The goal of this page is to provide a quick summary of key facts related to the war in Ukraine. Deeper Analysis and Explanations are left to dedicated articles and sources. I care a lot about acknowledging the work of other people, so here is a list of websites, associations and institutions from which these data are mostly based.
In this specific topic I think Wikipedia does a really good job in explaing the details, so some of the bullet points are quoting it directly.
As always if you think that some of the data are not correct or are presented in a biased way, please let me know ( in a polite way please).
Chronological Summary: Key facts
Ukraine gained independence in 1991 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
In 1994, Ukraine signed the Budapest Memorandum. Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom agreed to not use military or economic force against Ukraine. In exchange Ukraine gave up the nuclear weapons that it inherited from the Soviet Union .
In 1999 Russia signed the Charter for European Security, which affirms that each state has the right to choose or change its security arrangement.
In 2005, Putin affirmed that “we will respect their [of ukrainians] choice, because it is their sovereign right to decide their own defence policy, and this will not worsen relations between our countries.” Interview with French television company
In 2013, the Ukrainian parliament approved the EU-Ukraine Association agreement, which establishes a formal political and economic partnership between the 2 parties.
After pressure from Russia, president Yanukovych withdrew from the agreement and refused to sign it.
The refusal to sign the agreement led to mass protests also know as the Maidan Revolution. The protests were repressed violently by the government and about 108 civilians and 13 police officers lost their lives.
In February 2014, 328 members of the parliament (the totality of those present) voted to remove Yanukovych. 115 other deputies were not present and 6 did not vote.
Protests erupted in the South and East of Ukraine, while armed pro-Russia separatist took control of government buildings and proclaimed the state of Donetsk and Luhansk. This started the so-called Donbas war.
Russian soldiers occupied the peninsula of Crimea. After a disputed referendum, Russia annexed Crimea.
Ukraine, formerly neutral, decided to seek membership to NATO.
In September 2014 Ukraine and some representatives from the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics signed the Minsk Agreement. This did not stop the fighting and in February 2015 a new agreement was reached.
The agreement was drafted by Russia, Ukraine and OCSE. It was mediated by France and Germany.
Some areas of Donbas were granted self-government while control of the borders was given back to Ukraine.
Other measures included a ceasefire, release of prisoners and withdrawal of weapons.
The fights reduced in intensity but never fully stopped.
In 2021 separatists forces repeatedly violated the Minsk agreements by conducting multiple attacks against Ukranian forces in Donbas.
In 2021 Russia and Belarus conducted several military exercises near the border of Ukraine. Putin denied he was planning to invade Ukraine.
Putin demanded that NATO cease activities in eastern europe states and banned Ukraine from joining the alliance. The Nato secretary responded that these requests were unacceptable.
Macron and Scholz met with Putin and tried to dissuade him from an invasion. Scholz also pressured Zelensky to restore Ukraine neutrality and renounce its aspiration to join Nato. Zelensky responded saying that Putin could not be trusted and NATO should give a clear timeline for Ukraine access.
On the 21st of February 2022, Russia officially recognised the 2 region of Donetsk and Luhansk in the east of Ukraine.