com/five_col.html |access-date=7 April 2021|website=Велика рідня}}{{cite web |script-title=uk:Російська "п'ята колона" просить суд заборонити Януковичу підписувати угоду про асоціацію з ЄС|title=Rosiysʹka 'p'yata kolona" prosytʹ sud zaboronyty Yanukovychu pidpysuvaty uhodu pro asotsiatsiyu z YES |trans-title=The Russian 'fifth column' is asking the court to prohibit Yanukovych from signing the association agreement with the EU|url=http://tyzhden.ua/News/93800 |access-date=7 April 2021|website=tyzhden.ua|date=13 November 2013 |language=uk}}{{cite web |script-title=uk:Онлайн казино України 2021 Ξ Інтернет-казино на гроші|title=Onlayn kazyno Ukrayiny 2021 X Internet-kazyno na hroshi |trans-title=Online casino of Ukraine 2021 Ξ Internet casino for money|url=http://www.gazeta.lviv.ua/ |access-date=7 April 2021|website=www.gazeta.lviv.ua|language=uk}}

{{Main|Russian information war against Ukraine|Disinformation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine|Ruscism}}File:2022 Moscow rally 2.jpg, officially known in Russia as a rally "For a world without Nazism"]]

The Russian state falsely claims that Ukraine's government and society are dominated by neo-Nazism, invoking the history of collaboration in German-occupied Ukraine during World War II.{{Cite news|last=Campbell|first=Eric|date=3 March 2022|title=Inside Donetsk, the separatist republic that triggered the war in Ukraine|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-03/inside-the-separatist-republic-that-triggered-the-war-in-ukraine/100871262|access-date=3 March 2022|archive-date=3 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303140132/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-03/inside-the-separatist-republic-that-triggered-the-war-in-ukraine/100871262|url-status=live}}{{Cite book |last=McGlynn |first=Jade |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gaavEAAAQBAJ&dq=the+Maidan+in+2013%E2%80%9314+but+to+say+that+the+majority+of+protestors+professed&pg=PA62 |title=Memory Makers: The Politics of the Past in Putin's Russia |date=4 May 2023 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-350-28078-6 |pages=65–68 |language=en}}{{Cite magazine|last=Waxman|first=Olivia B.|date=3 March 2022|title=Historians on What Putin Gets Wrong About 'Denazification' in Ukraine|url=https://time.com/6154493/denazification-putin-ukraine-history-context/|magazine=Time|access-date=6 March 2022|archive-date=3 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303211420/https://time.com/6154493/denazification-putin-ukraine-history-context/|url-status=live}} These Nazi allegations are widely rejected as untrue and part of a disinformation campaign to justify the invasion.{{cite journal| title=Putin's Abuse of History: Ukrainian 'Nazis', 'Genocide', and a Fake Threat Scenario |author=Grzegorz Rossoliński-Liebe, Bastiaan Willems |year=2022|doi=10.1080/13518046.2022.2058179|journal=The Journal of Slavic Military Studies|volume=35|issue=1|pages=1–10|s2cid=250340541 |doi-access=free}}{{cite web |date=24 February 2022 |title=Attacking Ukraine, Putin calls for 'denazification' of country with a Jewish leader |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-attacking-ukraine-putin-calls-for-denazification-of-country-with-jewish-leader/ |access-date=25 February 2022 |website=Times of Israel |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Bulos |first=Nabih |date=17 February 2022 |title=Russian disinformation kicks into high gear as Ukraine crisis drags on |url=https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-02-17/russia-ukraine-disinformation-campaign |access-date=19 February 2022 |work=Los Angeles Times}} Some of the world's leading historians of Nazism and the Holocaust put out a statement rejecting the claims, which was signed by hundreds of other historians and scholars of the subject. It says:{{blockquote|We strongly reject the Russian government's ... equation of the Ukrainian state with the Nazi regime to justify its unprovoked aggression. This rhetoric is factually wrong, morally repugnant and deeply offensive to the memory of millions of victims of Nazism and those who courageously fought against it.{{Cite news |last1=Tabarovsky |first1=Izabella |last2=Finkel |first2=Eugene |date=2022-02-27 |title=Statement on the War in Ukraine by Scholars of Genocide, Nazism and World War II |language=en |work=The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles |url=https://jewishjournal.com/news/worldwide/345515/statement-on-the-war-in-ukraine-by-scholars-of-genocide-nazism-and-world-war-ii/ |url-status=live |access-date=2022-03-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220304065227/https://jewishjournal.com/news/worldwide/345515/statement-on-the-war-in-ukraine-by-scholars-of-genocide-nazism-and-world-war-ii/ |archive-date=2022-03-04}}}}

Ukraine has a far-right fringe like most countries, including the Azov Movement and Right Sector,{{Cite news|last=Berger|first=Miriam|date=24 February 2022|title=Putin says he will 'denazify' Ukraine. Here's the history behind that claim.|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/24/putin-denazify-ukraine/ |url-status=live |access-date=27 February 2022 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220227/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/24/putin-denazify-ukraine/ |archive-date=27 February 2022}} but analysts say that Russia's government and mainstream media greatly exaggerate its size and influence.{{Cite news|last1=Li|first1=David K.|last2=Allen|first2=Jonathan|last3=Siemaszko|first3=Corky|date=24 February 2022|title=Putin using false 'Nazi' narrative to justify Russia's attack on Ukraine, experts say|work=NBC News|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/putin-claims-denazification-justify-russias-attack-ukraine-experts-say-rcna17537 |url-status=live |access-date=24 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225025147/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/putin-claims-denazification-justify-russias-attack-ukraine-experts-say-rcna17537 |archive-date=25 February 2022}}{{Cite news|last=Abbruzzese|first=Jason|date=24 February 2022|title=Putin says he is fighting a resurgence of Nazism. That's not true.|publisher=NBC News|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/live-blog/russia-ukraine-conflict-live-updates-n1289655/ncrd1289673 |url-status=live |access-date=24 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224112830/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/live-blog/russia-ukraine-conflict-live-updates-n1289655/ncrd1289673 |archive-date=24 February 2022}} Ukraine's president Zelenskyy is Jewish, his grandfather served in the Soviet army fighting against the Nazis,{{cite web|last1=Lawler|first1=Dave|last2=Basu|first2=Zachary|date=24 February 2022|title=Ukrainian President Zelensky says Putin has ordered invasion as country prepares for war|url=https://www.axios.com/ukraine-russia-putin-zelensky-invasion-3e5b8783-c4b6-41e9-b6d5-b0706bfedfdf.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224031305/https://www.axios.com/ukraine-russia-putin-zelensky-invasion-3e5b8783-c4b6-41e9-b6d5-b0706bfedfdf.html |archive-date=24 February 2022 |access-date=24 February 2022|website=Axios}} and three of his ancestors were killed in the Holocaust. In an attempt to drum-up support for the war among its citizens, Russian propaganda has framed it as a continuation of the Soviet Union's "Great Patriotic War" against Nazi Germany.{{cite news |last=Antonova |first=Natalia |date=1 June 2022 |title=The 'Death Cult' Keeping Russia in Ukraine |url=https://www.thebulwark.com/the-death-cult-keeping-russia-in-ukraine/ |work=The Bulwark}}{{cite web |last1=Garner |first1=Ian |title=Russia and Ukraine Are Fighting for the Legacy of World War II |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/26/russia-ukraine-war-soviet-legacy/ |website=Foreign Policy |date=26 March 2022 |access-date=16 October 2023 |archive-date=10 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230510152814/https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/26/russia-ukraine-war-soviet-legacy/ |url-status=live }} Some commentators point out that Russia claims to be "denazifying" Ukraine despite Russian neo-Nazi groups (such as Rusich) taking part in the war, and despite Putin's Russia being likened to a fascist state (see Ruscism).{{cite news |last1=Đokić |first1=Aleksandar |title=When Russia calls others 'Nazis', it should be taking a hard look at itself |url=https://www.euronews.com/2023/04/13/when-russia-calls-others-nazis-it-should-be-taking-a-hard-look-at-itself |work=Euronews |date=13 April 2023 |access-date=10 October 2023 |archive-date=21 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821160904/https://www.euronews.com/2023/04/13/when-russia-calls-others-nazis-it-should-be-taking-a-hard-look-at-itself |url-status=live }}{{cite news| url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/05/23/russian-neo-nazis-participate-in-denazifying-ukraine-der-spiegel-a77762| work=The Moscow Times| title=Russian Neo-Nazis Participate in 'Denazifying' Ukraine – Der Spiegel| date=23 May 2022| access-date=18 August 2023| archive-date=14 January 2024| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240114154836/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/05/23/russian-neo-nazis-participate-in-denazifying-ukraine-der-spiegel-a77762| url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=Yes, Putin and Russia are fascist – a political scientist shows how they meet the textbook definition |url=https://theconversation.com/yes-putin-and-russia-are-fascist-a-political-scientist-shows-how-they-meet-the-textbook-definition-179063 |website=The Conversation |date=30 March 2022 |access-date=10 October 2023 |archive-date=30 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630131507/https://theconversation.com/yes-putin-and-russia-are-fascist-a-political-scientist-shows-how-they-meet-the-textbook-definition-179063 |url-status=live }}

File:Интервью Владимира Путина ВГТРК 02.jpeg voiced support for his country's invasion of Ukraine.{{Cite news|date=27 February 2022|title=Ukraine War: Russia Is Running an Orwellian Propaganda Campaign|work=Haaretz|url=https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/.premium.HIGHLIGHT-putin-s-propaganda-channeling-the-rabid-protocols-of-the-elders-of-zion-1.10638976}}]]

File:Anti-War protest, Odessa 02.jpg

File:Z symbol flash mob at Platinum Arena in Khabarovsk.jpg flash mob in Khabarovsk]]

