Research Briefing

By Nigel Walker

22 August 2023
Conflict in Ukraine: A timeline
(2014 - eve of 2022 invasion)

Summary
1 November 2013 – April 2014: Annexation of Crimea
2 May 2015 – October 2021
3 Ukraine crisis: November 2021 – 23 February 2022

commonslibrary.parliament.uk
Number CBP 9476 Conflict in Ukraine: A timeline (2014 - eve of 2022 invasion)

Image Credits
Attribution: OSCE SMM monitoring of heavy weaponry, Ukraine 16705750566
by OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine – Wikimedia Commons page.
Licensed by Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) / image
cropped.

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Conflict in Ukraine: A timeline (2014 - eve of 2022 invasion)

Contents

Summary 4

1 November 2013 – April 2014: Annexation of Crimea 6

2 May 2015 – October 2021 15

3 Ukraine crisis: November 2021 – 23 February 2022 27

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Summary

The current conflict in Ukraine began on 24 February 2022 when Russian

military forces entered the country from Belarus, Russia and Crimea.

Prior to the invasion, there had already been eight years of conflict in eastern
Ukraine between Ukrainian Government forces and Russia-backed
separatists.

This paper provides a timeline of the major events that happened in the
conflict in Ukraine from the 2014 annexation of Crimea to the eve of the 2022
Russian invasion.

A timeline covering the events since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 is

available in Commons Library research briefing CBP-9847, Conflict in Ukraine:
A timeline (current conflict, 2022-present).

The 2014 Euromaidan protests

In November 2013, the Ukrainian Government of pro-Russian President Viktor
Yanukovych decided not to sign a planned Association Agreement with the
European Union and demonstrations ensued in the capital Kyiv. These
‘Euromaidan’ demonstrations turned violent in early 2014 and, in February
that year, some European foreign ministers mediated a compromise,
involving a unity government and early elections.

After the collapse of a power-sharing agreement on 22 February 2014,

President Yanukovych disappeared from Ukraine and a new government was
installed by the Ukrainian parliament.

Russia’s annexation of Crimea, 2014

Toward the end of February 2014, unidentified military figures, later confirmed
to be Russian personnel, surrounded the airports in Crimea, a majority-
Russian peninsula in Ukraine. The Crimean autonomous assembly was then
seized by pro-Russian forces.

In March 2014 the assembly issued a declaration of independence and a

subsequent referendum on union with Russia was held. According to Russian
election officials, 95.5% of voters supported union with Russia. The results of
that referendum are not internationally recognised.

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Since then, Russia has maintained its control over Crimea and supported pro-
Russian separatist forces who also took control of parts of the Donetsk and
Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine (the Donbas) in 2014.

Fighting between Russian-supported separatists and Ukrainian government

forces has continued in the Donbas despite the negotiation of the Minsk
Agreements in 2014/2015 which called for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of all
foreign armed groups and constitutional reform recognising the special
status of Donetsk and Luhansk.

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1 November 2013 – April 2014: Annexation

of Crimea

Key events
21 November 2013: Ukraine’s President Yanukovych
suspends trade and association talks with the EU, opting to
revive economic ties with Russia.
Protests begin in Kyiv’s Independence Square (Maidan).
6 December 2013: President Yanukovych meets Russian
President Putin for talks, to lay the ground for a new
“strategic partnership” between the two countries.
December 2013 – February 2014: Anti-government protests
continue, with some turning violent.
21 February 2014: President Yanukovych and opposition
leaders sign an EU-mediated peace pact that includes plans
for presidential elections before the end of the year.
22 February 2014: Ukraine’s parliament votes to impeach
President Yanukovych and he flees the country.
27 February 2014: Dozens of pro-Russia gunmen seize
government buildings in the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea
and raise the Russian flag. The move comes a day after
President Putin put Russia’s military on high alert.
1 March 2014: Russia’s parliament approves President
Putin’s request for Russian forces to be used in Ukraine.
21 March 2014: President Putin signs a law formalising
Russia's takeover of Crimea from Ukraine.

21 November 2013 Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych orders

the suspension of trade and association talks
with the European Union, opting to revive
economic ties with Russia.

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Several hundred Ukrainians gather in Kyiv’s

Independence Square (Maidan) to protest.

22 November 2013 Jailed Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia

Tymoshenko urges Ukrainians to protest
against the government’s decision not to sign
a trade deal with the EU.

24 November 2013 An estimated 100,000 people rally in Kyiv

against the government. Meanwhile, a pro-
government rally attracts 10,000 people.

25 November 2013 Ukrainian police fire tear gas at

demonstrators, saying they had been pelted
with objects.

Yulia Tymoshenko, in prison, begins a hunger

strike in solidarity with the protestors.

29 November 2013 At an EU summit in the Lithuanian capital,

Vilnius, President Yanukovych refuses to sign
the association agreement.

30 November 2013 Thousands of Ukrainians stage fresh protests

in Kyiv’s Independence Square. 2,000 riot
police are deployed around the square, but
only small scuffles are reported.

1 December 2013 An estimated 300,000 people protest in Kyiv

and besiege the president’s office. Dozens are
injured as police respond with tear gas,
batons and flash grenades.

6 December 2013 President Yanukovych meets Russian

President Vladimir Putin for talks in Sochi, to
lay the ground for a new “strategic
partnership” between the two countries.

