War in Ukraine
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
A 1949 defense alliance initiated by the US, Canada, and 10 Western European nations. NATO was created as a response to the Warsaw Pact. Their goal was to combat the spread of communism. The main goal was to rebuild democratic countries after World War II.
How how does Russia's military compared to that of Ukraine?
Active personnel: 200.000/850.000 Tanks: 2,596/12,420 Armored vehicle: 12,303/30,122 Total aircraft: 318/4,173 Fighter aircraft: 69/772 Attack helicopters: 34/544 Naval fleet: 38/605 Frigates: 1/11 Destroyers: 0/15
Cold War (1945-1991)
Cold War was a conflict started by the rising tension between the Soviet Union and USA. It lasted from March 12, 1947 to December 26, 1991. The Cold War ended once the Berlin wall fell.
War in Ukraine - Key Events
Feb. 24 Russia launches its attack from three directions: Belarus in the north, the Donbas region in the east, and from Crimea, which Putin seized in 2014, in the south. The U.S. and European Union announce sanctions targeting Russia's financial sector, technology imports and oligarchs. Russian stocks and the ruble plunge. Feb. 25 President Volodymyr Zelenskiy rejects calls to flee Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, says his forces are fighting back, and calls for international support and for weapons. The EU imposes sanctions on Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. February 25: Russian artillery pounds Kyiv and its suburbs as the Ukrainians battle the Russians in the northern, eastern and southern fronts. March 1: Russian forces target a TV tower in Kyiv, killing five people, and intensify the bombardment in Kharkiv in the north-eastern side. A US official says miles-long Russian armoured column advancing towards Kyiv is hit by logistical problems. March 2: Russian forces begin the siege of Mariupol, the port city considered vital to the Russian attempts to link Donbas to Crimea. The Russian troops reach the centre of Kherson and capture the first large urban centre, this on the day the United Nations refugee agency says over one million people have fled Ukraine. March 4: The Russian forces seize Europe's biggest nuclear power plant located in Zaporizhzhia. NATO rejects Ukraine's appeal for no-fly zones fearing escalation of conflict. March 9: Ukraine accuses Russia of bombing a maternity hospital in Mariupol, evoking denial by the Russians who alleged that the Ukrainian fighters had occupied the building. March 13: Russia fires missiles at base in Yavoriv near the Polish border. March 16: Russia bombed theatre in Mariupol where hundreds of civilians took shelter. April 8: Russian missile attack on a train station in Kramatorsk killed 52 civilians trying to flee the offensive. April 14: Moskva, Russia's lead warship in the Black Sea sinks after Ukraine claims missile strike. Moscow blames ammunition explosion. April 28: Russia fired two missiles into Kyiv during UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres visit to the war-torn country. May 18: Finland and Sweden formally apply to join the NATO alliance. May 20: Ukrainian fighters defending Mariupol's Azovstal steelworks surrender to Russian forces.
