Russia and Ukraine: Why the War Began
Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 expanded a war that had begun in 2014 with the seizure of Crimea and fighting in the Donbas. Ukraine’s political independence, Russia’s claims to influence over its neighbor and disputes over European security shaped that history. Explaining those disputes does not make the competing claims legally equivalent.
Independence and competing visions
Ukraine became an independent state when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. Its citizens and governments have debated how closely the country should align with Russia, the European Union, and Western institutions. Ukraine is internally diverse, but it is a sovereign state with its own political institutions. Russia has repeatedly argued that NATO's eastward enlargement and Western support for Kyiv threaten Russian security. Ukraine and NATO reject the idea that Moscow can decide Ukraine's alliances or political direction.
2014: Crimea and the Donbas
In late 2013, mass protests began after President Viktor Yanukovych suspended plans for a closer association agreement with the European Union. After the government used force against demonstrators, protests grew; Yanukovych left Kyiv in February 2014 and parliament appointed an interim government. Russia then took control of Crimea and annexed it. The United Nations General Assembly affirmed Ukraine's territorial integrity and said the March 2014 referendum in Crimea could not alter the peninsula's status.
Armed conflict also began in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Russia supported separatist forces, while Kyiv sought to restore control. The 2014 and 2015 Minsk agreements reduced some fighting but did not settle the conflict or its political status. Thousands were killed and millions displaced over the years that followed.
2022: Full-scale invasion
On February 24, 2022, Russian forces launched a full-scale invasion from multiple directions. Russia described its actions in terms of security and protection of Russian speakers; Ukraine and most governments described the invasion as an attack on a sovereign state. The UN General Assembly deplored Russia's aggression and called for withdrawal. The invasion expanded the war far beyond the Donbas and caused widespread death, displacement, and damage.
Where NATO and the United States fit
Ukraine is not a NATO member, so the alliance's collective-defense clause does not apply to it. NATO states have provided Ukraine with military, financial, and humanitarian support, while the alliance says it is not a party to the war. Russia's stated concern about NATO is an important part of its own account of the crisis; it does not change the UN Charter principle against the use of force to violate another state's territorial integrity.
Sources and further reading
- Council on Foreign Relations: Ukraine—Conflict at the Crossroads of Europe and Russia
- Council on Foreign Relations: War in Ukraine
- UN General Assembly: territorial integrity of Ukraine
- UN General Assembly: resolution on aggression against Ukraine
- NATO: Relations with Ukraine
- OSCE: Protocol on the results of consultations of the Trilateral Contact Group, Minsk, 5 September 2014 (Russian-language document)
- OSCE: Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements, 12 February 2015 (Russian-language document)
Editorial note: This explainer gives historical context. It does not describe current control lines or the latest battlefield developments.
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