What Led to the War in Ukraine?

Though the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a modern worry, there has actually been plenty of buildup to this threat. In November 21, 2013, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych rejected a pact with the European Union that would shift control of Ukraine away from the Russian government. This was considered a victory by Russian President Vladimir Putin and led to national outrage by the citizens of Ukraine. Protests erupted from the citizens, causing Yanukovych to flee the country in February 2014. 

A month later, Vladimir Putin invaded Crimea, a place that belonged to Ukraine. He said it was to protect the rights of Russians in Crimea. The Crimeans then voted to secede from Ukraine under the watchful eyes of Russian soldiers. 

In May of 2014, pro-Russian leaders of Ukraine voted to abandon the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. This is when the first armed conflict started between the two countries. It quickly became a stalemate, with regular shootings happening around the border. 

On two separate occasions -September 5, 2014 and February 12, 2015- France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine tried to end the violence through something called the Minsk Agreements. While this did make the fighting ease up a bit, it never completely ended it.

Between 2016 and 2017, the US and NATO started sending troops to patrol near Poland and other nearby countries to show their presence. In March 2018, the US approved the sale of anti-tank weaponry -the first sale of lethal weaponry since this began- to Ukraine. 2018 was also full of many large-scale military exercises, with Russia starting the exercies in September, and Ukraine, backed by the US and seven other NATO countries, began military exercises in October.

By late 2021, the world was starting to get nervous. By December, Russia was ordering the US and NATO to call off their troops from around the area. They also ordered NATO not to accept Ukraine into their organization in the future. Finally, on February 24, 2022, everyone’s fears were answered. Vladmire Putin led a special military operation to invade Ukraine. This invasion would be much larger than the one of Crimea or any other ones mentioned before. This is the one everyone’s heard about. Negotiations between the United States, Russia, and European powers—including France and Germany—failed to bring about a resolution.

From March to April 6, 2022, Russia failed to take over Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Citizens have reported cases of war crimes, such as executions, torture, and rape. By May, Russia had taken over a southeastern port city called Mariupol. By August, they gained control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest power plant in Europe, leading to fears of nuclear war. Putin has made a few threats to suggest that these fears are realistic.

We are currently in a stalemate. Though there are constant attacks on Ukraine, Russia isn’t making substantial progress. We have no idea where this war will go next. We don’t know how long this will take or who might join the war. We have no way of telling if things might turn nuclear. All we can do is wait and see.