What events led up to Russia invading Ukraine? What events occurred during the war? Be able to put key events in order
In 2014, Russia invaded and annexed Crimea, and Russian-backed separatists seized part of the Donbas, the south-eastern region of Ukraine (consisting of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts) In 2021, Russia began a large military build-up along its border with Ukraine, amassing up to 190,000 troops and their equipment. In a televised address shortly before the invasion, Russian president Vladimir Putin challenged Ukraine's right to statehood, and falsely accused Ukraine of being governed by neo-Nazis who persecute the ethnic Russian minority. Putin also alleged that eastward expansion by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) threatens Russia's national security. Russia demanded NATO stop expanding and permanently bar Ukraine from ever joining the alliance. On 21 February 2022, Russia recognised the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic, two self-proclaimed breakaway republics in Donbas controlled by pro-Russian separatists. The following day, Russian troops entered both territories. The invasion began on the morning of 24 February, when Putin announced a "special military operation" to "demilitarise and denazify" Ukraine. Minutes later, missiles and airstrikes hit across Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, shortly followed by a large ground invasion from multiple directions. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy enacted martial law and a general mobilisation of all male Ukrainian citizens between 18 and 60, who were banned from leaving the country. At the start of the invasion, Russian attacks were launched on a northern front from Belarus towards Kyiv, a northeastern front towards Kharkiv, a southern front from Crimea, and a southeastern front from the cities of Luhansk and Donetsk. During March, the Russian advance towards Kyiv stalled. Amidst heavy losses and strong Ukrainian resistance, Russian troops retreated from Kyiv Oblast by 3 April. On 8 April, Russia announced that its forces in southern and eastern Ukraine would be placed under the command of General Aleksandr Dvornikov, and some units withdrawn from northern Ukraine were subsequently redeployed to the Donbas. On 19 April, Russia launched a renewed attack across a 500 kilometres (300 mi) long front extending from Kharkiv to Donetsk and Luhansk, with simultaneous missile attacks directed at Kyiv in the north and Lviv in western Ukraine. By 13 May, Russian forces near Kharkiv had withdrawn following a Ukrainian counter-offensive. By 20 May, Mariupol fell to Russian troops following a prolonged siege of the Azovstal steel works. The invasion has received widespread international condemnation. The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution condemning the invasion and demanding a full withdrawal of Russian forces. The International Criminal Court has opened an investigation into crimes against humanity in Ukraine since 2013, as well as war crimes in the 2022 invasion.
What violence and change in territory was occurring in this region prior to the war? How does this impact the war?
November 9, 2013 Yanukovych meets with Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin in Moscow, as Ukraine is among the former Soviet bloc countries scheduled to sign association agreements that would expand political and economic ties with the EU. November 21, 2013 Yanukovych announces that Ukraine will suspend talks with the EU in favour of strengthening its relationship with Russia. Mass protests erupt in major cities across Ukraine over subsequent days, with an estimated 100,000 people gathering in central Kiev. November 30-December 1, 2013 Riot police descend on Kiev's Maidan (Independence Square) in an attempt to disperse the pro-Western demonstrators who are encamped there. Dozens of protesters are injured in the overnight crackdown. December 8, 2013 An estimated 800,000 people attend a demonstration in central Kiev. The crowd topples and destroys a statue of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin January 17, 2014 The Ukrainian parliament passes a harsh anti-protest bill by an informal show of hands rather than by employing its usual electronic voting system. Yanukovych signs the bill into law, triggering a fiery response from the opposition. February 18, 2014 More than 20 people are killed and hundreds are wounded as clashes between police and demonstrators in Kiev become increasingly violent. An estimated 25,000 protesters occupy a fortified camp in Kiev's Maidan. February 20, 2014 Kiev sees its bloodiest day since World War II as government snipers open fire on demonstrators, as protesters ignite massive bonfires to stymie attempts by security forces to retake the square. February 22, 2014 Yanukovych vanishes as parliament votes to strip him of his presidential powers. Yanukovych, appearing in a television address, denounces his removal from office as a coup. February 27, 2014 Yanukovych, resurfacing at a press conference in Russia, asserts that he is still the president of Ukraine. In the Ukrainian autonomous republic of Crimea, pro-Russian gunmen in uniforms that lack clear insignia occupy key buildings. The Russian flag is raised at the regional parliament building in Simferopol, and the unidentified troops expand their control of the peninsula over subsequent days. Despite initial Russian insistence that the unidentified gunmen are local militia members, Putin later confirms that they are, in fact, Russian troops. March 1, 2014 Putin is granted parliamentary approval to use military force to protect Russian interests in Ukraine. March 6, 2014 With