8 December 2013 Hundreds of thousands of people rally in Kyiv,

in the largest protest yet. A statue of Lenin is
toppled in the city centre.

13 December 2013 President Yanukovych holds roundtable

discussions with opposition leaders, but no
breakthrough in the crisis is reached.

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15 December 2013 The EU freezes attempts to revive a political

and trade pact with Ukraine. 200,000 people
rally in Kyiv.

17 December 2013 Presidents Putin and Yanukovych hold talks in

Moscow. The Russian president agrees to buy
$15 billion of Ukrainian debt to allow the
former Soviet republic to return to economic
growth.

24 December 2013 Ukraine receives the first $3 billion tranche of

Russia’s bailout.

12 January 2014 Thousands of Ukrainians gather in Kyiv’s main

square to demand closer relations with the
EU, reviving the movement after a Christmas
and New Year lull.

17 January 2014 President Yanukovych signs into force a set of

tough new laws that ban virtually all forms of
anti-government protests, despite criticism
from Western governments.

19 January 2014 Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians gather

in central Kyiv, defying the ban on protests.

The protest later turns violent, with hundreds

of activists storming a police cordon,
attacking riot police with sticks and chains in
an attempt to push their way towards the
Ukrainian parliament. The police respond with
stun grenades, leaving a dozen protesters
injured.

22 January 2014 Two protesters are killed in clashes with

police; the first fatalities since anti-
government protests began in November
2013.

A three-hour meeting between President

Yanukovych and the three main political
opposition leaders ends without a deal.

26 January 2014 President Yanukovych offers key government

posts to opposition leaders and suggests
making a number of legislative and

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constitutional amendments during a special

emergency session of parliament.

The opposition reacts cautiously, rejecting

these initial proposals but indicating they are
open to further negotiations, including early
elections.

27 January 2014 Ukraine’s justice minister threatens to declare

a state of emergency after four government
buildings, including the city hall in central
Kyiv, are taken by protesters.

28 January 2014 Ukraine’s Prime Minister Mykola Azarov

resigns.

The Ukrainian parliament votes to annul the

anti-protest legislation.

30 January 2014 President Yanukovych announces that he will

take sick leave due to an acute respiratory
illness and high fever.

In a written statement, the UK’s Minister for

Europe urges the government and opposition
in Ukraine to find a compromise acceptable to
all sides.

31 January 2014 Still on sick leave, President Yanukovych signs

into law a conditional amnesty for those
detained in the unrest.

2 February 2014 President Yanukovych returns to work after

four days’ sick leave.

An estimated 30,000 protesters gather in

Kyiv, renewing calls for the president to step
down.

7 February 2014 The United States suggests Russia is

responsible for leaking a recording of US
diplomats discussing how to shape a new
government in Kyiv. Russia accuses the United
States of trying to foment a coup in Ukraine.

14 February 2014 Russia accuses the European Union of seeking

to create a “sphere of influence” on its
borders by pressing Ukraine to choose closer

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ties with the bloc at the expense of relations

with Moscow.

All 234 protesters arrested since December

2021 are released, although tensions remain.

18 February 2014 At least 22 people are killed and more than

200 seriously injured as protesters clash with
riot police in the worst violence since
demonstrations began.

19 February 2014 The West threatens sanctions after the death

toll rises to 26.

President Yanukovych denounces the

bloodshed as an attempted coup.

20 February 2014 Dozens are killed in fresh clashes in Kyiv, the

city’s worst day of violence for 70 years.

The foreign ministers of Germany, France and

Poland meet with President Yanukovych,
hoping to agree a roadmap with the
Ukrainian government and opposition.

21 February 2014 President Yanukovych and opposition leaders

sign an EU-mediated peace pact that includes
plans for presidential elections before the end
of the year.

22 February 2014 Ukraine’s parliament votes to impeach

President Yanukovych, who flees his Kyiv
office, denouncing what he says is a coup.

Yulia Tymoshenko is released from custody

and urges the opposition to continue their
protests.

23 February 2014 Russia recalls its ambassador to Ukraine over

what it describes as the deteriorating
situation in the country.

Ukraine's newly appointed interim president,

Olexander Turchynov, says the country will
focus on closer integration with the EU.

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24 February 2014 Ukraine issues an arrest warrant for President

Yanukovych, on charges of “mass murder” of
protesters.

Russia declares the situation in Ukraine a

“real threat” to its interests. Russian Prime
Minister Dmitry Medvedev accuses Ukraine’s
interim leaders of taking power through
“armed mutiny”.

26 February 2014 Ukraine’s acting president announces his

cabinet, which includes a number of key
figures in the protest movement.

Presidential elections are set for 25 May.

Russia puts it military on high alert and

President Putin orders major military
exercises, as concerns grow about unrest in
Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula.

27 February 2014 Dozens of pro-Russia gunmen seize

government buildings in Crimea and raise the
Russian flag.

Ukraine’s interim government summons

Russia’s envoy and warns its neighbour
against “military aggression”. Acting
president Oleksandr Turchynov warns Russian
forces not to venture out from their naval
base in Crimea.

28 February 2014 Armed men take control of two airports in

Crimea as Russia is accused of orchestrating
a “military invasion and occupation”.

