Ukraine, Russia, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) signed the Minsk Protocol in the capital of Belarus — the first peace plan to try to stop the war. Russia-backed militants led by former Federal Security Service (FSB) officer Igor Girkin (Strelkov) forcibly took control of Interior Ministry offices in Sloviansk and Kramatorsk in Donetsk Oblast, kicking off the invasion of the eastern region. Towards the end of the day, the Russian defence ministry claimed that Russian forces had retaken the village of Sverdlikovo in Kursk Oblast. Some sources claimed that Russia had captured the town of Novosilka in southern Donetsk Oblast. Mr Zelensky said more than 46,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and that nearly 380,000 others had been injured since the start of the Russian invasion. There was special emphasis given to the people’s role in compromising national security via business agreements with Russia.
July 17
In that year, Russian-backed separatists fought for control over the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the Donbas, the area of Ukraine that Russia later claimed was its priority when its attack on Kyiv failed. Also in 2014, Russia illegally annexed Crimea, the historical homeland of indigenous populations that became part of Ukraine in 1954. Ukraine was unprepared to resist, and international condemnation did little to affect Russia’s actions. But in 2014, Russian troops occupied the peninsula of Crimea, held an illegal referendum, and claimed the territory for the Russian Federation. The muted international response to this clear violation of sovereignty helped motivate separatist groups in Donetsk and Luhansk regions—with Russian support—to declare secession from Ukraine, presumably with the hopes that a similar annexation and referendum would take place. Instead, this prompted a war that continues to this day—separatist paramilitaries are backed by Russian troops, equipment, and funding, fighting against an increasingly well-armed and experienced Ukrainian army.
July 17, 2014:
Ukraine was tightly connected to the Russian cultural, economic, and political spheres when it was part of the Soviet Union, but the Ukrainian language, cultural, and political structures always existed in spite of Soviet efforts to repress them. When Ukraine became independent in 1991, everyone living on the territory of what is now Ukraine became a citizen of the new country (this is why Ukraine is known as a civic nation instead of an ethnic one). This included a large number of people who came from Russian ethnic backgrounds, especially living in eastern Ukraine and Crimea, as well as Russian speakers living across the country.
When did the Russia-Ukraine War begin?
A US general branded the Battle for Bakhmut in Ukraine as a “slaughter-fest” for Russia. The invading army had reportedly failed to make any progress for 20 days. In a meticulously planned high-risk security operation, about the wildsino casino app Mr Biden visited Ukraine, demonstrating US support for Kyiv and hitting Russia with a heavy psychological blow. Mr Putin signed documents to annex four regions of Ukraine at a Kremlin ceremony.
April 5
Powerful explosions struck an air base in Crimea and the Russian government accused Ukraine of perpetrating a vehicle bomb explosion. This killed the daughter of Russian nationalist ideologist Alexander Dugin south of Moscow. The US and Russia talks in Saudi Arabia to discuss a peace deal to end Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine ended on Tuesday after four and a half hours. Putin sent his troops into Luhansk and Donetsk, which was named a “dark day for Europe”. Now, almost a year on, Ukraine has managed to defy all odds and hold their own against Russian troops, keeping control of their capital Kyiv and even beating Russian armies in certain battle areas. 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.
Russia claimed to have intercepted various Ukrainian attacks, including several drone attacks over multiple locations. President Zelensky signed a decree placing sanctions on 18 pro-Russian Ukrainian people, including politicians Yuriy Boyko, Nestor Shufrych, and Yevhen Murayev. Ukrainian forces launched a renewed counter-offensive “in several directions” in Kursk Oblast. In the biggest attack since August 2024, Russia launched a series of air attacks on cities across Ukraine, killing two people in Mykolaiv, two in Nikopol, two in Odesa and one person in Lviv. As Russian forces progressed in eastern Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron announced he would consider sending troops to Ukraine “if the Russians were to break through the front lines” or if Ukraine were to request it. Ukraine claimed its forces flew a drone over Mr Putin’s residence during attacks on St Petersburg, Russia.
February 17
According to authorities’ rough estimates, at least 25,000 people could have been killed during the siege of Mariupol. After more than a month of heavy fighting, Russia’s attempts to encircle Kyiv failed. Hundreds of residents of the Kyiv suburb of Bucha were found to have been tortured, raped, and executed. After almost a month of fierce fighting that began on Aug. 6, 2014 and lasted until Aug. 31, columns of Ukrainian soldiers who had been promised safe passage by Russian-backed proxies through a pre-agreed corridor out of the city were fired upon by heavy artillery. In total, 368 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in what is now known as the Ilovaisk massacre. This was the biggest instant loss of the Ukrainian Armed Forces up until that point.