Putin called Russians and Ukrainians "one people" and claimed there is "no historical basis" for the "idea of Ukrainian people as a nation separate from the Russians".Düben, B A. "[https://doi.org/10.31389/lseppr.86 Revising History and 'Gathering the Russian Lands': Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian Nationhood"]. LSE Public Policy Review, vol. 3, no. 1, 2023 Putin repeatedly denied Ukraine's right to exist, claiming that it was created by the Russian Bolsheviks and that it never had "real statehood".{{cite web |last1=Durand |first1=Olivia |title=Putin's invasion of Ukraine attacks its distinct history and reveals his imperial instincts |url=https://theconversation.com/putins-invasion-of-ukraine-attacks-its-distinct-history-and-reveals-his-imperial-instincts-177669 |website=The Conversation |date=24 February 2022}} A poll conducted in April 2022 by "Rating" found that the vast majority (91%) of Ukrainians do not support the thesis that "Russians and Ukrainians are one people".{{cite web | url=https://ratinggroup.ua/research/ukraine/vosmoy_obschenacionalnyy_opros_ukraina_v_usloviyah_voyny_6_aprelya_2022.html | title=Восьме загальнонаціональне опитування: Україна в умовах війни (6 квітня 2022) |website=Ratinggroup.ua |date=6 April 2022}} In 2020, Vladislav Surkov, who served as an adviser to Putin on Ukraine, said "There is no Ukraine. There is Ukrainianism ... it is a specific disorder of the mind".{{cite web|url=http://actualcomment.ru/surkov-mne-interesno-deystvovat-protiv-realnosti-2002260855.html|title=Surkov: I am interested to act against the reality|website=Actualcomment.ru|last=Chesnakov|first=Aleksei|date=26 February 2020|language=ru|trans-title=Сурков: мне интересно действовать против реальности|access-date=27 February 2020|archive-date=24 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224120426/https://actualcomment.ru/surkov-mne-interesno-deystvovat-protiv-realnosti-2002260855.html|url-status=live}}{{cite journal |last1=Saar |first1=Jüri |title=The Russian Holy War and Military Statehood |journal=TRAMES |date=2023 |volume=27 |issue=77/72 |page=8 |publisher=University of Tartu and the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences |doi=10.3176/tr.2023.1.01 |url=https://kirj.ee/wp-content/plugins/kirj/pub/TRAMES-1-2023-3-20_20230226142705.pdf |issn=1406-0922}} Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia and former Russian president, publicly wrote that "Ukraine is NOT a country, but artificially collected territories" and that Ukrainian "is NOT a language" but a "mongrel dialect" of Russian.{{cite web |last1=Karatnycky |first1=Adrian |title=What a Russian Victory Would Mean for Ukraine |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/12/19/ukraine-russia-war-stalemate-victory-congress-military-aid/ |website=Foreign Policy |date=19 December 2023}} In 2024, Medvedev called Ukraine part of Russia{{cite news |title=Putin ally says 'Ukraine is Russia' and historical territory needs to 'come home' |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putin-ally-says-ukraine-is-definitely-russia-rules-out-talks-with-zelenskiy-2024-03-04/ |work=Reuters |date=4 March 2024}} and said the Russian Army will seize what he called the "Russian cities" of Kyiv and Odesa.{{cite web |title=Russia to bite off much more of Ukraine, Putin ally Medvedev says |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-bite-off-much-more-ukraine-putin-ally-medvedev-says-2024-02-22/ |website=Reuters |date=22 February 2024}} Medvedev has also said that Ukraine should not exist in any form and that Russia will continue to wage war against any independent Ukrainian state.{{cite news |title=Putin Ally Says There's '100 Percent' Chance of Future Russia-Ukraine Wars |url=https://www.newsweek.com/putin-ally-says-theres-100-percent-chance-future-russia-ukraine-wars-1861639 |work=Newsweek |date=17 January 2024}} Moreover, Medvedev warned that Russia would use a nuclear weapon if the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive succeeded.{{cite web |last1=Osborn |first1=Andrew |title=Russia's Medvedev: We'd have to use a nuclear weapon if Ukrainian offensive was a success |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russias-medvedev-wed-have-use-nuclear-weapon-if-ukrainian-offensive-was-success-2023-07-30/ |website=Reuters |date=30 July 2023}} He said Ukrainians had to choose between joining Russia or "death".{{cite web |title=Russia Bans Ukrainian in Occupied Territory Schools, Medvedev Posts 'Genocidal' Tirade |url=https://www.kyivpost.com/post/26896 |website=Kyiv Post |date=18 January 2024}}

Fake stories have been used to provoke public outrage against Ukraine. In April 2014, a Russian news channel showed a man saying he was attacked by a fascist Ukrainian gang, while another channel showed the same man claiming to be a Ukrainian funding far-right anti-Russia radicals.{{Cite news|date=11 April 2014|title=Russia TV stations air 'impostor' protester in two guises|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-26986657 |access-date=19 February 2022}}{{Cite news|last=Pomerantsev|first=Peter|date=9 September 2014|title=Russia and the Menace of Unreality|work=The Atlantic|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/09/russia-putin-revolutionizing-information-warfare/379880/ |access-date=19 February 2022}} A third segment portrayed the man as a neo-Nazi surgeon.{{Cite news|last=Rudenko|first=Olga|date=30 April 2014|title=Russia cranks out propaganda as militants hang on in Ukraine|work=USA Today|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/04/30/ukraine-propaganda-russia/8518697/ |access-date=19 February 2022}} In July 2014, Channel One Russia broadcast a fake story about a 3-year-old Russian boy who was allegedly crucified by Ukrainian nationalists.{{Cite news|last=Ash|first=Lucy|date=29 January 2015|title=How Russia outfoxes its enemies|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31020283 |access-date=19 February 2022}}{{Cite news|date=14 July 2014|title=Russian TV sparks outrage with Ukraine child 'crucifixion' claim|work=Yahoo News|agency=Agence France-Presse|url=https://news.yahoo.com/russian-tv-sparks-outrage-ukraine-child-crucifixion-claim-114839196.html |access-date=19 February 2022}} Russian state media reported mass graves full of ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine. Amnesty International investigated these claims in 2014 and instead found isolated incidents of extrajudicial executions by both sides.{{cite web|date=20 October 2014|title=Eastern Ukraine conflict: Summary killings, misrecorded and misreported|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2014/10/eastern-ukraine-conflict-summary-killings-misrecorded-and-misreported/ |access-date=15 March 2022|website=Amnesty International|language=en}} Russian state news outlets have sometimes aired stories about alleged Ukrainian atrocities using footage from other unrelated conflicts.{{Cite news|last=Young|first=Cathy|date=24 July 2014|title=Putin's Pal|work=Slate|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2014/07/stephen-cohen-vladimir-putins-apologist-the-nation-just-published-the-most-outrageous-defense-of-the-russian-president.html |access-date=19 February 2022}}{{Cite news|last=Williams|first=Carol J.|date=18 June 2014|title=U.N. warns pro-Russia separatists leading Ukrainians down 'dead end'|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-ukraine-russia-un-rights-report-20140618-story.html |access-date=19 February 2022}}

In announcing the 2022 invasion, Putin baselessly claimed that Ukraine had been carrying out genocide in the mainly Russian-speaking Donbas region for eight years.{{cite news |last=Hinton |first=Alexander |date=25 February 2022 |title=Putin's claims that Ukraine is committing genocide are baseless, but not unprecedented |work=The Conversation |url=https://theconversation.com/putins-claims-that-ukraine-is-committing-genocide-are-baseless-but-not-unprecedented-177511 |access-date=25 February 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220226/https://theconversation.com/putins-claims-that-ukraine-is-committing-genocide-are-baseless-but-not-unprecedented-177511 |archive-date=26 February 2022}}{{cbignore}}{{Cite magazine|last=Crosbie|first=Jack|date=17 February 2022|title='Mass Graves' and Shelled Schools: A Dangerous New Phase of the Ukraine Crisis is Here|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/ukraine-russia-us-mass-graves-diplomacy-1302068/|magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=19 February 2022}}{{Cite news|last=Fisher|first=Max|date=19 February 2022|title=Putin's Baseless Claims of Genocide Hint at More Than War|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/19/world/europe/putin-ukraine-genocide.html |access-date=19 February 2022}} Ukraine brought a case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to challenge Russia's claim. The ICJ said it had not seen any evidence of genocide by Ukraine.{{cite news |title=UN international court of justice orders Russia to halt invasion of Ukraine |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/16/un-international-court-of-justice-orders-russia-to-halt-invasion-of-ukraine |work=The Guardian |date=16 March 2022 |access-date=6 June 2023 |archive-date=2 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220502134241/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/16/un-international-court-of-justice-orders-russia-to-halt-invasion-of-ukraine |url-status=live }} Altogether, about 14,300 people were killed by both sides in the Donbas War. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, less than a quarter of them were civilians, and at least half of those were killed by mines and unexploded ordnance.{{cite web |url= https://ukraine.un.org/sites/default/files/2022-02/Conflict-related%20civilian%20casualties%20as%20of%2031%20December%202021%20%28rev%2027%20January%202022%29%20corr%20EN_0.pdf |title= Conflict-related civilian casualties in Ukraine |page= 3 |work= OHCHR |date= 27 January 2022 |access-date= 27 January 2022 |archive-date= 21 April 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220421134529/http://ukraine.un.org/sites/default/files/2022-02/Conflict-related%20civilian%20casualties%20as%20of%2031%20December%202021%20(rev%2027%20January%202022)%20corr%20EN_0.pdf |url-status= live }}

The Russian censorship apparatus Roskomnadzor ordered the country's media to use information only from Russian state sources or else face fines and blocks,{{cite web|date=24 February 2022|title=Use Only Official Sources About Ukraine War, Russian Media Watchdog Tells Journalists|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/02/24/use-only-official-sources-about-ukraine-war-russian-media-watchdog-tells-journalists-a76567 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224123216/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/02/24/use-only-official-sources-about-ukraine-war-russian-media-watchdog-tells-journalists-a76567 |archive-date=24 February 2022 |access-date=24 February 2022|website=The Moscow Times}} and ordered media and schools to describe the war as a "special military operation".{{cite news|title=Do not call Ukraine invasion a 'war', Russia tells media, schools|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/2/do-not-call-ukraine-invasion-a-war-russia-tells-media-schools |access-date=27 March 2022|publisher=Al Jazeera}} On 4 March 2022, Putin signed into law a bill introducing prison sentences of up to 15 years for those who publish "fake news" about the Russian military and its operations,{{Cite news|date=11 March 2022|title=Even Russia's Kremlin-backed media is going off message and beginning to question Putin's war on Ukraine|work=Fortune|url=https://fortune.com/2022/03/11/russia-kremlin-backed-media-off-message-question-putin-war-ukraine-invasion/ |access-date=29 March 2022}} leading to some media outlets to stop reporting on Ukraine.{{cite web|date=4 March 2022|title=Putin Signs Law Introducing Jail Terms for 'Fake News' on Army|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/03/04/putin-signs-law-introducing-jail-terms-for-fake-news-on-army-a76768 |access-date=29 March 2022|website=The Moscow Times}} Russia's opposition politician Alexei Navalny said the "monstrosity of lies" in the Russian state media "is unimaginable. And, unfortunately, so is its persuasiveness for those who have no access to alternative information."{{Cite news|date=6 April 2022|title=Channelling Goebbels: The obscenity of Russian state TV news, as it conceals war crimes for Putin|work=inews.co.uk.|url=https://inews.co.uk/opinion/channelling-goebbels-the-obscenity-of-russian-state-tv-news-as-it-conceals-war-crimes-for-putin-1559603?ico=best_of_opinion}} He tweeted that "warmongers" among Russian state media personalities "should be treated as war criminals. From the editors-in-chief to the talk show hosts to the news editors, [they] should be sanctioned now and tried someday."{{Cite news|date=6 March 2022|title=Navalny Calls for Sanctions Against Russian State Media 'Warmongers'|work=The Moscow Times|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/04/06/navalny-calls-for-sanctions-against-russian-state-media-warmongers-a77237}}

File:Ukraine solidarity protest Berlin Straße des 17 Juni 2022-02-27 114.jpg rally in Berlin, one of the signs saying "Denazify Putin"]]