Ousted President Viktor Yanukovych

resurfaces in the southern Russian city of
Rostov-on-Don, denouncing the “bandit
coup” in Kyiv, and reiterates that he remains
the legitimate president of Ukraine. He calls
on Russia to act decisively, saying he is
“surprised” by President Putin's restraint.

1 March 2014 Russia’s parliament approves President

Putin’s request for Russian forces to be used
in Ukraine. The Kremlin says the request was
submitted “in connection with the

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extraordinary situation in Ukraine and the

threat to the lives of Russian citizens”.

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague speaks

to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to
urge steps to calm the situation and
summons the Russian Ambassador to register
the UK Government’s deep concerns.

3 March 2014 Western leaders issue a joint statement

condemning Russia’s “clear violation of the
sovereignty and territorial integrity of
Ukraine” and committing to supporting
Ukraine in its efforts to restore unity, stability
and political and economic health.

4 March 2014 President Putin announces an end to military

exercises in western Russia and orders the
troops back to base.

He rules out a Russian war with Ukraine, but

reserves the right to use force “as a last
resort”.

5 March 2014 Russia rebuffs calls to withdraw troops from

Crimea, saying “self-defence” forces are not
under its command.

6 March 2014 EU leaders hold an emergency summit to

address the Ukraine crisis.

Crimea’s pro-Russia regional government

votes to join Russia and announces it will hold
a referendum on 16 March to determine
whether the region should officially join
Russia.

8 March 2014 Warning shots are fired as a team of

international military observers is turned
away from entering Crimea.

The Organisation for Security and Co-

operation in Europe (OSCE) reports no
injuries.

9 March 2014 The UK Prime Minister David Cameron calls

President Putin to discuss the situation in

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Ukraine and urges him to de-escalate the

situation.

12 March 2014 US President Barack Obama welcomes

Ukraine's interim prime minister to the White
House and pledges to “stand with Ukraine” in
its dispute with Russia.

G7 leaders issue a statement calling on

Russia to cease all efforts to change the
status of Crimea.

16 March 2014 Crimea’s secession referendum on joining

Russia is backed by over 95% of voters,
officials say.

17 March 2014 The EU and US impose travel bans and asset

freezes on several officials from Russia and
Ukraine over the Crimea referendum.

The UK Government refuses to recognise the

Crimea referendum or its outcome as being
legal or legitimate, and “condemns in the
strongest terms Russia’s flagrant disregard of
Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial
integrity”.

18 March 2014 President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of

Crimea sign a bill to absorb the peninsula into
Russia.

21 March 2014 President Putin signs the law formalising

Russia's takeover of Crimea from Ukraine,
despite fresh sanctions from the EU and the
US.

24 March 2014 Russia is expelled from the Group of Eight

(G8).

27 March 2014 The UN General Assembly votes 100–11

against recognising the Crimea referendum
result, with 58 countries abstaining.

Following the vote, UK Foreign Secretary

William Hague says: “The result reinforces the
fundamental principles upon which the UN
was founded: principles of territorial integrity
and of the non-use of force. President Putin

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should take notice of this clear and

resounding message and work together with
all parties to de-escalate the situation.”

28 March 2014 US President Barack Obama urges Russia to

“move back its troops” on Ukraine's border
and lower tensions.

Russia is believed to have amassed a force of

several thousand troops close to Ukraine's
eastern border.

7 April 2014 Pro-Russian protesters seize regional

government buildings in the Ukrainian cities
of Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv, calling for a
referendum on independence by 11 May.

15 April 2014 Ukraine's acting president, Olexander

Turchynov, announces the start of an “anti-
terrorist operation” against pro-Russian
separatists. It quickly stalls.

17 April 2014 At talks in Geneva, Russia, Ukraine, the US

and the EU say they have agreed steps to “de-
escalate” the crisis in eastern Ukraine.

Three people are killed when Ukrainian

security forces fend off a raid on a base in
Mariupol, the first violent deaths in the east.

18 April 2014 UK Foreign Secretary William Hague

welcomes yesterday's agreement on the next
steps in Ukraine and urges quick progress be
made.

He also announces a further £1 million to

support the OSCE monitoring mission.

22 April 2014 Ukraine’s acting president calls for the

resumption of military operations against
pro-Russian separatists in the east of the
country, claiming two of his party's
supporters had been “tortured to death”, in a
further blow to an unravelling international
peace plan.

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2 May 2015 – October 2021

Key events
12 May 2014: Pro-Russia separatists in Ukraine’s
easternmost areas, Donetsk and Luhansk, announce
landslide victories in referendums on “self-rule”. Ukraine
and Western countries condemn the vote.
25 May 2014: Petro Poroshenko is elected president of
Ukraine.
14 June 2014: Pro-Russia separatists shoot down a military
transport plane in eastern Ukraine, killing all 49 Ukrainian
service personnel on board.
27 June 2014: The EU signs a landmark partnership
agreement with Ukraine.
17 July 2014: Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 is shot down over
eastern Ukraine with the loss of 298 lives. A 15-month
investigation by the Dutch Safety Board (DSB) later finds the
plane was hit by a Russian-made Buk missile.
5 September 2014: Ukraine’s government and pro-Russia
rebels sign a truce in Minsk (referred to as the first Minsk
Agreement) to end almost five months of fighting. The
ceasefire collapses within days.
24 January 2015: A series of rocket attacks leave 30 people
dead and many more injured in the city of Mariupol in
eastern Ukraine.
12 February 2015: The second Minsk Agreement is signed.
9 July 2016: NATO and Ukraine sign a Comprehensive
Assistance Package.
8 June 2017: The Ukrainian Parliament votes to restore NATO
membership as the country's strategic foreign policy
objective.
1 September 2017: Ukraine's association agreement with the
European Union enters into force.

