Russia annexed Crimea after a disputed 2014 referendum

Russian forces seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014

Days after Ukraine's 2014 revolution, unmarked Russian troops occupied key sites in Crimea, a Black Sea peninsula with a predominantly Russian-speaking population that had been part of Ukraine since 1954.

Pro-Russian separatists seized cities in eastern Ukraine in 2014

After Russia's annexation of Crimea, armed pro-Russian separatists seized government buildings in Donetsk and Luhansk in April 2014, declared the regions independent, and sparked a prolonged conflict with Ukrainian forces.

Russia controls about 20% of Ukraine's territory

As of February 2026, Russian forces occupy roughly one-fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea and large parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, with front lines largely unchanged for months.

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24, 2022

Russia launched a massive multifront assault from Belarus, Russia, and Crimea, aiming to seize Kyiv within days. Instead, Ukrainian forces repelled the advance, halting Moscow's plans for a rapid takeover.

Many countries remained neutral after Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, few nations outside the West imposed sanctions on Moscow. Major powers such as China, India, Brazil, and Turkey remained neutral, underscoring global divisions over how to confront Russian aggression.

NATO condemned Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine

While Ukraine is not a member, NATO responded forcefully to the Russian invasion of the country in 2022. This page from the NATO website offers answers to frequently asked questions about NATO’s response to the invasion, specifically on how NATO is aiding Ukraine.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine accelerated fractures in the rules-based international order

This piece examines how the Ukraine conflict intensified underlying divisions in the global order—between Western democracies and the Global South, and between rule-of-law norms and great-power politics.

Russia armed and backed separatists in Eastern Ukraine while denying involvement

Throughout the Donbas conflict, Russia covertly supplied weapons, training, and troops to separatist forces in eastern Ukraine, even as the Kremlin publicly denied direct involvement in the fighting.

Mapping Russia's historical borders

This interactive map illustrates how the country’s borders have changed over the centuries, dating all the way back to the year 862, when the Varangian king Rurik assumed leadership of Ancient Rus. Scroll down to see how Russia vastly expanded its territory in the 16th and 17th centuries, and skip to 1991 to see which countries gained independence after the fall of the USSR.

Ukraine's pro-Russian President halted an EU deal in 2013, leading to a mass protest movement

In late 2013, President Viktor Yanukovych suspended preparations for a long-negotiated EU association agreement under Russian pressure, signaling a return to Moscow's influence and sparking mass Euromaidan protests across Ukraine.

Finland and Sweden joined NATO after Russia's invasion of Ukraine

In response to Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Finland and Sweden abandoned decades of military neutrality to join NATO, marking a major shift in Europe's security landscape and expanding the alliance to Russia's borders.

Ukraine became independent after the Soviet Union's collapse

Ukraine declared independence on Aug. 24, 1991, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. In a national referendum, over 90% of Ukrainians approved independence, establishing a democratic constitution and marking the birth of a modern sovereign state.

Ukraine came under Russian imperial rule in the late 18th century

After centuries of division among neighboring powers, most of present-day Ukraine was absorbed into the Russian Empire by the late 1700s, marking the beginning of a long period of imperial control and cultural suppression.

The Russia-Ukraine war greatly affected the global food supply

Russia's invasion devastated Ukraine's agricultural sector, destroying farms, ports, and grain infrastructure and causing over $40B in losses. Disrupted exports fueled global food insecurity, while Moscow leveraged its grain exports to expand influence across the Global South.

Mass protests in 2004 overturned a rigged Ukrainian election

During the Orange Revolution, Ukrainians protested against election fraud favoring pro-Russian candidate Viktor Yanukovych. Weeks of peaceful demonstrations led to a rerun vote, bringing Viktor Yushchenko to power and weakening Moscow's influence in the country.

Russian Roulette offered raw, on-the-ground reporting from Ukraine's 2014 war

VICE News' Russian Roulette series includes more than 100 on-the-ground episodes, filmed in real time during the 2014 conflict in Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk. Reporter Simon Ostrovsky was kidnapped by pro-Russian forces while documenting the war.

