War returned to Europe on Thursday (Feb 24) with Russia carrying out a “full-scale” invasion of Ukraine after having troops amassed at the border for weeks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an address to the nation that he had ordered a “special military operation” to protect people, including Russian citizens, subjected to “genocide” in Ukraine.
He added his aim was to demilitarise and “denazify” Ukraine. He said any hindrance would be met by “such consequences that you have never encountered in your history”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, compared Russia’s invasion of his country to military campaigns carried out by Nazi Germany during World War II.
“Russia has attacked Ukraine in a cowardly and suicidal way, like Nazi Germany did during World War II,” he said.
Here are some of the reasons why Putin is so preoccupied with Ukraine and why he has chosen to bring the crisis to a head now.
RUSSIA VS THE WEST
Since the Cold War ended, NATO has expanded eastwards by taking in 14 new countries, including the states of the former Warsaw Pact and the three Baltic nations that were once in the Soviet Union.
Russia saw this as a threatening encroachment towards its borders and continues to say it was a betrayal of Western promises at the start of the 1990s – something the United States and its allies deny.
“It is a fact that over the past 30 years we have been patiently trying to come to an agreement with the leading NATO countries regarding the principles of equal and indivisible security in Europe,” Putin said in his address on Thursday.
“In response to our proposals, we invariably faced either cynical deception and lies or attempts at pressure and blackmail, while NATO continued to expand despite our protests and concerns. Its military machine is moving and, as I said, is approaching our very border.”
Putin has previously said that Ukraine’s growing ties with the alliance could make it a launchpad for NATO missiles targeted at Russia. He said Russia needs to lay down “red lines” to prevent that.
Ukraine is not a NATO member but has a promise dating from 2008 that it will eventually get to join. Since toppling a pro-Russian president in 2014, it has become closer politically to the West, staged joint military exercises with NATO and taken delivery of weapons including US Javelin anti-tank missiles and Turkish drones.
Kyiv and Washington see these as legitimate moves to bolster Ukraine’s defence after Russia seized the Crimea region in 2014 and provided backing to separatists who are still fighting government forces in eastern Ukraine.
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