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15 May 2018: President Putin opens a 12-mile bridge between

the Russian mainland and Crimea, tightening Russia’s hold
over the annexed peninsula.
20 November 2018: The UK Government joins calls for
Russia to stop delaying or preventing access for ships to the
Sea of Azov. Restrictions on freedom of passage have been
accompanied by an increase in Russia’s military presence in
the sea.
21 February 2019: An amendment to Ukraine’s constitution,
setting NATO membership as a strategic foreign and security
policy, enters into force.
21 April 2019: Volodymyr Zelenskyy is elected president of
Ukraine in a landslide victory.
7 September 2019: Russia and Ukraine exchange dozens of
prisoners captured in the wake of Moscow's annexation of
Crimea and intervention in the Donbas. It is the first prisoner
exchange since 2014.
12 June 2020: Ukraine is granted NATO Enhanced
Opportunity Partner status.
14 September 2020: President Zelenskyy approves Ukraine’s
new National Security Strategy, with the aim of joining
NATO.
6 April 2021: Russia announces the start of mass military
drills, raising tensions with Ukraine amid Western concern
over the risk of renewed fighting.
14 April 2021: Ukraine’s defence minister says 110,000
Russian troops are massing on the border in 56 battalion-
sized tactical groups.

2 May 2014 More than 30 people are killed in violent

clashes in the Black Sea city of Odessa, as
pro-Ukrainian activists storm a building
occupied by protesters in favour of closer ties
with Russia.

3 May 2014 In response to the violence in Odessa, UK

Foreign Secretary William Hague calls on all
parties to work to restore calm and law and
order across Ukraine.

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11 May 2014 “Self-rule” independence referendums are

held in Ukraine’s easternmost areas, Donetsk
and Luhansk. Ukraine calls the vote a
“criminal farce” and Western countries also
condemn the vote.

12 May 2014 Pro-Russia separatists in Donetsk and

Luhansk announce landslide victories in the
independence referendums.

The head of the de facto electoral commission

says 89% of voters in Donetsk and 96% in
Luhansk voted for self-rule.

25 May 2014 Pro-European businessman Petro Poroshenko

is elected president of Ukraine.

14 June 2014 Pro-Russia separatists shoot down a military

transport plane in eastern Ukraine, killing all
49 Ukrainian service personnel on board.

In a statement, Ukraine's defence ministry

says “terrorists” have “cynically and
treacherously” fired on the aircraft.

24 June 2014 President Putin asks the upper house of the

Russian parliament to revoke its March ruling
that permits Russia to use troops on
Ukrainian territory.

25 June 2014 The Russian parliament’s upper house agrees

President Putin’s request, voting 153-1 in
favour of revoking authorisation for military
intervention in Ukraine.

27 June 2014 The EU signs a landmark partnership

agreement with Ukraine.

President Poroshenko hails the signing as

Ukraine's most historic day since
independence in 1991, describing it as a
“symbol of faith and unbreakable will”.

He also says he sees the signing as the start

of preparations for Ukraine joining the EU.

5 July 2014 Separatist rebels abandon the cities of

Sloviansk and Kramatorsk and some smaller

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towns, in the north of Donetsk region, to

concentrate on the battle for Donetsk city.

17 July 2014 Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, en route from

Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, is shot down
over eastern Ukraine with the loss of 298 lives.

A 15-month investigation by the Dutch Safety

Board (DSB) later finds the plane was hit by a
Russian-made Buk missile.

21 July 2014 In a statement to the House of Commons, UK

Prime Minister David Cameron says President
Putin must use his influence to end the
conflict in Ukraine by halting supplies and
training for the separatists.

The Prime Minister also calls for “proper long-

term relationships between Ukraine and
Russia; between Ukraine and the European
Union; and, above all, between Russia and
the European Union, NATO and the wider
West.”

30 July 2014 The G7 leaders issue a joint statement on the

ongoing situation in Ukraine, condemning
Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea.

22 August 2014 A Russian convoy of 260 lorries delivers

humanitarian aid to eastern Ukraine, raising
suspicion from some in the international
community. French Foreign Minister Laurent
Fabius warns the convoy “could be a cover for
the Russians to install themselves near
Luhansk and Donetsk and present us with a
fait accompli”.

26 August 2014 Ukraine releases videos of captured Russian

troops. Russia claims the troops crossed the
border “by accident”, but Ukrainian military
spokesman Andriy Lysenko says: “This wasn’t
a mistake, but a special mission they were
carrying out.”

1 September 2014 Ukraine says 700 of its men have been taken
prisoner as pro-Russia rebels advance in the
east.

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5 September 2014 Ukraine’s government and pro-Russia rebels

in the east sign a truce in Minsk (referred to
as the first Minsk Agreement) to end almost
five months of fighting.

The ceasefire deal collapses within days of

signing.

24 September 2014 NATO reports a “significant” withdrawal of

Russian troops from eastern Ukraine,
although some forces still remain.