Putin claimed the invasion of Ukraine was to demilitarize and 'denazify' the country

In a 5,000-word historical treatise he wrote himself, President Vladimir Putin claimed the move was meant to restore Russia's historic lands. Many Western historians and global leaders described these narratives as false pretexts for aggression.

The day Russia invaded Ukraine—an oral history

Experience the slow build-up to the Russian-Ukraine war, to the moment when it was clear Putin intended to invade, to the actual invasion and occupation in this oral history compiled by Politico. Multiple US and Western officials share their perspectives and thoughts on the war, how it's been conducted, and what can happen next.

How organized crime took over post-Soviet Russia

After more than seven decades of Soviet communism, the collapse of the system in the early 1990s opened a path for organized crime to take over the country's newly-privatized industries. As Vladimir Putin centralized power in the subsequent decades, he did not vanquish the mafia, but rather tamed it. This long read explores the subtle, complex ways organized crime flourishes within Putin's state.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in terms of casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

After it was banned from Eurovision, Russia resurrected its Cold War-era version

Russia was barred from the Eurovision Song Contest following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In 2025, President Vladimir Putin announced the revival of Intervision, a similarly structured song contest that the Soviet Union had organized throughout the Cold War.

Ukraine's Soviet Republic was tightly bound to Moscow's control

Proclaimed in 1917 and absorbed into the USSR in 1922, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was nominally independent yet operated under Moscow's control, with its government and laws directed by the Soviet Communist Party.

Ukraine's contested Donbas region: a visual explainer

Russia's heavily industrialized eastern Donbas region has been largely controlled by Russian separatists since 2014. Here's everything you need to know on the key strategic region.

Fighting in eastern Ukraine killed thousands in the years before Russia's full invasion

From 2014 to 2022, fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces in the Donbas region killed roughly 14,000 people and left many cities in ruins, setting the stage for Russia's 2022 invasion.

Protests in Ukraine from 2013 to 2014 set the stage for the current conflict.

Note: graphic content.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has destabilized safety and oversight at Chernobyl

Russian forces cut power and disabled monitoring of the decommissioned nuclear power plant in 2022, endangering operators at Chernobyl. In February 2025, a Russian drone struck the confinement structure—part of broader efforts to pressure Ukraine's energy infrastructure—punching a hole in the containment shell.

Prehistoric to present day Ukraine

Recognizing the abundance of information available on the current war between Ukraine and Russia, this video focuses on the history of the region. Encapsulating Ukraine's background, the viewer will gain a better grasp of how the modern state arose from a quilt of different ethnicities, noteworthy conflicts between various groups, and more.

A Russian ban on food from outside countries has created a black market that's led the government to sometimes burn contraband food on state TV.

The origins of Putin's 'Nazism' claim in Ukraine

Ukraine has had a varied history, and is home to a rich diversity of ethnicities, religions, and people. In the time leading up to Russia's attacks on the country, Russian President Vladimir Putin referred to Ukraine as a "Nazi nation", owing to Ukrainian nationalists' acceptance of the invading Nazis as liberators from the Soviet Union in WWII. The history is more complex than that. Read this Smithsonian Magazine article to learn more.

The 1917 Russian Revolution: an interactive timeline

The 1917 Russian Revolution ended Tsarist rule and ultimately led to the establishment of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1922. Follow the events that led to the revolution, subsequent civil war, and the USSR in this interactive...

The Russian Revolution toppled the tsar and brought the Bolsheviks to power

In 1917, mass unrest, war exhaustion, and economic collapse overthrew the Romanov monarchy, enabling the Bolsheviks to seize control. The revolution dismantled imperial Russia and set the foundation for the creation of the Soviet Union.

Ukraine has received over $300B in Western military and financial aid

Although not a member of NATO, Ukraine has received substantial support from Western nations, primarily the United States and the European Union, totaling more than $300B in military, financial, and humanitarian assistance.

Breaking down Europe's reliance on Russian energy (preinvasion)

One side effect of the Russian-Ukraine conflict is how it underscored European dependence on Russian natural gas and oil. This article, published days before the Russian attacks, outlines and illustrated how much gas and oil flows from Russia to Europe and the potential for either side to use sanctions to get what they want.

Language and regional differences are faults lines in Ukraine's conflict.

