The current Russia-Ukraine crisis centers on the status of Crimea and parts of the Donbas, which are internationally recognized as part of Ukraine.
Timeline
- 1991: Ukraine officially declares independenceamid the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
- 2014: Russia invadesand subsequently annexes the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine, marking the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian War.
- 2014: Pro-Russian separatists take control of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, kicking off the War in Donbas.
- Feb-Mar. 2021: Thousands of Russian military personnel amass near the Russo-Ukrainian border, generating international concern over a potential invasion.
- June 2021: Troops are partially removed.
- -Dec. 2021: Russian troops build up again, with 100,000 troops surrounding Ukraine on three sides.
- 2022: NATO members, including the US, begin providing military aid and weapons to Ukraine.
- 21 Feb. 2022: Russian President Vladimir Putin recognizes the independence of two republics in the Donbas region of Ukraine (the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic). Russian troops and tanks move into the region on a so-called “peacekeeping mission.”
- 22 Feb. 2022: The US callsRussia’s movement into the Donbas region of Ukraine an “invasion.”
- 22 Feb. 2022: Russian President Vladimir Putin is granted government authorizationto use military force outside of Russia.
- 23 Feb. 2022: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleads for peace, but vows to defend Ukraine if attacked. Ukrainian airports in Kharkiv, Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia are closed. US Pentagon spokesperson John F. Kirby says that a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine is imminent.
- 24 Feb. 2022: Russia invades Ukrainian President Zelenskyy reports at least 137 people killed and 316 injured.
