The Ukraine Russia War Timeline : Phase One
The Ukraine War is an ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia that began in 2014. The conflict emerged following a popular uprising that resulted in the ousting of Ukraine’s pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych and Russia’s subsequent annexation of Crimea. The war has led to thousands of casualties and the displacement of civilians, as well as political instability and economic sanctions.
Let’s go through the timeline of the key events of the Ukraine War:
2014: Political Uprising and Referendum
February 22: Protests in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, led to the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovych.
March 1: Russian forces occupy Crimea, a peninsula in Ukraine with a significant Russian-speaking population.
March 16: Crimea holds a referendum on joining Russia, which is widely criticized by Ukraine and the international community.
April 6: Pro-Russian separatists seize government buildings in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk.
April 17: Ukraine launches an “anti-terrorist operation” against the separatists.
May 11: Pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk held referendums on independence from Ukraine, which are not recognized by the international community.
May 25: Petro Poroshenko is elected president of Ukraine.
2015-2016: Ceasefire between the Ukrainian Government and Pro-Russian Separatist
February 12: A ceasefire agreement is signed in Minsk, Belarus, but it is repeatedly violated by both sides.
September 29: A new ceasefire agreement is reached in Minsk.
- 2016
April 26: Fighting escalates in eastern Ukraine, with both sides accusing each other of violating the ceasefire.
August 31: A new ceasefire agreement is reached in Minsk.
2017-2018: Fighting Continues and US Sanctions against Russia
- 2017
January 28: Fighting in eastern Ukraine intensifies, with both sides suffering heavy losses.
February 20: Ukrainian military facilities are hit by a cyber attack, which is attributed to Russia.
April 23: A car bomb kills a prominent separatist leader in Donetsk.
August 2: The US Congress approves new sanctions against Russia, which include measures related to the conflict in Ukraine.
- 2018
January 18: Fighting in eastern Ukraine intensifies, with both sides accusing each other of violating the ceasefire.
April 14: The US, UK, and France launch airstrikes against Syrian government targets in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack. Russia, which backs the Syrian government, condemns the attack.
May 24: Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko is reported to have been assassinated in Kyiv, but it later emerges that he faked his own death as part of a Ukrainian intelligence operation.
2019:2021: Russian Military Action and Ceasefire
- 2019:
November 19: Russian forces seized three Ukrainian navy ships in the Kerch Strait, a narrow waterway that separates Crimea from mainland Russia.
- 2020:
July 27: A new ceasefire agreement is reached in Minsk.
September 4: Ukrainian military official accuses Russian-backed separatists of launching an attack on Ukrainian positions in eastern Ukraine, violating the ceasefire.
2021: Ukraine Withdraws from Crimea; Russia Wants Normalization
April 1: Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists agree to a full ceasefire from April 1.
April 6: Ukraine announces it will withdraw its troops from Crimea, effectively ending any hopes of retaking the region from Russia.
June 22: Russian President Vladimir Putin says he wants to normalize relations with Ukraine and invites Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to meet in Moscow.
The first phase of the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia came to an end when Ukraine finally withdrew from Crimea, and Russia extended an invitation to normalize its relationship with Ukraine.
Also read this: The Ukraine Russia War Timeline : Phase Two
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