Russia Invades Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent the Russian military to invade Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Already there are thousands of military and civilian casualties and millions of Ukrainian refugees who have fled their home country. The Ukrainian military, and many of the civilians who remain, are fighting against the Russian military. Putin’s decision to invade an independent nation without clear justification, and to threaten nuclear war, has provoked great outcry around the world.
See below for the historical background to the invasion (including a detailed timeline), maps and charts that help explain the conflict, as well as informed analysis that will help your students begin to understand the significance of this tragic moment in history, written by historians Edward Dickinson, Professor of History at UC Davis, and Shelley Brooks, CHSSP Academic Program Coordinator.
Where is Ukraine?
Ukraine and Russia share a long and intense history. Because they share a border there are parts of eastern Ukraine (specifically in the Donbas Region and Crimea) where over 50% of the population speaks Russian as their first language. Many Ukrainians in this region consider themselves “ethnic Russian” because of their family’s historic ties to Russia. To the west and to the north, Ukrainians tend to feel less connected to Russia and have instead championed Ukraine’s distinctive culture and history. We can see these geographic and cultural divisions playing out in military conflicts. For example, Putin first invaded Ukraine in 2014, annexing, or seizing, Crimea. Meanwhile, the Donbas is a key target of the current invasion.
Why did Russia Invade Ukraine?
Russian President Vladimir Putin has mentioned in recent speeches a number of issues that may explain why he sent the Russian military into Ukraine this February. He cited the expansion of NATO countries (more on this below) threatening Russian borders, a false claim that Ukrainians are systematically murdering ethnic Russians in Ukraine, and another false claim that Ukrainians have never thought of themselves as separate from Russia.
Though Putin has not said as much, it is possible that another reason motivating Putin is that he still has a Cold War mindset when Russia led the Soviet Union and forcibly controlled the regions to the west of its border for economic and political gain. Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine suggests that Putin seems to believe Russia should once again control it.
In the 1900s, Ukraine was economically important for the Russian Empire and Soviet Union for multiple reasons: a) Ukraine’s rich agricultural land in the center and east of the country makes it critical to regional food exports. b) Ukraine’s rich coal and iron deposits in the Donbas make it a crucial energy-producing and industrial area. c) Ukraine’s shipping ports enable commercial ties with the rest of the world and are not subject to freezing temperatures that force some Russian ports to close in winter.