12 October 2014 President Vladimir Putin orders thousands of

Russian troops stationed near the Ukrainian
border to return to their bases. Russian media
reports 17,600 soldiers on training exercises
in the Rostov region would be pulled back.

17 October 2014 The UK Government announces a package of

non-lethal equipment to be gifted to Ukraine,
in response to a direct request from the
General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

21 October 2014 New York-based Human Rights Watch

suggests both government forces and pro-
Russia separatists have used cluster
munitions in eastern Ukraine.

Most countries banned cluster munitions

under a convention that became international
law in 2010, but Ukraine did not sign up to it.

26 October 2014 Pro-Western parties win parliamentary

elections in Ukraine.

31 October 2014 In a deal brokered by the EU, Russia agrees to

resume gas supplies to Ukraine over the
winter. Russia had cut off Ukraine’s gas in
June as the conflict in eastern Ukraine
escalated.

2 November 2014 Pro-Russia separatists hold elections in the

two self-proclaimed people's republics in the
Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern
Ukraine. The elections are denounced as
“illegitimate” by the West.

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3 November 2014 Following the vote, President Poroshenko

holds a meeting with his security chiefs and
accuses the rebels of jeopardising “the entire
peace process”.

11 November 2014 Dutch efforts to salvage wreckage from the

Malaysia Airlines MH17 crash site stall as no
deal is reached with local rebel groups.

12 November 2014 NATO commander Gen. Philip Breedlove

warns Russian military equipment and
Russian combat troops have been seen
entering Ukraine over several days, saying:
"Russian tanks, Russian artillery, Russian air
defence systems and Russian combat troops"
had been sighted.

24 January 2015 A series of rocket attacks leave 30 people

dead and many more injured in the city of
Mariupol in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine blames pro-Russia rebels, but the

separatists say Ukrainian forces are behind
the attacks.

26 January 2015 In an extraordinary meeting of the NATO-

Ukraine Commission, NATO strongly
condemns the escalation of violence in
eastern Ukraine and urges all parties to
continue efforts to achieve a peaceful
solution, in full conformity with the Minsk
Agreement.

10 February 2015 UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond makes

a statement in the House of Commons on the
situation in Ukraine. He welcomes efforts to
achieve a peaceful resolution of the situation
in the east of the country, outlines the
package of economic sanctions which the EU
and the US is imposing on Russia, and
provides further detail on other measures
being taken by the West.

12 February 2015 Following lengthy peace negotiations

(referred to as the Normandy Format)
between Russian President Vladimir Putin,
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, French
President Francois Hollande and German

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Chancellor Angela Merkel, a new ceasefire

deal for eastern Ukraine is signed in the
Belarusian capital Minsk: the second Minsk
Agreement.

15 February 2015 UK Secretary of Defence Michael Fallon

responds to an urgent question on the
deployment of UK personnel to train Ukrainian
forces.

As part of wider UK Government efforts to

support Ukraine and ensure a robust
international response, the Defence Secretary
announces: “UK personnel will now provide to
the Ukrainian armed forces medical, logistics,
infantry, and intelligence capacity-building
training from mid-March.” (Operation Orbital)

23 February 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron announces the

UK will provide £15 million in emergency
assistance to provide food, blankets,
emergency shelter and basic medical supplies
to vulnerable and displaced Ukrainians.

3 March 2015 The Prime Minister holds a video conference

call with other world leaders to discuss how
Europe and the US should work together to
enforce the Minsk agreements.

22 March 2015 Marking a year after President Putin signed

the decree confirming the illegal annexation
of Crimea, the Foreign Secretary again
condemns the flagrant breach of Ukrainian
and international law and says Russia must
return Crimea to Ukraine.

12 October 2015 The Defence secretary issues a written

statement updating the House of Commons
on the UK’s support to training Ukrainian
personnel through Operation Orbital.

21 March 2016 On the second anniversary of Russia’s

annexation of Crimea, the Foreign Secretary
again calls for Russia to return Crimea to
Ukraine and condemns Russia’s continued
breach of international law.

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8 July 2016 The Prime Minister meets with Ukrainian

President Poroshenko at the NATO Summit in
Warsaw and reaffirms the UK's commitment
to Ukraine's sovereignty.

9 July 2016 At the NATO Summit in Warsaw, the heads of

state and government of the NATO-Ukraine
Commission endorse the Comprehensive
Assistance Package (CAP) for Ukraine,
enhancing NATO’s assistance for Ukraine.

8 June 2017 The Ukrainian Parliament votes to restore

NATO membership as the country's strategic
foreign policy objective.

In a statement, the parliament announced it

had passed the bill “to amend the Ukrainian
laws on national security and internal and
foreign policies. The new laws hereby enact
Ukraine's commitment to achieve NATO
membership strategically by having made it
legally binding,”

11 June 2017 Ukraine's association agreement with the EU

is ratified by all signatories, promoting
deeper political ties, stronger economic links,
and respect for common values between the
two.

5 July 2017 The Defence Secretary announces the UK has

directly trained over 5,000 members of
Ukraine’s Armed Forces; 1,000 more than
initially targeted.

1 September 2017 Ukraine's association agreement with the

European Union enters into force.

December 2017 The US, under President Trump’s

administration, approves the largest
commercial sale of lethal arms to Ukraine
since 2014, moving beyond the non-lethal
military assistance that the Obama
administration allowed.

