Why did Russia invade Ukraine? FAQs about the conflict that has shocked the world

“I know activists from other countries and they support Russian activists, but they don’t understand how we can continue to live and work under the war and the current government. There are likely many others who hate Russia, but it must be remembered that it’s necessary to separate the Russian government, a mad machine of repression and destruction, and the people of Russia, who for the most part are not guilty. Having a prosperous, modern, independent and democratic European state bordering Russia was perceived as posing a threat to Russia’s autocratic regime. If Ukrainians succeeded in fully reforming their country along lines of other western democracies, it would set a bad precedent for former Soviet countries and serve as an example for Russians who want a more democratic country. Examples of Yugoslavia and Libya, two states bombed by NATO forces, are used to drive fears that Russia may be next.

I haven’t lived with my parents for many years, but even if I did, I wouldn’t argue with them, because it’s their business what to think. Images on social media have shown long queues forming at ATMs and money exchanges around the country in recent days, with people worried their bank cards may stop working or that limits will be placed on the amount of cash they can withdraw. Sadly, many of these relations have been strained in recent years due to the Putin government’s hostility towards Ukraine and the Russian media’s relentless and baseless attacks on Ukrainians. The situation has resulted in contacts being terminated for political reasons as a result of changing attitudes towards Russia as a whole. Russia responded by illegally annexing Crimea, a section of Ukraine that touches the Russian border on the Black Sea. Russia also supplied military personnel, mercenaries and other resources in support of a small but militant minority of pro-Russian separatists in the largely Russian-speaking cities of Donetsk and Luhansk in Ukraine’s east.

Ukraine invasion: Russians feel the pain of international sanctions

“Since the Russian Federation is the largest state in the world at the moment with a huge population, it follows that this is a dangerous beast. It is impossible to write off Russia just like that, as many people do, predicting defeat, reparations and so on. It seemed to me that all this was not real and could not last long. But as time passed, I got used to it, no matter how terrible it was.

Russia’s problems begin with Putin’s unrealistic invasion plan. But even after the Russian high command adjusted its strategy, other flaws in the army remained. Any number of things, ranging from Russian reinforcements to the fall of besieged Mariupol, could give the war effort new life. And throughout the fighting, Russian casualties have been horrifically high. They have pushed the Russians farther from Kyiv, with some reports suggesting they have retaken the suburb of Irpin and forced Russia to withdraw some of its forces from the area in a tacit admission of defeat.

For Russian climate scientists who started their careers in the Soviet Union, the current situation can feel eerily familiar. People walk next to a cracked panel apartment building in the eastern Siberian city of Yakutsk in 2018. Climate change is causing permafrost, or permanently frozen ground, to thaw across the Arctic. When the earth thaws, it can destabilize building foundations, roads, pipelines and other infrastructure. On https://euronewstop.co.uk/why-are-there-so-many-orphans-in-ukraine.html of that, western scientists no longer have access to field sites in Russia, he says. Instead, they have to rely on what they can see from space, from satellite images of beaver dams.

How is the rest of the world responding to Russia’s actions?

The war in eastern Ukraine broke out in 2014 after Russia annexed Crimea. Next, two separatist regions in Donbas, Donetsk and Luhansk, declared their independence from Kyiv. It sparked a conflict between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists, which has seen casualties on both sides.

• One of the biggest and most noticeable issues has been rickety logistics.
• One of my friends is against our government while her grandmother supports them, and I know that’s caused a quarrel between them.
• Viktor isn't worried either, but does get basic military training at his university, which is common in Ukraine.
• Next, two separatist regions in Donbas, Donetsk and Luhansk, declared their independence from Kyiv.

This would put Ukraine on a far stronger security footing than it had before the war — a victory for Kyiv and defeat for Moscow, one that Putin may ultimately conclude is unacceptable. Russia recognizes its inferiority to NATO in conventional terms; its military doctrine has long envisioned the use of nuclear weapons in a war with the Western alliance. In his speech declaring war on Ukraine, Putin all but openly vowed that any international intervention in the conflict would trigger nuclear retaliation.

The bulk of the Russian public was no more prepared for war than the bulk of the Russian military — in fact, probably less so. One Russian journalist, Marina Ovsyannikova, bravely ran into the background of a government broadcast while holding an antiwar sign. According to the Athena Project, a collective of sociologists and I.T. Twenty-one per cent of TV viewers didn’t know the goal of the operation. Explosions thundered in the dim light before dawn, minutes after President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia cynically declared the start of a “special military operation” to “demilitarize” Ukraine but not occupy the country.

• NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg condemned Russia’s “reckless and unprovoked attack” and said NATO allies would meet to tackle the consequences.
• It also commits at least 11 countries, including the United States and China, to coming to Ukraine’s aid if it is attacked again.
• For the record, they don’t support the war in general, they do want it to stop; however, they can justify it in their heads somehow.
• At Vox, we believe that clarity is power, and that power shouldn’t only be available to those who can afford to pay.
• However, when it comes to family, I, unfortunately, do have a conflict with my parents.
• “The conflict between Russia and Ukraine may last for several more years.

During that time, there was a military balance achieved through parity in nuclear arsenals. The protesters trickle along smaller streets, following location updates from dedicated Telegram channels. The night ends with a 39-year-old man driving a car into the police barriers at Pushkin Square with signs “This is war! "The rouble (Russia's currency) will fall and people will have it really bad. So this must be avoided. It is not people's fault, but it will be ordinary people who will be hit," he said.