A Crash Course on Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
Words by Louise Jackson
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine in a national
address. During the final minutes of the broadcast, shells began falling throughout Ukraine. Europe was faced with the reality of war for the first time since 1945. It was only 5am. Putin has referred to the invasion as ‘a special military operation’, saving Russian citizens from being subjected to genocidal activity at the hands of the Ukrainian government. The Kremlin desires the ‘demilitarisation and denazification’ of Ukraine. Western intelligence believes all claims are baseless and falsified.
The Build-up The war has not come from nowhere. The Kremlin (Russia’s government) has been in constant conflict with Ukraine since 2014. Ukraine is a former member of the Soviet Union and, since the fall of the Soviet Union, has wavered between alliance with Russia and alliance with the West. In 2014, Russia made its first move toward reclaiming perceived Russian territory. While the Ukrainian government was dealing with a separate political fallout, Russian troops entered the Crimean Peninsula. After a public vote in the region, Crimea was wilfully annexed to Russia. Ukraine maintains the referendum was illegitimate and the transfer of territory has never been recognised by Western countries. Conflict subsequently broke out along the Eastern border of Ukraine in the Donbas region. Russian-backed 26