15 May 2018 President Putin opens a 12-mile bridge

between the Russian mainland and Crimea,

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Conflict in Ukraine: A timeline (2014 - eve of 2022 invasion)

tightening Russia’s hold over the annexed

peninsula.

31 August 2018 Alexander Zakharchenko, the leader of a

Kremlin-backed separatist republic in eastern
Ukraine is killed in a blast close to his official
residence in Donetsk. He had been appointed
prime minister of the so-called Donetsk
People’s Republic (DNR) in November 2014.

20 November 2018 The UK Government joins calls for Russia to

stop delaying or preventing access for ships
to the Sea of Azov, following a discussion at
the EU Foreign Affairs Council. Restrictions on
freedom of passage have been accompanied
by an increase in Russia’s military presence in
the sea.

27 November 2018 Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt responds

to an urgent question on Russian action in the
sea of Azov and the subsequent declaration of
martial law in parts of Ukraine.

He says: “Our position is clear: Russia’s

actions are not in conformity with the United
Nations convention on the law of the sea or
the 2003 Russia-Ukraine bilateral agreement,
which provides free passage in the sea of
Azov, including for military ships.”

30 November 2018 The foreign ministers of the G7 countries issue

a statement expressing their concern over
Russia's actions against Ukraine in the Kerch
Strait.

5 January 2019 The Ukrainian Orthodox Church gains formal

independence from the Russian Orthodox
Church. The Ukrainian church had been under
the jurisdiction of the Moscow patriarchate
since 1686 and the move is predicted to
heighten geopolitical tensions in the region.

21 February 2019 An amendment to Ukraine’s constitution,

setting NATO membership as a strategic
foreign and security policy, enters into force.

18 March 2019 On the fifth anniversary of Russia’s annexation

of Crimea, UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt

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Conflict in Ukraine: A timeline (2014 - eve of 2022 invasion)

condemns Russia and says: “The UK will never

recognise Russia’s illegal annexation of
Crimea and we call on Russia to end their
illegitimate control of the peninsula and their
attempts to redraw the boundaries of
Europe.”

21 April 2019 Former actor and comedian Volodymyr

Zelenskyy defeats Petro Poroshenko in the
presidential election, promising to tackle
corruption and end the conflict in eastern
Ukraine. It is a landslide victory, with
Zelenskyy taking over 70% of the votes.

21 July 2019 President Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People

party wins a majority of seats in the
parliamentary election.

22 August 2019 Prime Minister Boris Johnson calls President

Zelenskyy and reiterates the UK’s support in
ending the conflict in the Donbas.

7 September 2019 Russia and Ukraine exchange dozens of

prisoners captured in the wake of Moscow's
annexation of Crimea and intervention in the
Donbas.

Both countries free 35 prisoners as part of the

exchange, the first since 2014.

There is controversy, however, over Ukraine’s

decision to hand Vladimir Tsemakh over to
Moscow, a separatist commander thought to
be involved in the downing of Malaysia
Airlines MH17 in July 2014.

4 November 2019 The Defence secretary issues a written

statement updating the House of Commons
on Operation Orbital. UK Armed Forces
personnel deployed on Operation Orbital have
trained over 17,500 members of the Armed
Forces of Ukraine since 2015.

20 March 2020 Ukraine enters its first lockdown to tackle the

Covid-19 pandemic.

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Conflict in Ukraine: A timeline (2014 - eve of 2022 invasion)

9 June 2020 The International Monetary Fund (IMF)

approves a $5bn lifeline to support Ukraine
during a pandemic-induced recession.

12 June 2020 Ukraine is granted NATO Enhanced

Opportunity Partner (EOP) status. This status
is part of NATO’s Partnership Interoperability
Initiative, which aims to maintain and deepen
cooperation between Allies and partners that
have made significant contributions to NATO-
led operations and missions.

14 September 2020 President Zelenskyy approves Ukraine’s new

National Security Strategy. which provides for
the development of a distinctive partnership
with NATO, with the aim of NATO
membership.

8 October 2020 On a two-day visit to the UK, Ukrainian

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime
Minister Boris Johnson sign a landmark
Strategic Partnership Agreement, paving the
way for stronger cooperation between the UK
and Ukraine.

31 December 2020 The UK-Ukraine Political, Free Trade and

Strategic Partnership Agreement enters into
force.

20 February 2021 President Zelenskyy’s government imposes

sanctions on several Ukrainian politicians
with close ties to Russian President Putin,
including political heavyweight Viktor
Medvedchuk, the Kremlin’s most prominent
ally in Ukraine.

20 February 2021 The UK reaffirms its support of Ukraine’s

sovereignty and territorial integrity, seven
years after Russia annexed Crimea.

To mark the seventh anniversary of the

annexation, the UK Government announces
funding for a new project to improve access to
vital services for Ukrainians living in Crimea.

5 April 2021 Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks to

President Zelenskyy and expresses the UK’s
significant concerns about the recent Russian

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Conflict in Ukraine: A timeline (2014 - eve of 2022 invasion)

military activity on Ukraine’s border and in

Crimea.

6 April 2021 Russia announces the start of mass military

drills, raising tensions with Ukraine amid
Western concern about the risk of renewed
fighting.

