The Conflict - Historical Background - War in Ukraine

The Conflict - HIstorical Background

Drone Shot of the Motherland Monument and City of Kyiv (Source: Pexels.com - CC0 No Attribution Required)

Introduction

Ukraine has had a long tumultuous history marked by periods of upheaval and traumatic events. These include forced famines under Soviet rule as well as invasion by the German army during World War II, each of which resulted in millions of deaths. Ukraine’s road to independence has been fraught and hard won. It was achieved in 1991 with the dissolution of the former USSR. After only two decades as a fledgling and imperfect democracy, its future as a sovereign nation has been threatened by Russia which seized and annexed Crimea in February 2014 and has supported an ongoing armed conflict in the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk in the Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine since mid-2014.

Background Documents

UNRIC Library Backgrounder: Ukraine (pre 2022)

Ukraine: Background, Conflict with Russia, and U.S. Policy (U.S. Congressional Research Service, Updated October 5. 2021)

Ukraine: Conflict at the Crossroads of Europe and Russia (Council on Foreign Relations, Updated April 1, 2022)

Ukraine’s Struggle for Independence in Russia’s Shadow – OLD 1991-2022 - Timeline (Council on Foreign Relations)

Why Did Russia Give Away Crimea Sixty Years Ago? by Mark Kramer (WIlson Center)

Archival Collections Relating to the Conflict

Ukraine Conflict (Collected by Internet Archive Global Events)

"This collection seeks to document conflict in Ukraine. Content includes news outlets, social media, blogs and government websites." Archived since February 2014.

The Ukraine Crisis: 2014-2015 (Collected by University of California Berkeley)

Budapest Memorandum and Nuclear Disarmament of Ukraine

The Budapest Memorandum was signed in 1994 by the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States. It was intended to assure Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty and territorial integrity from Russia on condition of Ukraine’s Accession to the Treaty of the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

Memorandum on Security Assurances in Connection with Ukraine’s Accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (United Nations Security Council, December 19, 1994)

Security for Disarmament: Negotiating Ukraine’s Budapest Memorandum by Mariana Budjeryn (Wilson Center, December 5, 2008)

Orange Revolution 2004

The Orange Revolution was a series of protests and political events associated with the presidential election of 2004 which resulted in the election of Viktor Yuschenko.

“Orange Revolution,” by Bohdan Harasymiw, Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine

How Ukraine’s Orange Revolution shaped twentieth-first century geopolitics by Peter Dickinson (Atlantic Council, November 20, 2020)

Euromaidan Revolution or Revolution of Dignity 2013 - 2014

The Maidan Uprising was a period of protests and civil unrest in response to the decision by the Ukrainian government, led by Viktor Yanukovych, not to sign the European Union-Ukraine Association Agreement in favor of closer ties to the Russian-controlled Eurasian Economic Union. It resulted in the departure of Victor Yanukovuch from office.

“Euromaidan Revolution,” by Bohdan Harasymiw, Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine

Ukraine’s nation-building journey and the legacy of the Euromaidan revolution by Sofiya Kominko (Atlantic Council, April 20, 2021)

Illegal Annexation of Crimea 2014

A Rude Awakening: Ramifications of Russian Aggression Towards Ukraine edited by Niklas Granholm, Johannes Malminen and Gudrun Persson (FOI, Swedish Defence Research Agency, June 2014)

“The main purpose of this study is to examine the wider implications of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine with a broad analytical perspective. The focus is on events from late 2013 up until May 2014.”

Donbas Conflict 2014 -

Conflict in Ukraine’s Donbas: A Visual Explainer (International Crisis Group)

Russia’s “Passportization” of the Donbas: The Mass Naturalization of Ukrainians Is More Than a Foreign Policy Tool, by Dr Fabian Burkhardt (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik/German Institute for International and Security Affairs, 2020)

Minsk Agreements and Peace Process 2014 and 2015

The Minsk agreements were a series of international agreements which sought to end the armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine.

Protocol on the results of consultations of the Trilateral Contact Group (Minsk Agreement) (United Nations Peacemaker)

"Ukraine and the Minsk II Agreement: On a Frozen Path to Peace?" European Parliamentary Research Bureau (January 2016)

U.S.-Ukraine Charter on Strategic Partnership (November 10, 2021)

U.S.-Ukraine Charter on Strategic Partnership

The Charter was signed by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, replaces a previous charter dating from 2008. The Charter “provides for cooperation between the two countries on security and defense, democracy, and the rule of law, as well as the economy, including in the energy sector.” (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin's Writings and Speeches

Address by the President of the Russian Federation (The Kremlin, Moscow, February 21, 2022)

"On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians," July 12, 2021

"Russia at the Turn of the Millenium," *1999de30:Nezavisimaia gazeta:4

A speech delivered at the MSC 2007 by the President Vladimir Putin

Putin’s famous Munich Speech 2007 (YouTube)

Films

"20 of the Best Films to Understand What's Happening in Ukraine," by Anna Onufrienko et al., The Guardian (March 4, 2022)

