In the aftermath of the Ukrainian 'Revolution of Dignity' and the Euromaidan protests stemming from the Ukrainian government's suspension of signing European Union-Ukraine Association Agreement, Russia made the decision to annex Crimea, a Ukrainian territory along the northern coast of the Black Sea, moving armed troops in through the nearby city of Novorossiysk.

After several weeks of combat, Russia formerly annexed Crimea on 1 March, 2014, with the majority of Ukrainian troops having withdrawn from the peninsula by 30 March. This is perceived to be the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine, now known as the Russo-Ukraine War.

The Ukrainian parliament declares Crimea a territory temporarily occupied by Russia.

Stoked by pro-Russia protests throughout the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, Russian President Vladimir Putin launches a combined political and military effort against Ukraine with the perceived intent of incorporating the Donetsk and Luhansk regions into a new Russian territory, 'Novorissiya' (lit. New Russia).

These demonstrations then escalated to armed conflict between Russian-backed separatist forces and the Ukrainian government.

Over the course of the following six years, Donbas and the surrounding territories became an area plagued by constant siege, the warring factions of Ukraine and Russian-backed separatist forces led to casualties totalling an approximate 13,100 - 13,300 as at January 2021.

A total of 3,393 innocent Ukrainian civilians had been confirmed dead by the United Nations, 312 of which were foreigners including 298 passengers and crew of the now infamous Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 which was shot down by a separatist surface-to-air missile whilst on a scheduled passenger flight to Kuala Lumpur.

Following the agreement of a ceasefire in July 2020, a brief period of decreased casualties occurred between the two factions despite underlying tensions.

However, in April of 2021, the Russian military began moving large quantities of military equipment into the regions pf Crimea, Voronezh and Rostov. Despite the Russian governments protests on the international stage that these forces posed no threat to Ukraine, and would only act to defend Russia, the number of forces continued to increase along the Ukrainian border.

In April 2021, Ukraine rolled out usage of new military drones in the region to combat the usage of Russian atrillery and drones, with Russia expressing disapproval of the rollout.

In December 2021, it was reported by the Ukrainian government that Russia had begun sending snipers and tanks into the region, with calls from the Russian side to recognise the independence of the Donbas region and its separation from Ukraine, tensions had reached a critical point.

Finally, on 21 February 2022, Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would recognise the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics, and made the order to deploy Russian troops to Donbas as 'peacekeepers'. In response to this, several western countries announced sanctions against Russian-connected organisations.

On 24 February, 2022, Russia launched an aggressive large-scale invasion of Ukraine with Russian President, Vladimir Putin, announcing what he called a "special military operation" in Eastern Ukraine.

Almost immediately following Putin's address, missiles began to hit several locations across Ukraine, with Russian troops entering the country mere hours later. Ukrainian President, Volodymyr ZELENSKYYy, enacted martial law and ordered general mobilisation of the Ukrainian defence forces in order to halt the invasion.

With reported orders for Russian soldiers and mercenaries to assassinate Ukrainian President ZELENSKYYy on sight, ZELENSKYYy declined international offers for his evacuation and chose to remain on the front lines with his people as they attempt to push back against the Russian advance.

Now, the war for Ukraine's defence rages on.

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