14 April 2021 Russia and Ukraine hold simultaneous

military drills as NATO foreign and defence
ministers began emergency discussions on
the massing of Russian troops near the
Ukrainian border.

Ukraine’s defence minister, Andrii Taran, says

110,000 Russian troops are massing on the
border in 56 battalion-sized tactical groups,
citing Kyiv’s latest intelligence.

22 April 2021 After weeks of tension over the build-up of

Russian troops close to Ukraine's border,
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu
announces Russia will re-deploy its forces
back to their home bases by 1 May,
temporarily averting the crisis.

2 September 2021 During a visit to the White House, President

Zelenskyy presses US President Biden for a
firm commitment to NATO membership, but
gets little encouragement.

26 October 2021 Ukraine uses a Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drone in

combat for the first time in eastern Ukraine,
angering Russia.

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 Conflict in Ukraine: A timeline (2014 - eve of 2022 invasion)

3 Ukraine crisis: November 2021 – 23

February 2022

Key events
13 November 2021: President Zelenskyy says nearly 100,000
Russian troops have massed on the border with Ukraine.
17 December 2021: Russia presents a list of security
demands in order to defuse the crisis over Ukraine, including
a legally binding guarantee that Ukraine will never be
accepted as a NATO Member State and that NATO will give
up any military activity in eastern Europe and Ukraine.
22 January 2022: In a rare reference to intelligence-
gathering, the Foreign Office exposes evidence of a plot to
install a pro-Russian government in Ukraine.
24 January 2022: The US places 8,500 troops on heightened
alert to deploy to Europe as NATO reinforces its eastern
borders with warships and fighter jets.
10 February 2022: Russia launches what is being called its
largest military exercise since the Cold War, holding joint
manoeuvres with Belarus, close to the Belarus/Ukrainian
border.
21 February 2022: President Putin recognises the
independence of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s
Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic. He then orders
Russian troops into the territories for what he describes as
“peacekeeping duties”.

13 November 2021 After weeks of increasing numbers of Russian

troops massing near the border with Ukraine,
President Zelenskyy says nearly 100,000
Russian soldiers are massed by mid-
November.

7 December 2021 US President Joe Biden warns Russia of

sweeping Western economic sanctions if it

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Conflict in Ukraine: A timeline (2014 - eve of 2022 invasion)

invades Ukraine. In a two-hour virtual

meeting with President Putin, Biden voices the
“deep concerns of the United States and our
European allies about Russia’s escalation of
forces surrounding Ukraine”.

8 December 2021 UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss hold talks with

her counterpart in Ukraine, Foreign Minister
Dmytro Kuleba, in the face of Russian
aggression.

This is the first UK-Ukraine Strategic Dialogue,

part of an agreement signed by the Prime
Minister and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
during his visit to London a year earlier.

12 December 2021 G7 Foreign Ministers and the High

Representative of the European Union issue a
statement on Russia’s military build-up and
aggressive rhetoric towards Ukraine.

The statement calls on Russia to “de-

escalate, pursue diplomatic channels, and
abide by its international commitments on
transparency of military activities”.

13 December 2021 The Prime Minister speaks to President Putin

and expresses the UK Government’s deep
concern over the build-up of Russian forces
on Ukraine’s border, and reiterates “the
importance of working through diplomatic
channels to de-escalate tensions and identify
durable solutions”.

17 December 2021 Russia presents a highly contentious list of

security demands in order to lower tensions in
Europe and defuse the crisis over Ukraine,
including a legally binding guarantee that
Ukraine will never gain NATO membership
and NATO will give up any military activity in
eastern Europe and Ukraine.

23 December 2021 The Foreign Secretary condemns Russia’s

“aggressive and inflammatory rhetoric
against Ukraine and NATO”, adding: “NATO is
a defensive alliance and Ukraine continues to
show commendable restraint in the face of
Russian provocation and aggression.”

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Conflict in Ukraine: A timeline (2014 - eve of 2022 invasion)

10 January 2022 US and Russian diplomats hold a day of

negotiations in Geneva over the fate of
Ukraine. The talks are later described as
“useful” and “very professional”, but no
progress is made towards resolving
fundamental disagreements.

12 January 2022 The NATO-Russia Council meets.

13 January 2022 The OSCE Permanent Council meets, in a pre-

planned session and irrespective of the
situation in Ukraine. Western allies, including
the Head of the UK delegation welcome the
proposal to use the OSCE as a forum for
revitalised European security talks.

14 January 2022 A massive cyberattack leaves Ukrainian

government websites temporarily
unavailable.

The websites are hacked with a message in

Ukrainian, Russian and Polish, saying
Ukrainians’ personal data had been leaked
into the public domain.

The message reads, in part: “Be afraid and

expect the worst. This is for your past, present
and future.”

15 January 2022 UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace meets

Nordic partners amid a backdrop of
aggressive Russian behaviour on the border
of Ukraine.

22 January 2022 In a rare reference to intelligence-gathering,

the Foreign Office exposes evidence of a plot
to install a pro-Russian government in
Ukraine.

Former Ukrainian MP Yevhen Murayev is

identified as being the potential candidate
under consideration to lead this pro-Russian
government.