Russian troops support, Crimea's self-appointed parliament votes to secede from Ukraine and seek annexation by Russia. A regional referendum on the matter is scheduled for March 16. March 16, 2014 Despite observers noting irregularities in the electoral process—such as the presence of armed men at polling places—Crimean officials declare that turnout has topped 80 percent, with more than 95 percent of voters declaring a wish to join Russia. Putin states that he will respect the wishes of the Crimean people, while the interim government in Kiev and Western leaders decry the election as illegal. March 21, 2014 Putin signs a law that formally annexes Crimea. The move is not recognized by Western governments, and a flurry of sanctions are imposed on Russian and Crimean officials by the United States and the EU. April 7, 2014 Like in Crimea, Russian gunmen carrying Russian equipment and wearing uniforms without insignia execute armed takeovers of government buildings in Donetsk and Luhansk proclaiming May 2, 2014 Two Ukrainian military helicopters are shot down by pro-Russian militants in Slov'yansk. Violence strikes the previously quiet city of Odessa when pro-Russian demonstrators attack a pro-Ukrainian march held by the supporters of a pair of Ukrainian association football (soccer) teams. A running street battle concludes when a building occupied by pro-Russian activists catches fire; more than 40 people die in the blaze. May 11, 2014 Separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk proceed with their referenda and declare independence from Ukraine, despite apparent widespread irregularities in the voting process. May 25, 2014 Billionaire Petro Poroshenko emerges as the clear victor in the Ukrainian presidential election, winning more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round of polling to preclude a runoff. Vitali Klitschko is elected mayor of Kiev. May 27, 2014 Dozens of pro-Russian separatists are killed in a battle for Donetsk's international airport. May 29, 2014 A Ukrainian military helicopter is shot down outside Slov'yansk; all 14 people aboard are killed. June 7, 2014 Poroshenko is sworn in as president of Ukraine. In his inaugural address, he states that his government will not negotiate with armed militants and reiterates the claim that Crimea is Ukrainian territory. June 14, 2014 Russians shoot down a Ukrainian military transport plane as it attempts to land in Luhansk; all 49 people on board are killed. July 17, 2014 Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, a 777 traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur and carrying nearly 300 people, crashes in eastern Ukraine, killing all aboard. U.S. intelligence analysts state that the plane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile, and the Ukrainian government presents evidence alleging that pro-Russian militants fired on the aircraft thinking that it was a Ukrainian military transport. Putin denies any connection between Russia and the crash, saying that responsibility for the incident lies with Ukraine. July 18-20, 2014 International investigators and recovery teams find their efforts to reach the crash site stymied by the rebel groups who control the area. Journalists and local residents are given relatively free access to the unsecured debris field, which covers some 20 square miles (50 square km) of separatist-held territory near the city of Torez. Reports of valuables being looted from the crash site are widespread. The U.S. government states that it detected the launch of a surface-to-air missile from a rebel-controlled area at the same time that air traffic controllers lost contact with flight MH17. July 21, 2014 Separatists turn over "black box" flight recorders recovered from the crash to international investigators. Prosecutors in the Netherlands open a criminal investigation into the downing of the airliner, with a list of charges that includes murder and war crimes. Two-thirds of the passengers on flight MH17 were Dutch citizens. August 13, 2014 The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights states that the death toll associated with the conflict in Ukraine has escalated dramatically. Of the roughly 2,100 people killed since fighting began in April 2014, nearly half died in the period between July 26 and August 10. More than 5,000 people have been injured since the start of hostilities, and more than 150,000 have been internally displaced. August 24, 2014 Thousands gather in Kiev for a celebration of Ukraine's Independence Day. A military parade and an address by Poroshenko mark the occasion, while in Donetsk separatists march a group of Ukrainian prisoners of war through the streets at bayonet-point. International human rights organizations immediately criticize the display as a violation of the Geneva Conventions. August 29, 2014 Prime minister Yatsenyuk announces that Ukraine will seek membership in NATO and introduces a bill in parliament that will begin that process. September 5, 2014 In Minsk, Belarus, former Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma brokers a cease-fire deal with Russian officials and representatives of pro-Russian separatist groups. Some 2,600 people—a total that does not include the victims of the flight MH17 crash—have been killed in eastern Ukraine since hostilities began in April.
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw back was the alliance for Soviet - run countries. Their goal was the spread communism. It ended in 1991 after the Soviet Union dissolved. Treaty was signed in 1945 that formed an alliance of the Eastern European countries behind the Iron Curtain; USSR, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania.