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the 22 March Crocus City Hall attack, a terrorist attack in a music venue in Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast, Russia, and published a corroborating video.{{cite news |last=Roth |first=Andrew |title=New Islamic State videos back claim it carried out Moscow concert hall attack |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/24/new-islamic-state-videos-back-claim-it-carried-out-moscow-concert-hall-attack |work=the Guardian |publisher=Guardian News & Media |date=24 March 2024 |archive-date=24 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324131035/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/24/new-islamic-state-videos-back-claim-it-carried-out-moscow-concert-hall-attack |url-status=live }} Putin and the Russian security service, the FSB, blamed Ukraine for the attack, without evidence.{{cite news |date=26 March 2024 |title=Russia blames Ukraine, the West over Moscow concert hall attack |url=https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240326-russia-blames-ukraine-the-west-over-moscow-concert-hall-attack |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240326202739/https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240326-russia-blames-ukraine-the-west-over-moscow-concert-hall-attack |archive-date=26 March 2024 |work=France 24}} On 3 April 2024, Russia's Defense Ministry announced that "around 16,000 citizens" had signed military contracts in the last 10 days to fight as contract soldiers in the war against Ukraine, with most of them saying they were motivated to "avenge those killed" in the Crocus City Hall attack.{{cite news |title=Russian Military Says Recruited 100K Contract Soldiers Since Start of 2024 |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/04/03/russian-military-says-recruited-100k-contract-soldiers-since-start-of-2024-a84721 |work=The Moscow Times |date=3 April 2024}}

NAFO (North Atlantic Fella Organization), a loose cadre of online shitposters vowing to fight Russian disinformation, gained notoriety after June 2022.{{Cite web|website=Vice|date=12 July 2022|first=Matthew|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3pd5y/shitposting-shiba-inu-accounts-chased-a-russian-diplomat-offline|title=Shitposting Shiba Inu Accounts Chased a Russian Diplomat Offline|last=Gault}}

{{See also|Religion and the Russian invasion of Ukraine}}

File:Ceremony of consecration of the Main temple 15.jpg, which previously had a mosaic depicting the 2014 annexation of Crimea and featured Putin and Shoigu, but it was later removed{{cite web |title=Russia Ditches Putin Mosaic in Army Church |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/05/01/russia-ditches-putin-mosaic-in-army-church-a70168 |website=The Moscow Times |date=1 May 2020}}]]

The Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) and its hierarch Patriarch Kirill of Moscow have shown their full support of the war against Ukraine.{{cite web|last=Luchenko|first=Ksenia|url=https://carnegieendowment.org/russia-eurasia/politika/2023/01/why-the-russian-orthodox-church-supports-the-war-in-ukraine?lang=en|title=Why the Russian Orthodox Church Supports the War in Ukraine|website=The Guardian|date=31 January 2023}} The Russian Orthodox Church officially deems the invasion of Ukraine to be a "holy war".{{cite web |author=Brendan Cole|title=Ukraine Is Now 'Holy War,' Russian Church Declares|url=https://www.newsweek.com/russia-ukraine-war-holy-1884577|date=28 March 2024 |access-date=29 March 2024|website=Newsweek}}
{{cite web |author=Tetyana Oliynyk|title=Russian Orthodox Church calls invasion of Ukraine "holy war", Ukrainian church reacts|url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/03/28/7448650/|date=28 March 2024 |access-date=29 March 2024|website=Ukrainska Pravda}} During the World Russian People's Council in March 2024, the Russian Orthodox Church approved a document stating that this "holy war" was to defend "Holy Russia" and to protect the world from globalism and the West, which it said had "fallen into Satanism". The document further stated that all of Ukraine should come under Russia's sphere of influence, and that Ukrainians and Belarusians "should be recognised only as sub-ethnic groups of the Russians". Not one of the approximately 400 Russian Orthodox Church bishops in Russia has spoken out against the war.{{cite web|last=Gudziak|first=Borys|url=https://carnegieendowment.org/russia-eurasia/politika/2023/01/why-the-russian-orthodox-church-supports-the-war-in-ukraine?lang=en|title=Russian Orthodox leader Patriarch Kirill's unholy war against Ukraine|website=Atlantic Council|date=3 August 2023}} Patriarch Kirill also issued a prayer for victory in the war.{{cite web |last1=Prokhorenko |first1=Veronica |title=Russia was ordered to pray for God to give victory: a letter was leaked from Moscow (photo) |url=https://ukrainetoday.org/russia-was-ordered-to-pray-for-god-to-give-victory-a-letter-was-leaked-from-moscow-photo/ |website=Ukraine Today |date=30 March 2024}}

The role of the Russian Orthodox Church in advancing Putin's war messaging is a vivid illustration of the complex interplay between religion and politics.{{cite web|last=Dubtsova|first=Natalia|url=https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/pulpit-propaganda-machine-tracing-russian-orthodox-churchs-role-putins-war|title=From pulpit to propaganda machine: tracing the Russian Orthodox Church's role in Putin's war|website=Reuters Institute|date=6 February 2024}} A Russia expert and fellow of Germany's University of Bremen, told Al Jazeera that the ROC's participation in the war means it "faces the prospect of losing its 'universal character' and clout, and of reducing its borders to those of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's political empire".{{cite web|last=Mirovalev|first=Mansur|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/9/far-from-harmless-patriarch-kirill-backs-putins-war-but-at-what-cost|title='God of war': Russian Orthodox Church stands by Putin, but at what cost?|website=Al Jazeera|date=9 February 2024}}

On 27 March 2024 the World Russian People's Council took place in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow where was adopted a "Nakaz" (decree) of the council "The Present and the Future of the Russian World".{{cite web|last=Kirill of Moscow|first=Patriarch|url=http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/6116021.html|title=Выступление Святейшего Патриарха Кирилла на внеочередном соборном съезде Всемирного русского народного собора|website=Russian Orthodox Church|date=27 March 2024}} According to some experts such as the ROC protodeacon Andrei Kurayev it has similarities with the program articles of the German Christians.{{cite news|last=Shumylo|first=Serhiy|url=https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/zvychaynyy-fashyzm-rozbir-tez-pro-svyashchennuyu-voynu-rosiyi/32890534.html|title="Звичайний фашизм": розбір тез про "священную войну" Росії проти України та Заходу|newspaper=Радіо Свобода|date=5 April 2024}} The decree talks about the so-called "Special Military Operation" in Ukraine, development of the Russian World globally and other issues.{{cite web|last= |first= |url=https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-orthodox-church-declares-%E2%80%9Choly-war%E2%80%9D-against-ukraine-and-articulates-tenets|title=THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH DECLARES "HOLY WAR" AGAINST UKRAINE AND ARTICULATES TENETS OF RUSSIA'S EMERGING OFFICIAL NATIONALIST IDEOLOGY|website=Institute for the Study of War|date=30 March 2024}}

{{Main|Russia–NATO relations}}

{{further|Russian opposition to Ukrainian NATO membership}}

File:Deputy Secretary Sherman Meets With the NATO-Russia Council (51815888987).jpg]]

The conflict has harmed relations between Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a defensive alliance of European and North American states. Russia and NATO had co-operated until Russia annexed Crimea 2014. In his February 2022 speeches justifying the invasion of Ukraine, Putin falsely claimed that NATO was building up military infrastructure in Ukraine and threatening Russia, forcing him to order an invasion.{{cite news |title=Fact check: Russia's disinformation campaign targets NATO |url=https://www.dw.com/en/fact-check-russias-disinformation-campaign-targets-nato/a-64675398 |publisher=Deutsche Welle |date=13 February 2023}} Putin warned that NATO would use Ukraine to launch a surprise attack on Russia.{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/extracts-putins-speech-ukraine-2022-02-21/|title = Extracts from Putin's speech on Ukraine|work = Reuters|date = 21 February 2022 |url-access=registration |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231202132403/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/extracts-putins-speech-ukraine-2022-02-21/ |archive-date=2 December 2023}} Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov characterized the conflict as a proxy war started by NATO.{{cite web|last=Livingstone|first=Helen|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/26/russia-accuses-nato-of-proxy-war-in-ukraine-as-us-hosts-crucial-defence-summit|title=Russia accuses Nato of 'proxy war' in Ukraine as US hosts crucial defence summit: Ukraine dismisses Sergei Lavrov's war comments as diplomats gather in Germany for US-hosted talks to navigate 'critical' phase|website=The Guardian|date=26 April 2022}} He said: "We don't think we're at war with NATO ... Unfortunately, NATO believes it is at war with Russia".{{Cite news|date=29 April 2022|title=Russia doesn't consider itself to be at war with NATO, Lavrov says|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/29/russia-ukraine-war-news-putin-live-updates/}}

NATO says it is not at war with Russia; its official policy is that it does not seek confrontation, but rather its members support Ukraine in "its right to self-defense, as enshrined in the UN Charter".{{cite web |title=NATO-Russia: Setting the record straight |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/115204.htm |publisher=NATO |access-date=16 May 2023}} NATO condemned Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine in "the strongest possible terms", and calls it "the biggest security threat in a generation". It led to the deployment of additional NATO units in its eastern member states.{{cite web |title=Russia's war on Ukraine: NATO response |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_ATA%282022%29729380 |website=European Parliament |date=22 April 2022}} Former CIA director Leon Panetta told the ABC that the U.S. is 'without question' involved in a proxy war with Russia.{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-25/nato-us-in-proxy-war-with-russia-biden-next-move-crucial/100937196|first=Jade|last=Macmillan|title=With NATO and the US in a 'proxy war' with Russia, ex-CIA boss Leon Panetta says Joe Biden's next move is crucial|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=25 March 2022}} Lawrence Freedman wrote that calling Ukraine a NATO "proxy" wrongly implied that "Ukrainians are only fighting because NATO put them up to it, rather than because of the more obvious reason that they have been subjected to a vicious invasion".{{cite web |last1=Freedman|first1=Lawrence |author1-link=Lawrence Freedman |title=Ukraine is not a proxy war |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/world/europe/ukraine/2023/01/ukraine-proxy-war-russia-vladimir-putin-nato |website=The New Statesman |date=23 January 2023}}

Steven Pifer argues that Russia's own aggressive actions since 2014 have done the most to push Ukraine towards the West and NATO.{{cite web |last1=Pifer |first1=Steven |title=One. More. Time. It's not about NATO |url=https://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/news/one-more-time-it%E2%80%99s-not-about-nato |publisher=Center for International Security and Cooperation |date=26 July 2022}} Russia's invasion led Finland to join NATO, doubling the length of Russia's border with NATO.{{cite news |title=Finland doubling NATO's border with Russia in blow to Putin |url=https://apnews.com/article/nato-finland-ukraine-b056e7e0f12520e85ea2d81cd30eabc9 |work=Associated Press |date=3 April 2023 |access-date=16 May 2023 |archive-date=17 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517032430/https://apnews.com/article/nato-finland-ukraine-b056e7e0f12520e85ea2d81cd30eabc9 |url-status=live}} Putin said that Finland's membership was not a threat, unlike Ukraine's, "but the expansion of military infrastructure into this territory would certainly provoke our response".{{cite news |title=Putin sees no threat from NATO expansion, warns against military build-up |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-calls-finland-sweden-joining-nato-mistake-with-far-reaching-consequences-2022-05-16/ |work=Reuters |date=17 March 2022 |access-date=16 May 2023 |archive-date=21 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231021135339/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-calls-finland-sweden-joining-nato-mistake-with-far-reaching-consequences-2022-05-16/ |url-status=live }} An article published by the Institute for the Study of War concluded:

