Russia and Ukraine: how the war started, and what each side says
Russian forces entered Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Russia calls it a "special military operation" and says it acted in self-defence. Ukraine calls it a war of aggression that Russia began in 2014 with the takeover of Crimea. On 2 March 2022, 141 of the UN General Assembly's 193 members voted to condemn the invasion and demand a withdrawal. Both sides now strike each other with drones and missiles, and talks have not produced a ceasefire.
A background primer, not a live tracker. Last reviewed 3 October 2026. We attribute every claim to the side that makes it. Where the two sides use different words for the same event, we give both. Where an international body has taken a position, we say so. We have not tried to decide whose account is right.
What is not in dispute
- Russia took control of Crimea in 2014 and declared it part of Russia. Sources: Council on Foreign Relations, conflict tracker
- Fighting began in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine in 2014. Sources: Council on Foreign Relations, backgrounder
- On 24 February 2022, Russian forces entered Ukraine from Crimea, Russia and Belarus. Sources: Council on Foreign Relations, backgrounder
- Russia has declared that it annexed the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. Sources: Council on Foreign Relations, conflict tracker
- Both sides launch large drone waves nightly. Ukraine's air force said it shot down 131 of 157 Russian drones overnight into 3 October. Russia's defence ministry said it destroyed 218 Ukrainian drones in the same period. Neither figure is independently verified. Sources: Ukrinform (Ukrainian state news agency) · TASS (Russian state news agency)
How it unfolded
- February 2014
After months of protests, President Viktor Yanukovych left Kyiv, and Ukraine's parliament adopted a resolution removing him from his duties and calling early elections. Russia has called this an unconstitutional coup.
Sources: Ukrainian foreign ministry, '10 facts' · EBSCO Research Starters
- March 2014
Russian forces took control of Crimea. A local referendum on 16 March was reported to favour joining Russia, and Russia annexed the peninsula. Ukraine, and the UN General Assembly in resolution 68/262, said the referendum had no validity. Russia said it was protecting Russian citizens and Russian speakers.
Sources: Council on Foreign Relations, conflict tracker · Government of Ukraine, war.ukraine.ua · Ukrainian foreign ministry, '10 facts'
- April 2014
Fighting began in the Donbas. Ukraine launched what it called an "anti-terrorist operation" on 12 April. Russia officially denied involvement in the Donbas fighting until 2022, while Ukraine and NATO reported Russian troops and equipment there.
Sources: Government of Ukraine, war.ukraine.ua · Council on Foreign Relations, conflict tracker · Council on Foreign Relations, backgrounder
- 2014 to 2015
The Minsk agreements set out a ceasefire and a political settlement for the Donbas. Ukraine says Russia regularly violated them.
- Late 2021 to February 2022
Russia massed forces near Ukraine's borders, including its largest deployment to Belarus since the end of the Cold War. Negotiations did not produce a settlement.
Sources: Council on Foreign Relations, conflict tracker · EBSCO Research Starters
- 21 February 2022
Russia recognised the Donetsk and Luhansk "people's republics" as independent.
Sources: Putin's 24 February 2022 speech, summarised on Wikipedia
- 24 February 2022
President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation". He said Russia was acting in self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter, at the request of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics, that its aims were the "demilitarization and denazification" of Ukraine, and that it had no plans to occupy Ukrainian land. Ukraine and its backers call it a full-scale invasion and a war of aggression.
Sources: Putin's 24 February 2022 speech, summarised on Wikipedia · Council on Foreign Relations, backgrounder
- 2 March 2022
141 of the UN General Assembly's 193 members voted to condemn the invasion and demand an immediate Russian withdrawal.
- Since the invasion
Russia has declared the annexation of four Ukrainian regions, which Ukraine rejects.
- February 2026
US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi produced a prisoner exchange but no ceasefire. By March, the US-brokered talks were on hold as Washington's attention turned to the Iran war.
Sources: Al Jazeera, 7 February 2026 · Euronews, March 2026
- September 2026
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to Russian media, that three-way talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States could take place in October. We have not found an announced date.
Sources: Al Jazeera, 13 September 2026
- 3 October 2026
Ukraine says Russian strikes killed eight people and injured 83 across the country, including attacks on Kyiv bridges. Russia's defence ministry says its air defences destroyed 218 Ukrainian drones overnight. Ukraine says it struck targets in Russia's Belgorod region. None of this is independently verified.
Sources: Kyiv Independent · Ukrinform (Ukrainian state news agency) · TASS (Russian state news agency)
What each side says
Ukraine and its supporters say
- The war is Russian aggression that began in 2014 with the seizure of Crimea and was planned in advance. (Ukrainian foreign ministry) Sources: Ukrainian foreign ministry, '10 facts'
- Russia regularly violated the Minsk agreements. (Ukrainian foreign ministry) Sources: Ukrainian foreign ministry, '10 facts'
- Ukraine's internationally recognised borders include Crimea, and the 2014 referendum had no validity. (UN General Assembly resolution 68/262, which Ukraine cites) Sources: Government of Ukraine, war.ukraine.ua
- 141 UN member states condemned the 2022 invasion. (UN General Assembly vote, 2 March 2022) Sources: Council on Foreign Relations, conflict tracker
Russia says
- It acted in self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter, at the request of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics. (President Putin, 24 February 2022) Sources: Putin's 24 February 2022 speech, summarised on Wikipedia
- Its aims were the "demilitarization and denazification" of Ukraine, and it had no plans to occupy Ukrainian land. (President Putin) Sources: Putin's 24 February 2022 speech, summarised on Wikipedia
- Further expansion of NATO infrastructure toward Russia, and military development in Ukraine, are unacceptable. (President Putin) Sources: Putin's 24 February 2022 speech, summarised on Wikipedia
- It has a duty to protect Russian citizens and Russian speakers in Crimea and the Donbas. (Moscow's stated position, as the Council on Foreign Relations describes it) Sources: Council on Foreign Relations, backgrounder
- Russia is open to peace, but its goals must be achieved. (Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, July 2025) Sources: PBS/AP, July 2025
Independent analysts say
- Some Western analysts see the 2022 invasion as the culmination of the Kremlin's growing resentment of NATO's post-Cold War expansion. (Council on Foreign Relations) Sources: Council on Foreign Relations, backgrounder
- Russia's principal demand has been that Ukraine not join NATO. (US News) Sources: US News
- Ukraine grew its ties with NATO in the years before 2022 but never became a member. (Council on Foreign Relations) Sources: Council on Foreign Relations, backgrounder
What is disputed
- When the war began: Ukraine and its backers date it to 2014, and many Russian officials say the 2014 change of government in Kyiv began the conflict. Both agree the 2022 invasion began on 24 February.
- Whether Russia's action in 2022 was lawful self-defence or aggression. Russia says the first. Ukraine and 141 UN member states say the second.
- Whether the 2014 change of government in Kyiv was a legitimate transfer of power or a coup.
- The status of Crimea and the four regions Russia says it annexed.
- Casualty figures. Each side publishes its own and we have not verified them.
Where to follow it
- Institute for the Study of War: a US research group's daily assessment and maps
- Kyiv Independent: independent Ukrainian news outlet
- Ukrinform: Ukraine's state news agency, for Ukrainian military reports
- TASS defence news: Russia's state news agency, for Russian defence ministry reports
- CrisisWatch: International Crisis Group's monthly summaries
This primer is reviewed when the situation changes materially. If we have got something wrong, we correct it here and in our corrections log. Back to the live trackers