Ukraine facts and figures
Ukraine facts and figures OFFICIAL NAME: Ukrayina (Ukraine) AREA: 233,062 square miles (603,628 square km) POPULATION (2013 EST.): 45,523,000 AGE BREAKDOWN (2011): Under age 15, 14.2%; 15-29, 22.0%; 30-44, 21.3%; 45-59, 21.6%; 60-69, 9.4%; 70 and over, 11.5% FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Unitary multiparty republic with a single legislative house (Verkhovna Rada) CAPITAL: Kiev (Kyiv) OTHER MAJOR CITIES: Kharkiv, Odesa (Odessa), Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: Ukrainian ETHNIC COMPOSITION (2001): Ukrainian 77.8%; Russian 17.3%; Belarusian 0.6%; Moldovan 0.5%; Crimean Tatar 0.5%; other 3.3%. UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (2012): 7.5% TOTAL ACTIVE-DUTY MILITARY PERSONNEL (2012) 29,950 (army 54.5%, navy 10.7%, air force/air defense 34.8%); reserve 1,000,000
Describe the relationship between Russia and Ukraine. How has it changed in the past century?
Ukraine occupies an important place in Russian history. Together with Belarus, it formed the medieval Kyivan Rus state that Moscow and Kyiv both claim laid the foundation of their countries. Kyiv was a significant city in the 9th and 10th centuries, before economic power in the region shifted east. Later, parts of what is now Ukraine joined the Russian Empire. But other regions, particularly in the west, cultivated ties to European powers. In 1917, as two revolutions convulsed Russia, Ukrainian nationalists exploited the moment to make a bid for self-determination. Soon after, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was established and would become one of the founding members of the Soviet Union, a federation that would eventually be governed by Moscow. Ukraine suffered greatly under the Soviet Union, whose leadership caused a famine that killed millions of Ukrainians between 1932 and 1933. It was also the site of some of the worst violence of World War II when Nazi Germany occupied much of the land. As the Soviet Union crumbled in 1991, Ukrainians voted to become an independent state. Ukraine also sought better ties with the West and announced its aspirations to eventually join both NATO and the European Union. In the early 2000s, Putin, then Russia's new president, began to view these developments with alarm. Ukraine is also home to large ethnic Russian and Russian-speaking populations, particularly in the eastern part of the country. So when pro-Western protests broke out in Kyiv in 2014, ousting the Moscow-aligned president, Russia responded by invading and annexing the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine.
How does the culture, language, ethnicity of Ukrainians play a part in this content?
Ukrainian and Russian emerged as distinct languages from a common source language spoken around A.D. 500 that linguists refer to as "proto-Slavic." The Slavic languages also have a common homeland western Ukraine. Speakers of proto-Slavic fanned out from their homeland, moving northward, westward and southward. As they moved, proto-Slavic gradually gave rise to the language varieties that would eventually become the contemporary Slavic languages, which include Polish, Serbian, Russian and Ukrainian. By the 9th century, some Slavs who stayed close to home linked with the Rus - a group who were either Slavs themselves or assimilated Scandinavians - and created the first noteworthy East Slavic federation known as Kyivan Rus, situated, as the name suggests, in Kyiv. Kyivan Rus can be thought of as the predecessor to the modern Ukrainian, Belorussian and Russian nations. Since language has become so key to national identity, reframing Ukrainian as a dialect of Russian is integral to Putin's discursive campaign. Putin's essay, "On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians," which he published in July 2021, leaves little doubt as to his position. If all things Ukrainian - including the language - are simply derivatives of all things Russian, the invasion looks less like an act of aggression and more like reintegration. Ukrainians, of course, bristle with this characterization, not because there is no Russian being spoken in Ukraine - Volodymyr Zelenskyy is himself a Russian speaker - but because for many, Ukrainian identity involves bilingualism. Many Ukrainians speak both Ukrainian and Russian and even mix them in a form people call "surzhyk" - the Eastern Slavic version of "Spanglish."