Putin didn't invade Ukraine in 2022 because he feared NATO. He invaded because he believed that NATO was weak, that his efforts to regain control of Ukraine by other means had failed, and that installing a pro-Russian government in Kyiv would be safe and easy. His aim was not to defend Russia against some non-existent threat but rather to expand Russia's power, eradicate Ukraine's statehood, and destroy NATO.{{cite web |title=Weakness is Lethal: Why Putin Invaded Ukraine and How the War Must End |url=https://understandingwar.org/backgrounder/weakness-lethal-why-putin-invaded-ukraine-and-how-war-must-end |website=Institute for the Study of War |date=1 October 2023}}

Countering claims that NATO started and is waging a proxy war against Russia, it is pointed out that NATO states only sent Ukraine military aid in response to Russian aggression. NATO states have actually been slow in sending Ukraine offensive weaponry, and they prevented Ukraine from firing those weapons into Russia.{{cite web |title=Fake of the week: Russia is waging war against NATO in Ukraine |url=https://www.euractiv.pl/section/demokracja/news/fake-of-the-week-russia-is-waging-war-against-nato-in-ukraine/ |website=Euractiv |date=6 September 2023}} It was not until May 2024, more than two years into the invasion, that NATO states allowed Ukraine to fire Western-supplied weapons at military targets inside Russia, and only then in self-defense.{{cite news |title=The West finally allowed Ukraine to strike back at Russia — and it seems to be working |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/14/europe/western-weapons-ukraine-russia-intl-cmd/ |work=CNN |date=15 July 2024}} NATO has refused Ukrainian calls to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine, and the US told Ukraine to stop attacking refineries and early-warning radars in Russia.{{cite web |last1=Goncharenko |first1=Oleksiy |title=Western weakness in Ukraine could provoke a far bigger war with Russia |url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/western-weakness-in-ukraine-could-provoke-a-far-bigger-war-with-russia/ |website=Atlantic Council |date=7 April 2024}}{{cite news |title=U.S. concerned about Ukraine strikes on Russian nuclear radar stations |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/05/29/us-ukraine-nuclear-warning-strikes/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=29 May 2024}}

Russian military aircraft flying over the Baltic and Black Seas often do not indicate their position or communicate with air traffic controllers, thus posing a potential risk to civilian airliners. NATO aircraft scrambled many times to track and intercept these aircraft near alliance airspace. The Russian aircraft intercepted never entered NATO airspace, and the interceptions were conducted in a safe and routine manner.{{cite web|date=29 April 2022|title=NATO jets scramble in response to Russian aircraft over Baltic and Black Sea|url=https://ac.nato.int/archive/2022/nato-jets-scramble-in-response-to-russian-aircraft-over-baltic-and-black-sea|website=NATO}}

File:Navy Day Sevastopol 2012 G16.jpg (centre) at Sevastopol Bay in 2012]]

When the Russian occupation of Crimea began, Russia had roughly 12,000 military personnel from the Black Sea Fleet, in several locations in the Crimean peninsula such as Sevastopol, Kacha, Hvardiiske, Simferopol Raion, Sarych, and others. In 2005 a dispute broke out between Russia and Ukraine over control of the Sarych cape lighthouse near Yalta, and a number of other beacons.{{cite web |date=11 August 2011 |script-title=ru:Янукович пошел по стопам Ющенко – суды опять отбирают маяки у российских военных |title=Yanukovich poshel po stopam Yushchenko – sudy opyat' otbirayut mayaki u rossiyskikh voyennykh |trans-title=Yanukovych followed in Yushchenko's footsteps – courts again take away beacons from Russian military |url=https://delo.ua/econonomyandpoliticsinukraine/janukovich-poshel-po-stopam-juschenko-sudy-opjat-otbirajut-majaki-u-ro-162688/ |access-date=26 November 2020 |website=DELO |language=ru |archive-date=29 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129210619/https://delo.ua/econonomyandpoliticsinukraine/janukovich-poshel-po-stopam-juschenko-sudy-opjat-otbirajut-majaki-u-ro-162688/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/russian-anger-as-ukraine-seizes-lighthouse-1.1002176 |title=Russian anger as Ukraine seizes lighthouse |date=16 January 2006 |first=Chris |last=Stephen |publisher=Irish Times |access-date=20 May 2022 |archive-date=26 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526145936/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/russian-anger-as-ukraine-seizes-lighthouse-1.1002176 |url-status=live }} Russian presence was allowed by the basing and transit agreement with Ukraine. Under this agreement, the Russian military in Crimea was constrained to a maximum of 25,000 troops. Russia was required to respect the sovereignty of Ukraine, honor its legislation, not interfere in the internal affairs of the country, and show their "military identification cards" when crossing the international border.{{cite news |last=Kimball |first=Spencer |date=11 March 2014 |title=Bound by treaty: Russia, Ukraine, and Crimea |url=https://www.dw.com/en/bound-by-treaty-russia-ukraine-and-crimea/a-17487632 |access-date=17 December 2020 |work=Deutsche Welle |archive-date=25 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151125024636/https://www.dw.com/en/bound-by-treaty-russia-ukraine-and-crimea/a-17487632 |url-status=live }} Early in the conflict, the agreement's generous troop limit allowed Russia to significantly strengthen its military presence, deploy special forces and other required capabilities to conduct the operation in Crimea, under the pretext of addressing security concerns.

According to the original treaty on the division of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet signed in 1997, Russia was allowed to have its military bases in Crimea until 2017, after which it would evacuate all military units including its portion of the Black Sea Fleet from the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol. On 21 April 2010, former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych signed a new deal with Russia, known as the Kharkiv Pact, to resolve the 2009 Russia–Ukraine gas dispute. The pact extended Russia's stay in Crimea to 2042, with an option to renew.{{cite web |script-title=uk:Янукович віддав крим російському флоту ще на 25 років |title= |trans-title= |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2010/04/21/4950590/ |access-date=3 February 2022 |website=Ukrainska Pravda |language=uk |archive-date=4 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220304120148/https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2010/04/21/4950590/ |url-status=live }}

{{Further|On conducting a special military operation}}

File:2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.svg

No formal declaration of war has been issued in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War. When Putin announced the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he claimed to commence a "special military operation", side-stepping a formal declaration of war.{{cite web |url=https://theconversation.com/putins-ukraine-invasion-do-declarations-of-war-still-exist-177880 |title=Putin's Ukraine invasion – do declarations of war still exist? |first1=R. |last1=Pullen |first2=C. |last2=Frost |website=The Conversation |date=3 March 2022 |access-date=22 April 2022 |archive-date=17 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220417180310/https://theconversation.com/putins-ukraine-invasion-do-declarations-of-war-still-exist-177880 |url-status=live }} The statement was, however, regarded by the Ukrainian government as a declaration of war{{cite news |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/ukraine-envoy-to-un-says-russia-declared-war/articleshow/89790558.cms |title=Ukraine's envoy says Russia 'declared war' |work=The Economic Times |date=24 February 2022 |access-date=24 January 2024 |agency=Associated Press |archive-date=25 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220425184208/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/ukraine-envoy-to-un-says-russia-declared-war/articleshow/89790558.cms |url-status=live }} and reported as such by many international news sources.{{cite news |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/24/putins-speech-declaring-war-on-ukraine-translated-excerpts |title='No other option': Excerpts of Putin's speech declaring war |work=Al Jazeera |date=24 February 2022 |access-date=24 January 2024 |archive-date=1 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301132642/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/24/putins-speech-declaring-war-on-ukraine-translated-excerpts |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/putin-announces-special-military-operation-in-ukraine/ |title=Battles flare across Ukraine after Putin declares war Battles flare as Putin declares war |first=Zoya |last=Sheftalovic |work=Politico Europe |date=24 February 2022 |access-date=22 April 2022 |archive-date=24 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224064603/https://www.politico.eu/article/putin-announces-special-military-operation-in-ukraine/ |url-status=live }} While the Ukrainian parliament refers to Russia as a "terrorist state" in regard to its military actions in Ukraine,{{cite web |url=https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-polytics/3457746-vr-recognizes-russia-as-terrorist-state-bans-military-symbols-z-and-v.html |title=Verkhovna Rada recognized Russia as a terrorist state |work=ukrinform.net |date=15 April 2022 |access-date=24 January 2024 |archive-date=18 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220418021850/https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-polytics/3457746-vr-recognizes-russia-as-terrorist-state-bans-military-symbols-z-and-v.html |url-status=live }} it has not issued a formal declaration of war on its behalf.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine violated international law (including the Charter of the United Nations).{{refn|Attributed to multiple references:

{{Cite news |last=Wuerth |first=Ingrid |date=22 February 2022 |title=International Law and the Russian Invasion of Ukraine |work=Lawfare|url=https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/international-law-and-russian-invasion-ukraine |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=21 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231021075534/https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/international-law-and-russian-invasion-ukraine |url-status=live}}

{{Cite news |last=Bellinger III |first=John B. |date=28 February 2022|title=How Russia's Invasion of Ukraine Violates International Law |work=Council on Foreign Relations |url=https://www.cfr.org/article/how-russias-invasion-ukraine-violates-international-law |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=9 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309032827/https://www.cfr.org/article/how-russias-invasion-ukraine-violates-international-law |url-status=live}}

{{Cite news |last=Hannum |first=Hurst |title=International law says Putin's war against Ukraine is illegal. Does that matter? |work=The Conversation |url=https://theconversation.com/international-law-says-putins-war-against-ukraine-is-illegal-does-that-matter-177438 |access-date=8 March 2022 |archive-date=7 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307133110/https://theconversation.com/international-law-says-putins-war-against-ukraine-is-illegal-does-that-matter-177438 |url-status=live}}

{{Cite news |last=Neal |first=Jeff |others=Interviewees: Blum, Gabriella & Modirzadeh, Naz |date=2 March 2022 |title=The Ukraine conflict and international law |work=Harvard Law Today |url=https://today.law.harvard.edu/the-ukraine-conflict-and-international-law/ |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=5 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305184932/https://today.law.harvard.edu/the-ukraine-conflict-and-international-law/ |url-status=live}}

{{Cite news |last=Weiner |first=Allen S. |others=Q&A with Driscoll, Sharon |date=24 February 2022 |title=Stanford's Allen Weiner on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine |work=Stanford Law School Blogs |url=https://law.stanford.edu/2022/02/24/stanfords-allen-weiner-on-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine/ |access-date=8 March 2022 |archive-date=8 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308064954/https://law.stanford.edu/2022/02/24/stanfords-allen-weiner-on-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine/ |url-status=live}}

