Ukraine is the eight most populous county in Europe with a population size of approximately 44 million people, it is slightly smaller than Spain and four times the size of Greece. The modern state of Ukraine was formed over 30 years ago after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Although not a member of NATO, Ukraine is the fourth largest recipient of military funding from the US.
Russia is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world by area and encompassing one-eighth of Earth’s inhabitable landmass. Russia extends across eleven time zones and borders sixteen sovereign nations, the most of any country in the world. It is the ninth-most populous country and the most populous country in Europe. It is the world’s largest producer of wheat and 2nd largest oil producing nation and 2nd largest producer of natural gas.
The crisis in Ukraine can be traced as far back as 2013 when former President Viktor Yanukovych of Ukraine rejected a deal that would have resulted in greater economic integration with the European Union. This led to a series of protests that escalated into wide open conflict making Yanukovych flee the country in February 2014.
In March 2014, Russian troops took control of Ukraine’s Crimean region; resulting in its annex to the Russian Federation in a disputed local referendum. This had profound backlash creating ethnic divisions.
Two months later pro-Russian separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine held a referendum to declare independence from Ukraine. Violence ensued in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatist forces and the Ukrainian side killing more than 10,300 people and injuring nearly 24,000 since April 2014. till date.
In July 2014, the situation escalated into an international crisis and put the United States and the European Union (EU) at odds with Russia when a Malaysian Airlines flight was shot down by Russian built missile over Ukrainian airspace, killing all 298 onboard.
Since February 2015, France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine have attempted to broker peace through the Minsk Accords. The Minsk agreement includes provisions for a cease-fire, withdrawal of heavy weaponry, and full Ukrainian government control throughout the conflict zone.
Tensions remained high as negotiations between Russia and the United States and other European powers, including France and Germany, continue without any apparent progress toward a formal agreement. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the US have actively deployed military presence around the region with the US selling lethal weaponry to Ukraine.
In October 2021, Russia moved troops near the border of Ukraine. In December, Russia demanded that Ukraine be banned from joining NATO and military equipment be reduced before it withdraws its equipment from Ukraine. The US and NATO allies rejected the demands and warned to retaliate if Russia invades Ukraine including economic sanctions and military assistance to Ukraine.
In February 2022, The United States sent 3,000 troop to the border countries of Poland and Romania in build-up of Russia’s threats to Ukraine. On February 24, 2022, Russia launched its first attack on Ukraine hitting multiple cities and bases
Speed Reading: A Revealing Class #EMBA27