The Russo-Ukrainian War[66][c] is an ongoing armed conflict that began in February 2014, primarily involving Russia and pro-Russian forces on one hand, and Ukraine on the other. The conflict initially centred on the status of Crimea and parts of the Donbas, which are internationally recognised as part of Ukraine. The conflict has included the Russian annexation of Crimea (2014), the Donbas War (2014–present), naval incidents, cyberwarfare, political tensions, and Russian military buildups near Ukraine's borders from 2021. Russia moved forces into the separatist-controlled regions on 22 February 2022.[67][68][69] This culminated in a full Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February the same year.[70][71][72][73]

Following the Euromaidan protests and the subsequent removal of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on 22 February 2014, and amidst pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine, Russian soldiers without insignias took control of strategic positions and infrastructure within the Ukrainian territory of Crimea. On 1 March 2014, the Federation Council of the Russian Federation unanimously adopted a resolution to petition Russian President Vladimir Putin to use military force in Ukraine.[74] The resolution was adopted several days later, after the start of the Russian military operation on the "Returning of Crimea". Russia then annexed Crimea after a widely criticised local referendum which was organised by Russia after the capturing of the Crimean Parliament whose outcome was for the Autonomous Republic of Crimea to join the Russian Federation.[75][76][77][78] In April, demonstrations by pro-Russian groups in the Donbas area of Ukraine escalated into a war between the Ukrainian government and the Russian-backed separatist forces of the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics. In August, Russian military vehicles crossed the border in several locations of Donetsk Oblast.[83] The incursion by the Russian military was seen as responsible for the defeat of Ukrainian forces in early September.[84][85]

In November 2014, the Ukrainian military reported intensive movement of troops and equipment from Russia into the separatist-controlled parts of the eastern Ukraine.[86] The Associated Press reported 40 unmarked military vehicles on the move in rebel-controlled areas.[87] The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission observed convoys of heavy weapons and tanks in DPR-controlled territory without insignia.[88] OSCE monitors further stated they observed vehicles transporting ammunition and soldiers' dead bodies crossing the Russian-Ukrainian border under the guise of humanitarian aid convoys.[89] As of early August 2015, OSCE observed over 21 such vehicles marked with the Russian military code for soldiers killed in action.[90] According to The Moscow Times, Russia has tried to intimidate and silence human rights workers discussing Russian soldiers' deaths in the conflict.[91] OSCE has reported that its observers were denied access to the areas controlled by "combined Russian-separatist forces".[92]

The majority of members of the international community[93][94][95] and organizations such as Amnesty International[96] have condemned Russia for its actions in post-revolutionary Ukraine, accusing it of breaking international law and violating Ukrainian sovereignty. Many countries implemented economic sanctions against Russia, Russian individuals or companies.[97]

In October 2015, The Washington Post reported that Russia has redeployed some of its elite units from Ukraine to Syria to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.[98] In December 2015, Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin admitted that Russian military intelligence officers were operating in Ukraine, insisting though that they were not the same as regular troops.[99] In February 2019, 7% of Ukraine's territory was classified by the Ukrainian government as temporarily occupied territories

The Russian invasion of Ukraine began on the morning of 24 February 2022,[248] when Putin announced a "special military operation" to "demilitarise and denazify" Ukraine.[249][250] Minutes later, missiles and airstrikes hit across Ukraine, including Kyiv, shortly followed by a large ground invasion along multiple fronts.[251][252] Zelenskyy declared martial law and a general mobilisation of all male Ukrainian citizens between 18 and 60, who were banned from leaving the country.[253][254]

Russian attacks were initially launched on a northern front from Belarus towards Kyiv, a southern front from Crimea, and a south-eastern front from Luhansk and Donetsk and towards Kharkiv.[255][256] In the northern front, amidst heavy losses and strong Ukrainian resistance surrounding Kyiv, Russia's advance stalled in March, and by April its troops retreated. On 8 April, Russia placed its forces in southern and eastern Ukraine under the command of General Aleksandr Dvornikov, and some units withdrawn from the north were redeployed to the Donbas.[257] On 19 April, Russia launched a renewed attack across a 500 kilometres (300 mi) long front extending from Kharkiv to Donetsk and Luhansk.[258] By 13 May, a Ukraine counter-offensive had driven back Russian forces near Kharkiv. By 20 May, Mariupol fell to Russian troops following a prolonged siege of the Azovstal steel works.[259][260] Russian forces continued to bomb both military and civilian targets far from the frontline.[261][262] The war caused the largest refugee and humanitarian crisis within Europe since the Yugoslav Wars in the 1990s;[263][264] the UN described it as the fastest-growing such crisis since World War II.[265] In the first week of the invasion, the UN reported over a million refugees had fled Ukraine; this subsequently rose to over 7,405,590 by 24 September, a reduction from over eight million due to some refugees' return.[266][267]


Remnants of a destroyed Russian Army column on 27 February in Bucha
Ukrainian forces launched counteroffensives in the south in August, and in the northeast in September. On 30 September, Russia annexed four oblasts of Ukraine which it had partially conquered during the invasion.[268] This annexation was generally unrecognized and condemned by the countries of the world.[269] After Putin announced that he would begin conscription drawn from the 300,000 citizens with military training and potentially the pool of about 25 million Russians who could be eligible for conscription, one-way tickets out of the country nearly or completely sold out.[270][271] The Ukrainian offensive in the northeast successfully recaptured the majority of Kharkiv Oblast in September. In the course of the southern counteroffensive, Ukraine retook the city of Kherson in November and Russian forces withdrew to the east bank of the Dnieper River.[citation needed]

The invasion was internationally condemned as a war of aggression.[272][273] A United Nations General Assembly resolution demanded a full withdrawal of Russian forces, the International Court of Justice ordered Russia to suspend military operations and the Council of Europe expelled Russia. Many countries imposed new sanctions, which affected the economies of Russia and the world,[274] and provided humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine.[275] In September 2022, Putin signed a law that would punish anyone who resists conscription with a 10-year prison sentence[276] resulting in an international push to allow asylum for Russians fleeing conscription.[277]

As of August 2023, the total number of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers killed or wounded during the Russian invasion of Ukraine was nearly 500,000.[278] More than 10,000 civilians were killed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[279] According to a declassified US intelligence assessment, as of December 2023, Russia had lost 315,000 of the 360,000 troops that made up Russia's pre-invasion ground force, and 2,200 of the 3,500 tanks.[280]

Between December 2023 and May 2024