{{Cite web |last=Dworkin |first=Anthony |date=25 February 2022 |title=International law and the invasion of Ukraine |url=https://ecfr.eu/article/international-law-and-the-invasion-of-ukraine/ |website=European Council on Foreign Relations |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=9 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309130015/https://ecfr.eu/article/international-law-and-the-invasion-of-ukraine/ |url-status=live}}

{{Cite web |last=Wilmhurst |first=Elizabeth |date=24 February 2022 |title=Ukraine: Debunking Russia's legal justifications |url=https://www.chathamhouse.org/2022/02/ukraine-debunking-russias-legal-justifications |website=Chatham House |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=1 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301163745/https://www.chathamhouse.org/2022/02/ukraine-debunking-russias-legal-justifications |url-status=live}}}}{{Cite news |last1=Ranjan |first1=Prabhash |last2=Anil |first2=Achyuth |date=1 March 2022 |title=Debunking Russia's international law justifications |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/debunking-russias-international-law-justifications/article65094642.ece |access-date=13 April 2023 |archive-date=29 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220429234617/https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/debunking-russias-international-law-justifications/article65094642.ece |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Troconis |first=Jesus Eduardo |date=24 February 2022 |title=Rusia está fuera de la ley internacional |work=Cambio16 |url=https://www.cambio16.com/rusia-esta-fuera-de-la-ley-internacional/ |access-date=13 April 2023 |archive-date=23 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223202743/https://www.cambio16.com/rusia-esta-fuera-de-la-ley-internacional/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Gross |first=Judah Ari |date=27 February 2022 |title=Israeli legal experts condemn Ukraine invasion, say it's illegal under international law |work=Times of Israel |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/israeli-legal-experts-condemn-ukraine-invasion-say-its-illegal-under-international-law/ |access-date=13 April 2023 |archive-date=21 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321071828/https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/israeli-legal-experts-condemn-ukraine-invasion-say-its-illegal-under-international-law/ |url-status=live }} The invasion has also been called a crime of aggression under international criminal law{{Cite news |last1=McIntyre |first1=Juliette |last2=Guilfoyle |first2=Douglas |last3=Paige |first3=Tamsin Phillipa |date=24 February 2022 |title=Is international law powerless against Russian aggression in Ukraine? No, but it's complicated |work=The Conversation |url=https://theconversation.com/is-international-law-powerless-against-russian-aggression-in-ukraine-no-but-its-complicated-177905 |access-date=13 April 2023 |archive-date=25 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225123605/https://theconversation.com/is-international-law-powerless-against-russian-aggression-in-ukraine-no-but-its-complicated-177905 |url-status=live }} and under some countries' domestic criminal codes—including those of Ukraine and Russia—although procedural obstacles exist to prosecutions under these laws.{{cite web |first=Tom |last=Dannenbaum |date=10 March 2022 |title=Mechanisms for Criminal Prosecution of Russia's Aggression Against Ukraine |url=https://www.justsecurity.org/80626/mechanisms-for-criminal-prosecution-of-russias-aggression-against-ukraine/ |access-date=14 March 2022 |publisher=Just Security |archive-date=16 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220416160240/https://www.justsecurity.org/80626/mechanisms-for-criminal-prosecution-of-russias-aggression-against-ukraine/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Colangelo |first=Anthony J. |date=4 March 2022 |title=Putin can be prosecuted for crimes of aggression – but likely not any time soon |work=The Hill |url=https://thehill.com/opinion/international/596894-putin-can-be-prosecuted-for-crimes-of-aggression-but-likely-not-any |access-date=13 April 2023 |archive-date=11 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411232118/https://thehill.com/opinion/international/596894-putin-can-be-prosecuted-for-crimes-of-aggression-but-likely-not-any/ |url-status=live }}

{{further|International sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War|List of military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War}}

{{See also|Second Cold War}}

{{Main|International reactions to the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation}}

File:Безводный Северо-Крымский канал.jpg, which provided 85% of Crimea's drinking and irrigation water.{{Cite news|date=4 January 2017|title=Dam leaves Crimea population in chronic water shortage|work=Al-Jazeera|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2017/1/4/dam-leaves-crimea-population-in-chronic-water-shortage}}]]

Interim Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov accused Russia of "provoking a conflict" by backing the seizure of the Crimean parliament building and other government offices on the Crimean peninsula. He compared Russia's military actions to the 2008 Russo-Georgian War, when Russian troops occupied parts of the Republic of Georgia and the breakaway enclaves of Abkhazia and South Ossetia were established under the control of Russian-backed administrations. He called on Putin to withdraw Russian troops from Crimea and stated that Ukraine will "preserve its territory" and "defend its independence".{{Cite news|date=28 February 2014|title=Turchynov: Russia starts aggression in Crimea|work=Kyiv Post|url=https://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine-abroad/turchynov-russia-waging-war-of-aggression-in-crimea-337972.html |access-date=1 March 2014}} On 1 March, he warned, "Military intervention would be the beginning of war and the end of any relations between Ukraine and Russia."{{Cite news|last=Henderson|first=Barney|date=1 March 2014|title=Ukraine live: Prime Minister of Ukraine says Russian military invasion would lead to war|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10669670/Ukraine-live-Crimea-leader-appeals-to-Putin-to-help-as-Obama-warns-of-costs-to-Moscow.html |url-status=dead |access-date=1 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302002603/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10669670/Ukraine-live-Crimea-leader-appeals-to-Putin-to-help-as-Obama-warns-of-costs-to-Moscow.html |archive-date=2 March 2014}} On 1 March, Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov placed the Armed Forces of Ukraine on full alert and combat readiness.{{Cite news|last1=Coker|first1=Margaret|last2=Kolyandr|first2=Alexander|date=1 March 2014|title=Ukraine Puts Military on Full Alert After Russian invasion Threat|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303801304579413443251173188 |access-date=11 April 2015}}

The Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories and IDPs was established by Ukrainian government on 20 April 2016 to manage occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea regions affected by Russian military intervention of 2014.{{in lang|uk}} [https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2016/04/20/7106169/ The Cabinet decided to create the Ministry of temporarily occupied territories and internally displaced persons], Ukrayinska Pravda (20 April 2016)

{{Further|Operation Atlantic Resolve|European Deterrence Initiative|NATO Enhanced Forward Presence|Russia–NATO relations}}

File:2CR returns home to Vilseck (16999448822).jpg, Germany during Operation Atlantic Resolve, NATO's efforts to reassert its military presence in central and eastern Europe that began in April 2014.]]

On 4 March 2014, the United States pledged $1 billion in aid to Ukraine.{{Cite news|date=4 March 2014|title=U.S. pledges $1 billion in aid to Ukraine|work=Los Angeles Times|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-ukraine-us-aid-20140304-story.html |access-date=30 December 2014}} Russia's actions increased tensions in nearby countries historically within its sphere of influence, particularly the Baltic and Moldova. All have large Russian-speaking populations, and Russian troops are stationed in the breakaway Moldovan territory of Transnistria.{{Cite news|last1=Scislowska|last2=Pablo Gorondi|last3=Karel Janicek|last4=Jovana Gec|last5=Corneliu Rusnac|date=12 March 2014|title=Russian aggression unnerves other neighbours|work=The Chronicle Herald|agency=Associated Press|url=https://thechronicleherald.ca/world/1193466-russian-aggression-unnerves-other-neighbours |access-date=14 March 2014}} Some devoted resources to increasing defensive capabilities,{{Cite news|date=7 March 2014|title=Russia's Neighbors Want Stronger Defenses After Ukraine Incursion|work=Global Security Newswire|url=https://www.nti.org/gsn/article/baltic-states-want-stronger-defenses-face-russian-incursion-ukraine/ |access-date=14 March 2014}} and many requested increased support from the U.S. and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which they had joined in recent years. The conflict "reinvigorated" NATO, which had been created to face the Soviet Union, but had devoted more resources to "expeditionary missions" in recent years.{{Cite news|last=Gearan|first=Anne|date=1 April 2014|title=NATO chief recommits to defending Eastern European, Baltic nations|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/nato-sees-no-evidence-russia-pulling-back-troops-from-ukrainian-border/2014/04/01/eea9b6fe-b99f-11e3-96ae-f2c36d2b1245_story.html |access-date=1 April 2014}}

In addition to diplomatic support in its conflict with Russia, the U.S. provided Ukraine with US$1.5 billion in military aid during the 2010s.{{Cite news|date=December 2019|title=How U.S. Military Aid Has Helped Ukraine Since 2014|work=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/12/18/788874844/how-u-s-military-aid-has-helped-ukraine-since-2014}} In 2018 the U.S. House of Representatives passed a provision blocking any training of Azov Battalion of the Ukrainian National Guard by American forces. In previous years, between 2014 and 2017, the U.S. House of Representatives passed amendments banning support of Azov, but due to pressure from the Pentagon, the amendments were quietly lifted.{{Cite news|last=Kheel|first=Rebecca|date=27 March 2018|title=Congress bans arms to Ukraine militia linked to neo-Nazis|work=The Hill|url=https://thehill.com/policy/defense/380483-congress-bans-arms-to-controversial-ukrainian-militia-linked-to-neo-nazis}}{{Cite news|date=14 January 2016|title=Congress Has Removed a Ban on Funding Neo-Nazis From Its Year-End Spending Bill|work=The Nation|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/congress-has-removed-a-ban-on-funding-neo-nazis-from-its-year-end-spending-bill/ |url-status=dead |access-date=14 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114161138/https://www.thenation.com/article/congress-has-removed-a-ban-on-funding-neo-nazis-from-its-year-end-spending-bill/ |archive-date=14 January 2020}}{{Cite news|last=Sokol|first=Sam|date=18 January 2016|title=US lifts ban on funding 'neo-Nazi' Ukrainian militia|work=Jerusalem Post|url=https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/US-lifts-ban-on-funding-neo-Nazi-Ukrainian-militia-441884}}

File:EUR-RUB exchange rate.webp/RUB exchange rate]]

File:US Dollar - Russian Ruble Exchange Rate.webp/Russian Ruble Exchange Rate]]

File:Russian bonds.webps to tame inflation during their wars (Russo-Georgian War, Russo-Ukrainian War, 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine)

{{legend-line|#FFD900 solid 3px|20 year bond}}

{{legend-line|#929292 solid 3px|10 year bond}}

{{legend-line|#E4181C solid 3px|1 year bond}}

{{legend-line|#1C3578 solid 3px|3 month bond}}

]]

The initial reaction to the escalation of tensions in Crimea caused the Russian and European stock market to tumble.{{Cite news|last=Wearden|first=Graeme|date=3 March 2014|title=Ukraine crisis sends stock markets sliding; Russia's MICEX tumbles 11% – as it happened|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/mar/03/ukraine-crisis-hits-stock-markets-as-russia-hikes-interest-rates-business-live |access-date=24 February 2022}}