The global nuclear arms regime has slowly eroded over the past few decades

Both Russia and the United States have withdrawn from key Cold War-era arms-control pacts. Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine marked a turning point, as it suspended its participation in inspections and data-sharing agreements.

Modern Ukraine—caught between Europe and Russia

"Ukraine" has been translated by some scholars as meaning "borderlands". Indeed the country lies perfectly between Europe and Russia, while hosting a diverse collection of people of differing languages, cultures, and ethnicities, feeling affinity for those on the other sides of the country's borders. This article explores how this affects the actions and reactions of Ukrainians during the current conflict.

Catalonia’s independence movement, explained

On October 1, 2017, Catalonia held a constitutional referendum on independence from Spain. The Spanish government arrested elected officials, confiscated ballots, closed polling stations, and ultimately deemed the referendum illegitimate. Nearly 1,000 people were injured and, according to the Catalan Parliament, 90% of those who did get to cast a ballot, voted to secede. What led to this? This 6-minute video takes a step to give some context.

Oil prices spiked when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022

The price of a barrel of Brent crude experienced volatility in the early 2020s. This chart shows price spikes at the beginning of the pandemic and again when Russia invaded Ukraine.

The 2010 announcement that Russia and Qatar would host back-to-back men's World Cups eventually led to the resignation of FIFA's president.

What led to the October Revolution?

The 1917 Russian Revolution is actually two separate revolutions. One happened that spring that ended centuries of Tsarist rule and led to the establishment of a provisional government. Another happened that autumn during which the Bolshevik...

Some experts argue that Russia was never effectively integrated into the rules-based order after 1991

This piece argues that Russia's difficult relationship with the IMF and World Bank in the 1990s—characterized by economic shocks and perceived Western condescension—helped shape Moscow's later hostility toward the liberal order.

Russian Revolution of 1917: a gallery

Being in a place where history happened is a special feeling. This interactive photo gallery from the Guardian captures that experience with then-and-now images of landmarks that played a part in the Russian Revolution. Scroll through archival photos of Bolshevik supporters marching down St. Petersburg’s Nevsky Prospekt, then move the slider to the right to see how the same street looks today.

Ukraine once had the third-largest nuclear arsenal—and gave them all up by 1996.

Kyivan Rus laid the cultural foundations for Eastern Europe

From the 9th to the 13th centuries, Kyivan Rus was a powerful East Slavic state centered in Kyiv. It shaped the region's language, religion, and political traditions—forming the shared cultural roots of modern-day Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus.

Stay up to date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war with BBC's 'Ukrainecast'

BBC's "Ukrainecast" offers ongoing coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war, featuring on-the-ground reporting, expert analysis, and personal stories from Ukrainians living through the conflict.

Testing assumptions about the war in Ukraine, one year later

Two years ago, policymakers in Washington made multiple predictions about the course of the war between Russia and Ukraine. One year later this site revisited several common assumptions about the war—for example, that Russia would swiftly defeat Ukraine—and asks several experts if they came true, or not. But things can always change.

The first year of war in Ukraine, in photos

The Russian/Ukrainian war grows more real in this series of photographs from Associated Press News. Showing the effects of war on soldiers and civilians alike, the photographs turn an unflinching eye on the injuries and fatalities wrought by the conflict, now in its second year after Russia's invasion in 2022.

A timeline of Russia-North Korea relations

North Korea and Russia have often had aligned interests, yet their relationship has experienced many highs and lows. Al Jazeera’s explainer outlines the key events defining Russia-North Korea relations. Russia and North Korea were allies during...

The value of fracking is dependent on international energy markets

Russia's war in Ukraine spurred calls in the US to increase fracking, which has historically reduced dependence on foreign nations and increased national security. However, some experts argue that renewable energy provides even better energy independence, as fracking investments may not be worthwhile if importing fossil fuels is significantly cheaper.

Revolution and performance art in Russia

In the wake of Vladimir Putin’s 2011 announcement that he would run for office for a fourth consecutive term, a group of Russian women formed a “punk protest art collective” called Pussy Riot. Their performances were largely staged in public stages representative of repressive political forces like the Orthodox Church. The group became a household name when three members were convicted of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred,” inspiring displays of support from across the world.