"Nine Excellent Movies that Show What Ukrainians are Fighting For," by Joshua First,The Atlantic (March 3, 2022)

Books

First Person by Vladimir Putin; Nataliya Gevorkyan; Natalya Timakova; Andrei Kolesnikov
ISBN: 1586480189
Publication Date: 2000-05-05
Who is this Vladimir Putin? Who is this man who suddenly--overnight and without warning--was handed the reigns of power to one of the most complex, formidable, and volatile countries in the world? How can we trust him if we don't know him? First Person is an intimate, candid portrait of the man who holds the future of Russia in his grip. An extraordinary compilation of over 24 hours of in-depth interviews and remarkable photographs, it delves deep into Putin's KGB past and explores his meteoric rise to power. No Russian leader has ever subjected himself to this kind of public examination of his life and views. Both as a spy and as a virtual political unknown until selected by Boris Yeltsin to be Prime Minister, Putin has been regarded as man of mystery. Now, the curtain lifts to reveal a remarkable life of struggles and successes. Putin's life story is of major importance to the world.
The Frontline by Serhii Plokhy
ISBN: 9780674268821
Publication Date: 2021-11-02
The Frontline presents a selection of essays drawn together for the first time to form a companion volume to Serhii Plokhy's The Gates of Europe and Chernobyl. Here he expands upon his analysis in earlier works of key events in Ukrainian history, including Ukraine's complex relations with Russia and the West, the burden of tragedies such as the Holodomor and World War II, the impact of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, and Ukraine's contribution to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Juxtaposing Ukraine's history to the contemporary politics of memory, this volume provides a multidimensional image of a country that continues to make headlines around the world. Eloquent in style and comprehensive in approach, the essays collected here reveal the roots of the ongoing political, cultural, and military conflict in Ukraine, the largest country in Europe.
Roots of Russia's War in Ukraine by Elizabeth A. Wood; William E. Pomeranz; E. Wayne Merry; Maxim Trudolyubov
ISBN: 0231704534
Publication Date: 2015-12-15
In February 2014, Russia initiated a war in Ukraine, its reasons for aggression unclear. Each of this volume's authors offers a distinct interpretation of Russia's motivations, untangling the social, historical, and political factors that created this war and continually reignite its tensions. What prompted President Vladimir Putin to send troops into Crimea? Why did the conflict spread to eastern Ukraine with Russian support? What does the war say about Russia's political, economic, and social priorities, and how does the crisis expose differences between the EU and Russia regarding international jurisdiction? Did Putin's obsession with his macho image start this war, and is it preventing its resolution? The exploration of these and other questions gives historians, political watchers, and theorists a solid grasp of the events that have destabilized the region.
Ukraine by Serhy Yekelchyk
ISBN: 019753211X
Publication Date: 2020-10-01
Conventional wisdom dictates that Ukraine's political crises can be traced to the linguistic differences and divided political loyalties that have long fractured the country. However, this theory obscures the true significance of Ukraine's recent civic revolution and the conflict's crucialinternational dimension. The 2013-14 Ukrainian revolution presented authoritarian powers in Russia with both a democratic and a geopolitical challenge. In reality, political conflict in Ukraine is reflective of global discord, stemming from differing views on state power, civil society, anddemocracy.Ukraine's sudden prominence in American politics has compounded an already-widespread misunderstanding of what is actually happening in the nation. In the American media, Ukraine has come to signify an inherently corrupt place, rather than a real country struggling in the face of great challenges.Ukraine: What Everyone Needs to KnowRG is an updated edition of Serhy Yekelchyk's 2015 publication, The Conflict in Ukraine. It addresses Ukraine's relations with the West, particularly the United States, from the perspective of Ukrainians. The book explains how independent Ukraine fell victim tocrony capitalism, how its people rebelled twice in the last two decades in the name of democracy and against corruption, and why Russia reacted so aggressively to the strivings of Ukrainians. Additionally, it looks at what we know about alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 US presidentialelection, the factors behind the stunning electoral victory of the political novice Volodymyr Zelensky, and the ways in which the events leading to the impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump have changed the Russia-Ukraine-US relationship.This volume is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the forces that have shaped contemporary politics in this increasingly important part of Europe, as well as the international background of the impeachment proceedings in the US.
Ukraine's Revolt, Russia's Revenge by Christopher M. Smith
ISBN: 9780815739241
Publication Date: 2022-03-15