The intervention caused the Swiss franc to climb to a 2-year high against the dollar and 1-year high against the Euro. The Euro and the US dollar both rose, as did the Australian dollar. The Russian stock market declined by more than 10 percent, while the Russian ruble hit all-time lows against the US dollar and the Euro.{{Cite news|title=What is Russia doing in Ukraine, and what can West do about it?|work=CNN|url=https://www.cnn.com/2014/08/31/opinion/chance-analysis-russia-ukraine/ |access-date=11 April 2015}}{{cite web|title=Ukraine Crisis Sends Russian Markets, Ruble Plummeting|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ukraine-crisis/ukraine-crisis-sends-russian-markets-ruble-plummeting-n42861|website=NBC News|date=3 March 2014 }}{{Cite news|last=Tim Sullivan|date=4 March 2014|title=Putin: troops to bases; warning shots in Crimea|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/putin-troops-bases-warning-shots-crimea-075823391.html?ref=gs |access-date=12 June 2015}} The Russian central bank hiked interest rates and intervened in the foreign exchange markets to the tune of $12 billion{{clarify|US?|date=April 2022}} to try to stabilize its currency.{{Cite news|last=Chua|first=Ian|date=3 March 2014|title=Yen holds ground as Ukraine jitters keep risk at bay|work=Reuters |editor-last=Pullin |editor-first=Richard|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-markets-forex/yen-holds-ground-as-ukraine-jitters-keep-risk-at-bay-idUKBREA2211320140303 |access-date=12 June 2015}} Prices for wheat and grain rose, with Ukraine being a major exporter of both crops.{{Cite news|last=Dreibus|first=Tony|date=3 March 2014|title=Wheat, Corn Prices Surge on Ukraine Crisis|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304815004579417112576465126}}

Later in March 2014, the reaction of the financial markets to the Crimea annexation was surprisingly mellow, with global financial markets rising immediately after the referendum held in Crimea, one explanation being that the sanctions were already priced in following the earlier Russian incursion.{{Cite news|last=Jolly|first=David|date=17 March 2014|title=Markets Worldwide Brush Off Crimea Vote|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/18/business/international/daily-stock-market-activity.html |access-date=24 February 2022}}

Other observers considered that the positive reaction of the global financial markets on Monday 17 March 2014, after the announcement of sanctions against Russia by the EU and the US, revealed that these sanctions were too weak to hurt Russia.{{Cite news|last=Elliott|first=Larry|date=17 March 2014|title=Market reaction suggests sanctions over Crimea are slap on the wrist for Putin|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/17/market-reaction-sanctions-crimea-russia |access-date=24 February 2022}}

In early August 2014, the German DAX was down by 6 percent for the year, and 11 percent since June, over concerns Russia, Germany's 13th biggest trade partner, would retaliate against sanctions.{{Cite news|title=German economy hammered by Russian sanctions|publisher=CNBC|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2014/08/10/sanctions-will-deepen-euro-area-deflation.html |access-date=8 August 2014 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811024332/https://www.cnbc.com/id/101909346 |archive-date=11 August 2014}}

{{Further|International reactions to the war in Donbas}}

{{See also|Putin khuylo!}}

File:2014-12-20. Праздник солидарности 054.jpg, 20 December 2014]]

A poll of the Ukrainian public, excluding Russian-annexed Crimea, was taken by the International Republican Institute from 12 to 25 September 2014.{{Cite press release|title=IRI Ukraine pre-election poll shows strong opposition to Russian aggression, support for Kyiv Government|date=14 October 2014|publisher=International Republican Institute|url=https://www.iri.org/news-events-press-center/news/iri-ukraine-pre-election-poll-shows-strong-opposition-russian-aggressi |access-date=17 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016232411/https://www.iri.org/news-events-press-center/news/iri-ukraine-pre-election-poll-shows-strong-opposition-russian-aggressi |archive-date=16 October 2014}} 89% of those polled opposed 2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine. As broken down by region, 78% of those polled from Eastern Ukraine (including Dnipropetrovsk Oblast) opposed said intervention, along with 89% in Southern Ukraine, 93% in Central Ukraine, and 99% in Western Ukraine. As broken down by native language, 79% of Russian speakers and 95% of Ukrainian speakers opposed the intervention. 80% of those polled said the country should remain a unitary country.

A poll of the Crimean public in Russian-annexed Crimea was taken by the Ukrainian branch of Germany's biggest market research organization, GfK, on 16–22 January 2015. According to its results: "Eighty-two percent of those polled said they fully supported Crimea's inclusion in Russia, and another 11 percent expressed partial support. Only 4 percent spoke out against it."{{Cite news|last=Bershidsky|first=Leonid|date=6 February 2015|title=One Year Later, Crimeans Prefer Russia|publisher=Bloomberg News|url=https://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-02-06/one-year-later-crimeans-prefer-russia|quote=Eighty-two percent of those polled said they fully supported Crimea's inclusion in Russia, and another 11 percent expressed partial support. Only 4 percent spoke out against it.|access-date=13 March 2022|archive-date=13 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413010230/http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-02-06/one-year-later-crimeans-prefer-russia|url-status=dead}}{{cite web |script-title=ru:Социально-политические настроения жителей Крыма|title=Sotsial'no-politicheskiye nastroyeniya zhiteley Kryma |trans-title=Socio-Political Moods of Crimean Residents|url=https://www.gfk.com/ua/documents/presentations/gfk_report_freecrimea.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151029103051/https://www.gfk.com/ua/documents/presentations/gfk_report_freecrimea.pdf |archive-date=29 October 2015 |access-date=20 December 2018|website=GfK Ukraine|language=ru|quote=82% крымчан полностью поддерживают присоединение Крыма к России, 11% – скорее поддерживают, и 4% высказались против этого. Среди тех, кто не поддерживает присоединение Крыма к России, больше половины считают, что присоединение было не полностью законным и его нужно провести в соответствии с международным правом |trans-quote=82% of Crimeans fully support the annexation of Crimea to Russia, 11% rather support it, and 4% were against it. Among those who do not support the annexation of Crimea to Russia, more than half believe that the annexation was not completely legal and should be carried out in accordance with international law}}{{Cite news|date=4 February 2015|title=Poll: 82% of Crimeans support annexation|agency=UNIAN|url=https://www.unian.info/politics/1040281-poll-82-of-crimeans-support-annexation.html|quote=A total of 82% of the population of the Crimea fully support Russia's annexation of the peninsula, according to a poll carried out by the GfK Group research institute in Ukraine, Ukrainian online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda reported on Wednesday. Another 11% of respondents said that they rather support the annexation of Crimea, while 4% were against it.}}

A joint poll conducted by Levada and the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology from September to October 2020 found that in the breakaway regions controlled by the DPR/LPR, just over half of the respondents wanted to join Russia (either with or without some autonomous status) while less than one-tenth wanted independence and 12% wanted reintegration into Ukraine. It contrasted with respondents in Kyiv-controlled Donbas, where a vast majority felt the separatist regions should be returned to Ukraine.{{Cite news|first1=John|last1=O'Loughlin|first2=Gwendolyn|last2=Sasse |author2-link=Gwendolyn Sasse|first3=Gerard|last3=Toal |author3-link=Gerard Toal|first4=Kristin M.|last4=Bakke|date=12 February 2021|title=A new survey of the Ukraine-Russia conflict finds deeply divided views in the contested Donbas region|language=en-US|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/02/12/new-survey-ukraine-russia-conflict-finds-deeply-divided-views-contested-donbas-region/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220423180208/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/02/12/new-survey-ukraine-russia-conflict-finds-deeply-divided-views-contested-donbas-region/ |archive-date=23 April 2022|issn=0190-8286 |access-date=23 April 2022 |url-status=live}} According to results from Levada in January 2022, roughly 70% of those in the breakaway regions said their territories should become part of the Russian Federation.{{cite web|first1=John|last1=O'Loughlin|first2=Gwendolyn|last2=Sasse |author2-link=Gwendolyn Sasse|first3=Gerard|last3=Toal |author3-link=Gerard Toal|first4=Mikhail|last4=Minakov |author4-link=Mikhail Minakov|date=23 February 2022|title=Public Opinion in the Divided Donbas: Results of a January 2022 Survey on Both Sides of the Contact Line|url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/public-opinion-divided-donbas-results-january-2022-survey-both-sides-contact-line|website=Wilson Center|language=en}}

{{See also|2014 anti-war protests in Russia}}

File:Марш мира Москва 21 сент 2014 L1450559.jpg, 21 September 2014]]

An August 2014 survey by the Levada Centre reported that only 13% of those Russians polled would support the Russian government in an open war with Ukraine.{{Cite news|last=Antonova|first=Natalia|date=5 September 2014|title=Putin walks a tightrope as evidence mounts of Russians dying in Ukraine|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/05/vladimir-putin-russians-dying-ukraine |access-date=7 September 2014}} Street protests against the war in Ukraine arose in Russia. Notable protests first occurred in March{{cite web|date=2 March 2014|title=Dozens Arrested at Moscow Anti-war Protest|url=https://www.voanews.com/europe/dozens-arrested-moscow-anti-war-protest |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923172142/https://www.voanews.com/europe/dozens-arrested-moscow-anti-war-protest |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 September 2020 |access-date=26 November 2020|website=Voice of America}}{{Cite news|date=2 March 2014|title=Russian anti-war protesters detained in Moscow|work=Agence France-Presse|url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/russian-anti-war/1017688.html |access-date=17 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140504121806/https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/russian-anti-war/1017688.html |archive-date=4 May 2014}} and large protests occurred in September when "tens of thousands" protested the war in Ukraine with a peace march in downtown Moscow on Sunday, 21 September 2014, "under heavy police supervision".{{Cite news|last=Demirjian|first=Karoun|date=21 September 2014|title=Russian peace march draws tens of thousands in support of Ukraine|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/russian-peace-march-draws-tens-of-thousands-in-support-of-ukraine/2014/09/21/c5a45f35-b07c-4e7b-81ae-8c7d8fcaa0bd_story.html |access-date=23 September 2013}}

{{Main|Reactions to the Russian invasion of Ukraine}}

{{See also|Russian warship, go fuck yourself|Orc (slang)|Ghost of Kyiv|Saint Javelin|Bayraktar (song)|Good Evening (Where Are You From?)}}

File:02022 1199 Refugees from Ukraine in Kraków.jpg in Kraków protest against the war, 6 March 2022]]

In March 2022, a week after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 98% of Ukrainians—including 82% of ethnic Russians living in Ukraine—said they did not believe that any part of Ukraine was rightfully part of Russia, according to Lord Ashcroft's polls which did not include Crimea and the separatist-controlled part of Donbas. 97% of Ukrainians said they had an unfavourable view of Russian President Vladimir Putin, with a further 94% saying they had an unfavourable view of the Russian Armed Forces.{{cite news|title=Ukrainians want to stay and fight, but don't see Russian people as the enemy. A remarkable poll from Kyiv|url=https://www.europeanleadershipnetwork.org/commentary/ukrainians-want-to-stay-and-fight-but-dont-see-russian-people-as-the-enemy-a-remarkable-poll-from-kyiv/|work=European Leadership Network|date=14 March 2022}}

At the end of 2021, 75% of Ukrainians said they had a positive attitude toward ordinary Russians, while in May 2022, 82% of Ukrainians said they had a negative attitude toward ordinary Russians.{{cite news|title=Perception index of the Russian-Ukrainian war: results of a telephone survey conducted on May 19–24, 2022|url=https://www.kiis.com.ua/?lang=eng&cat=reports&id=1113&page=1|work=Kyiv International Institute of Sociology|date=May 2022}}

A Razumkov Centre poll conducted from 19 to 25 January 2024, found that Russia was the most negatively viewed country in Ukraine, with it being viewed negatively by 95% of Ukrainian respondents. The second, third and fourth most negatively viewed countries were Belarus (87%), Iran (82%) and China (72.5%) respectively. Ukrainian respondents were most positive towards Lithuania (91%), Latvia (90.5%), the UK (90%), Germany (89%), Estonia (89%), Canada (88%) and the US (87%).{{Cite web |date=4 March 2024 |title=Survey: the majority of Ukrainians have a positive attitude towards Georgia |url=http://odessa-journal.com/survey-the-majority-of-ukrainians-have-a-positive-attitude-towards-georgia |website=The Odessa Journal |language=en |quote=Respondents most frequently expressed positive attitudes towards Lithuania (91%), Latvia (90.5%), the United Kingdom (90%), Germany (89%), Estonia (89%), Canada (88%), the United States (87%), France (86%), the Czech Republic (86%), Poland (86%), the Netherlands (83%), Moldova (81%), Japan (74%), Georgia (72%), Israel (65%)...Negative attitudes were most commonly expressed towards Russia (95% of respondents had a negative attitude), Belarus (87%), Iran (82%), China (72.5%), and Hungary (59%). |access-date=5 August 2024 |archive-date=25 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240525023028/http://odessa-journal.com/survey-the-majority-of-ukrainians-have-a-positive-attitude-towards-georgia |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=28 February 2024 |title=Attitude to foreign countries, international organisations and politicians, and Ukraine's accession to the European Union (January, 2024) |url=https://razumkov.org.ua/en/research-areas/surveys/attitude-to-foreign-countries-international-organisations-and-politicians-and-ukraine-s-accession-to-the-european-union-january-2024 |website=Razumkov Centre |language=en |access-date=5 August 2024 |archive-date=16 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240716030624/https://razumkov.org.ua/en/research-areas/surveys/attitude-to-foreign-countries-international-organisations-and-politicians-and-ukraine-s-accession-to-the-european-union-january-2024 |url-status=live }}

{{See also|Anti-war protests in Russia (2022–present)}}

File:Russian-list-of-unfriendly-countries.svg". The list includes countries that have imposed sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.{{cite news |title=Russia outlines plan for 'unfriendly' investors to sell up at half-price |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/russia-outlines-plan-unfriendly-investors-sell-up-half-price-2022-12-30/ |work=Reuters |date=30 December 2022}}]]

An April 2022 survey by the Levada Centre reported that approximately 74% of the Russians polled supported the "special military operation" in Ukraine, suggesting that Russian public opinion has shifted considerably since 2014.{{cite news|title=Russians with Ukrainian Relatives Trust Their TVs More Than Their Family|url=https://www.newsweek.com/russians-ukrainian-relatives-trust-their-tvs-more-their-family-1705942|work=Newsweek|date=12 May 2022}} According to some sources, a reason many Russians supported the "special military operation" has to do with the propaganda and disinformation.{{cite news|title='Pure Orwell': how Russian state media spins invasion as liberation|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/25/pure-orwell-how-russian-state-media-spins-ukraine-invasion-as-liberation|work=The Guardian|date=25 February 2022}}{{cite news|title=Russians in the dark about true state of war amid country's Orwellian media coverage|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2022/04/03/media/russia-media-ukraine-cmd-intl/index.html|work=CNN|date=3 April 2022}} In addition, it has been suggested that some respondents did not want to answer pollsters' questions for fear of negative consequences.{{cite news|title=In Russia, opinion polls are a political weapon|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/russia-opinion-polls-war-ukraine/|work=openDemocracy|date=9 March 2022}}{{cite magazine|last1=Yaffa|first1=Joshua|title=Why Do So Many Russians Say They Support the War in Ukraine?|url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/why-do-so-many-russians-say-they-support-the-war-in-ukraine|magazine=The New Yorker|date=29 March 2022}} At the end of March, a poll conducted in Russia by the Levada Center concluded the following: When asked why they think the military operation is taking place, respondents said it was to protect and defend civilians, ethnic Russians or Russian speakers in Ukraine (43%), to prevent an attack on Russia (25%), to get rid of nationalists and "denazify" Ukraine (21%), and to incorporate Ukraine or the Donbas region into Russia (3%)."{{cite news|title=Russian Public Accepts Putin's Spin on Ukraine Conflict|url=https://www.thechicagocouncil.org/research/public-opinion-survey/russian-public-accepts-putins-spin-ukraine-conflict|work=Chicago Council on Global Affairs|date=12 April 2022}} According to polls, the Russian President's rating rose from 71% on the eve of the invasion to 82% in March 2023.{{Cite web |last=Dickinson |first=Peter |date=6 April 2023 |title=Anti-war Russians struggle to be heard |url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/anti-war-russians-struggle-to-be-heard/ |access-date=12 May 2024 |website=Atlantic Council |language=en-US}}

The Kremlin's analysis concluded that public support for the war was broad but not deep, and that most Russians would accept anything Putin would call a victory. In September 2023, the head of the VTsIOM state pollster Valery Fyodorov said in an interview that only 10–15% of Russians actively supported the war, and that "most Russians are not demanding the conquest of Kyiv or Odesa."{{cite news |title=Putin Quietly Signals He Is Open to a Cease-Fire in Ukraine |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/23/world/europe/putin-russia-ukraine-war-cease-fire.html |work=The New York Times |date=23 December 2023}} On the accuracy of public opinion polls, Russian-born political activist Vladimir Kara-Murza said: "I see Russian pollsters say that the average response-rate to polls in Russia average from five to seven per-cent; some 90% of the people refuse to say in polls, and [for] very good reasons. It is impossible to judge the true state of public opinion in a country that imprisons you for expressing it. ...The Putin propaganda machine tries to pretend that Russian society is a monolith, that all Russians support this war, that all Russians support this regime, and this is a lie, needless to say."Times Radio, interview with Vladimir Kara-Murza, {{YouTube|R0H9bRPeUck|'Putin has failed' we must prepare for the Kremlin's collapse {{!}} Vladimir Kara-Murza & Bill Browder}}, Nov. 2024, minutes 15:00–17:17.

In 2023, Oleg Orlov, the chairman of the Board of Human Rights Center "Memorial", claimed that Russia under Vladimir Putin had descended into fascism and that the army is committing "mass murder".{{cite web |last1=Papachristou |first1=Lucy |title=Rights campaigner calls Russia 'fascist' in court |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-prosecutor-seeks-nearly-3-years-jail-rights-campaigner-orlov-2024-02-26/ |date=26 February 2024 |website=Reuters}}{{cite news |last1=Ebel |first1=Francesca |title=Russian activist from Nobel-winning organization gets prison term |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/02/27/russia-orlov-memorial-prison-fascist/ |newspaper=Washington Post |date=27 February 2024}}

File:P20220326AS-2014 j2 (52036398865).jpg holding a Ukrainian refugee at Warsaw's Kazimierz Górski National Stadium in a meeting where he described Russian President Vladimir Putin as "butcher", 26 March 2022{{cite web |title=Biden: Putin is a 'butcher' |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNiEsTKUT5o |website=Reuters via YouTube |date=26 March 2022}}]]

On 28 April 2022, US President Joe Biden asked Congress for an additional $33 billion to assist Ukraine, including $20 billion to provide weapons to Ukraine.{{cite news|title=War in Ukraine: U.S. dramatically upgrades its aid package to Kyiv|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2022/04/29/war-in-ukraine-u-s-dramatically-upgrades-its-aid-package-to-kyiv_5981990_4.html|work=Le Monde|date=29 April 2022}} On 5 May, Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced that Ukraine had received more than $12 billion worth of weapons and financial aid from Western countries since the start of Russia's invasion on 24 February.{{cite news|title=Ukraine gets over $12 billion in weapons, financial aid since start of Russian invasion- Ukraine's PM|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-gets-over-12-billion-weapons-financial-aid-since-start-russian-invasion-2022-05-05/|work=Reuters|date=5 May 2022}} On 21 May 2022, the United States passed legislation providing $40 billion in new military and humanitarian foreign aid to Ukraine, marking a historically large commitment of funds.{{cite news|last=Fram|first=Alan|date=11 May 2022|title=House approves $40B in Ukraine aid, beefing up Biden request|work=Associated Press|url=https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-biden-europe-0ac5c758d32dbea64c437b50e829bbb2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511000720/https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-biden-europe-0ac5c758d32dbea64c437b50e829bbb2 |archive-date=11 May 2022}}{{Cite news|last1=Pallaro|first1=Bianca|last2=Parlapiano|first2=Alicia|date=20 May 2022|title=Four Ways to Understand the $54 Billion in U.S. Spending on Ukraine|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/05/20/upshot/ukraine-us-aid-size.html|issn=0362-4331}} In August 2022, U.S. defense spending to counter the Russian war effort exceeded the first 5 years of war costs in Afghanistan. The Washington Post reported that new U.S. weapons delivered to the Ukrainian war front suggest a closer combat scenario with more casualties.[https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/08/22/us-weapons-ukraine-offensive/ "New weapons for Ukraine suggest preparation for closer combat"] washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 22 August 2022. The United States looks to build "enduring strength in Ukraine" with increased arms shipments and a record-breaking $3 billion military aid package.