"This firsthand account of contemporary history is key to understanding Russia's latest assault on its neighbor."--USA Today An eyewitness account by a U.S. diplomat of Russia's brazen attempt to undo the democratic revolution in Ukraine Told from the perspective of a U.S. diplomat in Kyiv, this book is the true story of Ukraine's anti-corruption revolution in 2013--14, Russia's intervention and invasion of that nation, and the limited role played by the United States. It puts into a readable narrative the previously unpublished reporting by seasoned U.S. diplomatic and military professionals, a wealth of information on Ukrainian high-level and street-level politics, a broad analysis of the international context, and vivid descriptions of people and places in Ukraine during the EuroMaidan Revolution. The book also counters Russia's disinformation narratives about the revolution and America's role in it. While focusing on a single country during a dramatic three-year period, the book's universal themes--among them, truth versus lies, democracy versus autocracy--possess a broader urgency for our times. That urgency burns particularly hot for the United States and all other countries that are the targets of Russia's cyber warfare and other forms of political skullduggery. From his posting in U.S. Embassy Kyiv (2012-14), the author observed and reported first-hand on the EuroMaidan Revolution that wrested power from corrupt pro-Kremlin Ukrainian autocrat Viktor Yanukovych. The book also details Russia's attempt to abort the Ukrainian revolution through threats, economic pressure, lies, and intimidation. When all of that failed, the Kremlin exacted revenge by annexing Ukraine's territory of Crimea and fomenting and sustaining a hybrid war in eastern Ukraine that has killed more than 13,000 people and continues to this day. Ukraine's Revolt, Russia's Revenge is based on the author's own observations and the multitude of reports of his Embassy colleagues who were eyewitnesses to a crucial event in contemporary history.
Ukraine and Russia by Paul D'Anieri
ISBN: 9781108713955
Publication Date: 2019-10-31
D'Anieri explores the dynamics within Ukraine, between Ukraine and Russia, and between Russia and the West, that emerged with the collapse of the Soviet Union and eventually led to war in 2014. Proceeding chronologically, this book shows how Ukraine's separation from Russia in 1991, at the time called a 'civilized divorce', led to what many are now calling 'a new Cold War'. He argues that the conflict has worsened because of three underlying factors - the security dilemma, the impact of democratization on geopolitics, and the incompatible goals of a post-Cold War Europe. Rather than a peaceful situation that was squandered, D'Anieri argues that these were deep-seated pre-existing disagreements that could not be bridged, with concerning implications for the resolution of the Ukraine conflict. The book also shows how this war fits into broader patterns of contemporary international conflict and should therefore appeal to researchers working on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia's relations with the West, and conflict and geopolitics more generally.
Ukraine and the Art of Strategy by Lawrence Freedman
ISBN: 9780190902889
Publication Date: 2019-02-05
The Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014, subsequent war in Eastern Ukraine and economic sanctions imposed by the West, transformed European politics. These events marked a dramatic shift away from the optimism of the post-Cold War era. The conflict did not escalate to the levels originallyfeared but nor was either side able to bring it to a definitive conclusion. Ukraine suffered a loss of territory but was not forced into changing its policies away from the Westward course adopted as a result of the EuroMaidan uprising of February 2014. President Putin was left supporting aseparatist enclave as Russia's economy suffered significant damage.In Ukraine and the Art of Strategy, Lawrence Freedman-author of the landmark Strategy: A History-provides an account of the origins and course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict through the lens of strategy. Freedman describes the development of President Putin's anxieties that former Soviet countrieswere being drawn towards the European Union, the effective pressure he put on President Yanokvych of Ukraine during 2013 to turn away from the EU and the resulting 'EuroMaidan Revolution' which led to Yanukovych fleeing. He explores the reluctance of Putin to use Russian forces to do more thatconsolidate the insurgency in Eastern Ukraine, the failure of the Minsk peace process and the limits of the international response. Putin's strategic-making is kept in view at all times, including his use of "information warfare" and attempts to influence the American election. In contrast to thosewho see the Russian leader as a master operator who catches out the West with bold moves Freedman sees him as impulsive and so forced to improvise when his gambles fail.Freedman's application of his strategic perspective to this supremely important conflict challenges our understanding of some of its key features and the idea that Vladimir Putin is unmatched as a strategic mastermind.
Ukraine Crisis by Andrew Wilson
ISBN: 0300211597
Publication Date: 2014-11-04
A leading Ukraine specialist and firsthand witness to the 2014 Kiev Uprising analyzes the world's newest flashpoint The aftereffects of the February 2014 Uprising in Ukraine are still reverberating around the world. The consequences of the popular rebellion and Russian President Putin's attempt to strangle it remain uncertain. In this book, Andrew Wilson combines a spellbinding, on-the-scene account of the Kiev Uprising with a deeply informed analysis of what precipitated the events, what has developed in subsequent months, and why the story is far from over. Wilson situates Ukraine's February insurgence within Russia's expansionist ambitions throughout the previous decade. He reveals how President Putin's extravagant spending to develop soft power in all parts of Europe was aided by wishful thinking in the EU and American diplomatic inattention, and how Putin's agenda continues to be widely misunderstood in the West. The author then examines events in the wake of the Uprising--the military coup in Crimea, the election of President Petro Poroshenko, the Malaysia Airlines tragedy, rising tensions among all of Russia's neighbors, both friend and foe, and more. Ukraine Crisis provides an important, accurate record of events that unfolded in Ukraine in 2014. It also rings a clear warning that the unresolved problems of the region have implications well beyond Ukrainian borders.