On 7 March 2024, American President Joe Biden in his 2024 State of the Union Address compared Russia under Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler's conquests of Europe.{{cite web |title=Biden compares Putin to Hitler as he makes the case for continued aid to Ukraine in SOTU address |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/biden-compares-putin-hitler-makes-100000473.html |website=Yahoo!, The New Voice of Ukraine |date=8 March 2024}}

File:Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin (2023-09-13) 01-res.jpg and Putin meeting at Vostochny Cosmodrome in 2023 where Kim gave his support for Russia's "sacred fight" against the West{{Cite news |last1=McCurry |first1=Justin |last2=Roth |first2=Andrew |date=13 September 2023 |title=Kim Jong-un offers Putin 'full support' in Russia's 'sacred fight' with west |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/13/kim-jong-un-putin-weapons-talk-russian-space-base-amur |access-date=13 September 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}]]{{See also|Axis of Upheaval}}

After expending large amounts of heavy weapons and munitions over months, the Russian Federation received combat drones, loitering munitions, and large amounts of artillery from Iran, deliveries of tanks and other armoured vehicles from Belarus, and reportedly planned to trade for artillery ammunition from North Korea and ballistic missiles from Iran.{{Cite web|date=18 October 2022|title=Iran agrees to supply missiles as well as drones to Russia|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/18/iran-agrees-to-supply-missiles-as-well-as-drones-to-russia |access-date=14 November 2022|website=The Guardian|language=en}}{{Cite news |last1=Nissenbaum |first1=Dion |last2=Faucon |first2=Benoit |date=24 April 2023 |title=Iran Ships Ammunition to Russia by Caspian Sea to Aid Invasion of Ukraine |language=en-US |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/iran-ships-ammunition-to-russia-by-caspian-sea-to-aid-invasion-of-ukraine-e74e8585 |access-date=13 July 2023 |issn=0099-9660}}{{Cite web|date=3 November 2022|title=British Defense Ministry: Russia loses 40 armored assault vehicles a day in Ukraine|url=https://meduza.io/en/news/2022/11/03/british-defense-ministry-russia-loses-40-armored-assault-vehicles-a-day-in-ukraine |access-date=14 November 2022 |website=Meduza |language=en}}{{Cite journal |last=Parfonov |first=Hlib |date=9 November 2022 |title=Grouping of Russian Units in Belarus Continues to Swell |url=https://jamestown.org/program/grouping-of-russian-units-in-belarus-continues-to-swell/ |journal=Eurasia Daily Monitor |volume=19 |issue=167}}{{Cite news |agency=Associated Press |date=7 September 2022 |title=North Korean ammo will stretch Russia's supply, but with clear limits and drawbacks |language=en |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/09/07/1121477374/north-korean-ammo-will-stretch-russias-supply-but-with-clear-limits-and-drawback |access-date=14 November 2022}}

The U.S. has accused China of providing Russia with technology it needs for high-tech weapons, allegations which China has denied. The U.S. sanctioned a Chinese firm for providing satellite imagery to Russian mercenary forces fighting in Ukraine.{{Cite news |date=4 March 2022 |title=Ukraine war: What support is China giving Russia? |language=en-GB|work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/60571253 |access-date=12 March 2023}}

In March 2023, Western nations had pressed the United Arab Emirates to halt re-exports of goods to Russia which had military uses, amidst allegations that the Gulf country exported 158 drones to Russia in 2022.{{Cite news |last1=Kerr |first1=Simeon |last2=Foy |first2=Henry |last3=Politi |first3=James |last4=Fleming |first4=Sam |last5=Schwartz |first5=Felicia |date=1 March 2023 |title=West presses UAE to clamp down on suspected Russia sanctions busting |url=https://www.ft.com/content/fca1878e-9198-4500-b888-24b17043c507 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230302015120/https://www.ft.com/content/fca1878e-9198-4500-b888-24b17043c507 |archive-date=2 March 2023 |access-date=28 June 2023 |work=Financial Times}} In May 2023, the U.S. accused South Africa of supplying arms to Russia in a covert naval operation,{{Cite news |last=Cotterill |first=Joseph |date=12 May 2023 |title=US accuses South Africa of supplying arms to Russia |url=https://www.ft.com/content/7ad94426-aafc-4f04-99d7-05f6d5e6f71d |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230924170624/https://www.ft.com/content/7ad94426-aafc-4f04-99d7-05f6d5e6f71d |archive-date=24 September 2023 |access-date=28 June 2023 |work=Financial Times}} allegations which have been denied by South African president Cyril Ramaphosa.{{Cite AV media |title=South African army general in Moscow days after country accused of sending weapons to Russia |type=News |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgHyXZbKlEw |access-date=28 June 2023 |publisher=France 24 |via=YouTube }}

File:Зустріч Президента України з Генеральним секретарем ООН 36.jpg and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delegations meeting in April 2022]]

On 25 February 2022, the Security Council failed to adopt a draft resolution which would have "deplored, in the strongest terms, the Russian Federation's aggression" on Ukraine. Of the 15 member states on the Security Council, 11 were in support, whilst three abstained from voting. The draft resolution failed due to a Russian veto.{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2022/sc14808.doc.htm |title=Security Council Fails to Adopt Draft Resolution on Ending Ukraine Crisis, as Russian Federation Wields Veto |date=25 February 2022 |publisher=United Nations}}{{cite web|url=https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/whatsinblue/2022/02/ukraine-vote-on-draft-resolution.php |title=Ukraine: Vote on Draft Resolution |date=25 February 2022 |website=Security Council Report}}

Due to the deadlock, the Security Council passed a resolution to convene the General Assembly for the eleventh emergency special session.{{cite web |last=Nichols |first=Michelle |title=U.N. Security Council calls rare General Assembly session on Ukraine |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/un-security-council-calls-rare-general-assembly-session-ukraine-2022-02-27/|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220227/https://www.reuters.com/world/un-security-council-calls-rare-general-assembly-session-ukraine-2022-02-27/|archive-date=28 February 2022 |work=Reuters |date=27 February 2022}}{{cbignore}} On 2 March 2022, the General Assembly voted to deplore "in the strongest possible terms" Russia's aggression against Ukraine by a vote of 141 to 5, with 35 abstentions.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/02/united-nations-russia-ukraine-vote|title=UN votes to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine and calls for withdrawal|first=Julia|last=Borger|work=The Guardian|date=2 March 2022|access-date=2 March 2022}} The resolution also called for the Russian Federation to "immediately cease its use of force against Ukraine" and "immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces." Only Russia, Belarus, Syria, North Korea and Eritrea voted against the resolution.{{cite news|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/un-general-assembly-including-israel-votes-overwhelmingly-to-condemn-russia/|title=UN General Assembly, including Israel, votes overwhelmingly to condemn Russia|work=The Times of Israel|date=2 March 2022|access-date=2 March 2022}}

On 4 March 2022, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution by a vote of 32 to 2, with 13 abstentions, calling for the withdrawal of Russian troops and Russian-backed armed groups from Ukraine and humanitarian access to people in need. The resolution also established a commission to investigate alleged rights violations committed during Russia's military attack on Ukraine.{{cite news|url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/03/1113292 |title=Human Rights Council to establish Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine |publisher=UN News |date=4 March 2022|access-date=4 March 2022}}

In October 2022, the United Nations General Assembly had adopted a resolution condemning the 2022 annexation referendums in Russian-occupied Ukraine with 143 supporting votes, 5 opposing votes (Belarus, North Korea, Nicaragua, Russia, Syria), and 35 abstentions.{{cite web |title=With 143 Votes in Favour, 5 Against, General Assembly Adopts Resolution Condemning Russian Federation's Annexation of Four Eastern Ukraine Regions |url=https://press.un.org/en/2022/ga12458.doc.htm |website=United Nations |date=12 October 2022}}

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{{Notelist|refs=

{{Efn|name=Note 1|There are "some contradictions and inherent problems" regarding the date on which the occupation began.{{Cite book|last=McDermott|first=Roger N.|title=The Return of the Cold War: Ukraine, the West and Russia|year=2016|isbn=978-1-138-92409-3 |editor-last=Black |editor-first=J.L.|publisher=Routledge|location=London|pages=99–129|chapter=Brothers Disunited: Russia's use of military power in Ukraine|doi=10.4324/9781315684567-5|oclc=909325250 |editor-last2=Johns |editor-first2=Michael |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/11853815}} The Ukrainian Government maintains, and the European Court of Human Rights agrees, that Russia controlled Crimea from 27 February 2014,{{cite web |title=Ukraine v. Russia (re Crimea) (decision) |url=https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=002-13090 |publisher=European Court of Human Rights |date=January 2021 |quote=The Ukrainian Government maintains that the Russian Federation has from 27 February 2014 exercised effective control over the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol ... There was sufficient evidence that during the relevant period the respondent State [Russia] had exercised effective control over Crimea.}} when unmarked Russian special forces took control of its political institutions. The Russian Government later made 27 February "Special Operations Forces Day". In 2015, the Ukrainian parliament officially designated 20 February 2014 as "the beginning of the temporary occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia",{{cite web|title='Няша' Поклонська обіцяє бійцям 'Беркута' покарати учасників Майдану|url=https://www.segodnya.ua/ua/regions/krym/nyasha-poklonskaya-obeshchaet-boycam-berkuta-nakazat-uchastnikov-maydana-700800.html |access-date=3 February 2022|website=www.segodnya.ua|language=uk}} citing the date inscribed on the Russian medal "For the Return of Crimea".{{cite web|title=7683rd meeting of the United Nations Security Council. Thursday, 28 April 2016, 3 p.m. New York|url=https://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/PV.7683&Lang=E|quote=Mr. Prystaiko (Ukraine): ... In that regard, I have to remind the Council that the official medal that was produced by the Russian Federation for the so-called return of Crimea has the dates on it, starting with 20 February, which is the day before that agreement was brought to the attention of the Security Council by the representative of the Russian Federation. Therefore, the Russian Federation started – not just planned, but started – the annexation of Crimea the day before we reached the first agreement and while President Yanukovych was still in power.}} On that date, Vladimir Konstantinov, then Chairman of the Supreme Council of Crimea, had said the region would be prepared to join Russia.{{cite web|title=Спікер ВР АРК вважає, що Крим може відокремитися від України|url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/02/20/7015117/ |access-date=3 February 2022|website=Українська правда|language=uk}} In 2018, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed that the earlier "start date" on the medal was due to a "technical misunderstanding".{{cite web|title=Russia's Orwellian 'diplomacy'|url=https://www.unian.info/politics/2347252-two-headed-orwell.html |access-date=30 January 2019|website=unian.info}} President Putin stated in a Russian film about the annexation that he ordered the operation to "restore" Crimea to Russia following an all-night emergency meeting on 22–23 February 2014.{{Cite news|date=8 March 2015|title=Putin describes secret operation to seize Crimea|work=Yahoo News|url=https://news.yahoo.com/putin-describes-secret-operation-seize-crimea-212858356.html |access-date=24 March 2015}}}}

}}

{{Reflist}}

{{See also|Bibliography of Ukrainian history|List of Slavic studies journals}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{Cite journal|last=Bowen|first=Andrew|date=2017|title=Coercive Diplomacy and the Donbas: Explaining Russian Strategy in Eastern Ukraine|journal=Journal of Strategic Studies|volume=42|issue=3–4|pages=312–343|doi=10.1080/01402390.2017.1413550|s2cid=158522112}}
• Marples, David R. ed. The War in Ukraine's Donbas: Origins, Contexts, and the Future (2022) [https://www.amazon.com/War-Ukraines-Donbas-Origins-Contexts/dp/9633865972/ excerpt]

{{refend}}

{{Sister project links|auto=yes}}

• {{Britannica|2204815|Russia-Ukraine War}}
• [https://www.rulac.org/browse/conflicts/international-armed-conflict-in-ukraine International armed conflict in Ukraine] at the Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts Project
• [https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/conflict-ukraine Conflict in Ukraine] at the Council on Foreign Relations
• [https://news.google.com/topics/CAAqKAgKIiJDQkFTRXdvS0wyMHZNRjk0Tm1RMWVCSUZaVzR0UjBJb0FBUAE Russo-Ukrainian War] at Google News
• [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60525350 War in Ukraine] at BBC News Online
• [https://liveuamap.com/ Ukraine interactive map] at the Live Universal Awareness Map

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