24 January 2022 The US places 8,500 troops on heightened

alert to deploy to Europe as NATO reinforces
its eastern borders with warships and fighter
jets, amid growing fears of a possible

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Conflict in Ukraine: A timeline (2014 - eve of 2022 invasion)

“lightning” attack by Russia to seize the

Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

25 January 2022 In a statement to the House of Commons, on

the UK’s response to the situation in Ukraine,
the Prime Minister outlines several measures
being considered. These include imposing
heavy economic sanctions on Russia.

26 January 2022 The US and NATO deliver separate written

responses to Russia’s security demands. The
US rules out Russia’s demand to halt NATO’s
eastward expansion, but says it is open to
talks on arms control.

28 January 2022 As President Biden announces additional US

troop deployments to eastern Europe,
President Putin says the US and NATO have
not addressed Moscow’s main security
demands.

The Kremlin lists Russia’s principal concerns

as avoiding NATO expansion, not deploying
offensive weapons near Russia’s borders and
returning NATO military capabilities and
infrastructure to how they were before former
Warsaw Pact states in Eastern Europe joined
the alliance. Russia also seeks guarantees
that Ukraine will be permanently barred from
joining NATO.

31 January 2022 In a statement to the House of Commons,

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss updates Members
on what the UK Government is doing to tackle
Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

The Foreign Secretary announces the UK is

supplying Ukraine with defensive, anti-tank
missiles, and deploying a training team of
British personnel. 21,000 members of the
Ukrainian army have already been trained
through Operation Orbital.

The UK will also increase investment in

Ukraine’s future, ramping up support for
trade up to £3.5 billion, including £1.7 billion
to boost Ukraine’s naval capability.

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Conflict in Ukraine: A timeline (2014 - eve of 2022 invasion)

1 February 2022 Prime Minister Boris Johnson and President

Zelenskyy hold a joint press conference in
Kyiv.

The Prime Minister emphasises the UK’s

“unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s
sovereignty, independence, and territorial
integrity within its internationally recognised
borders”.

2 February 2022 The US announces it will send an additional

2,000 soldiers to Europe and reposition a
further 1,000 from Germany to Romania, to
ensure the “robust defence” of European
NATO members amid the ongoing impasse
between Russia and Ukraine.

Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby says:

“These movements are unmistakable signals
to the world that we stand ready to reassure
our NATO allies and deter and defend against
any aggression.”

The UK Prime Minister speaks to Russian

President Putin and expresses his deep
concern about Russia’s current hostile activity
on the Ukrainian border, and stresses any
further Russian incursion into Ukrainian
territory would be a “tragic miscalculation”.

4 February 2022 Meeting at the start of the Winter Olympics in

Beijing, Presidents Xi Jinping of China and
Vladimir Putin of Russia sign a joint statement
calling on the West to “abandon the
ideologised approaches of the cold war”.

In a joint statement released by the Kremlin,

Putin and Xi call on NATO to rule out
expansion in eastern Europe, denounce the
formation of security blocs in the Asia Pacific
region, and criticise the Aukus trilateral
security pact between the US, UK and
Australia.

7 February 2022 French President Emmanuel Macron meets

President Putin for lengthy talks at the
Kremlin, aimed at preventing a Russian
attack on Ukraine. Macron warns the two

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Conflict in Ukraine: A timeline (2014 - eve of 2022 invasion)

sides need to work quickly to avoid the risk of

an escalation.

8 February 2022 Following a meeting with President Zelenskyy

in Kyiv, President Macron says the standoff
between Russia and Ukraine could take
months to resolve.

Meanwhile, six Russian warships and a

submarine pass through the Dardanelles
strait, heading towards the Black Sea from
the Mediterranean. Russia’s Defence Ministry
describes the deployment as a pre-planned
movement of military resources.

9 February 2022 President Biden tells Americans still in Ukraine

to leave as soon as possible, amid fears of a
Russian invasion. He warns: “Things could go
crazy quickly.”

10 February 2022 Russia launches what is being called its

largest military exercise since the Cold War,
holding joint manoeuvres with Belarus, close
to the Belarus/Ukrainian border.

Russia’s Defence Ministry says the exercise

will continue until 20 February and includes
30,000 personnel, warplanes, missile
launchers and live-fire exercises, with a focus
on “suppressing and repelling external
aggression during a defensive operation.”

The White House denounces the operation as

yet another escalation of tensions along the
Ukraine border.

The UK Prime Minister travels to Brussels and

Warsaw, calling on international partners to
demonstrate their solidarity with those NATO
allies who will bear the brunt of Russian
aggression.

During a visit to Moscow, the UK Foreign

Secretary meets her Russian counterpart,
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and
condemns Russia’s build-up of forces on the
border with Ukraine.

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Conflict in Ukraine: A timeline (2014 - eve of 2022 invasion)

11 February 2022 UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace holds talks

with his Russian counterpart, the Minister of
Defence of the Russian Federation, General of
the Army Sergei Shoigu. This is the first time
the two nations’ defence ministers have met
since General Shoigu visited London in 2013,
and the first time a British Defence Secretary
has visited Moscow since 2001.

The Prime Minister holds a virtual meeting

with the leaders of the US, Canada, Italy,
Poland, Romania, France, Germany, the
European Council, the European Commission
and NATO. The leaders pledge to redouble
diplomatic efforts in the coming days to de-
escalate the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

The UK Government updates its travel advice

to Ukraine, advising British nationals against
all travel to Ukraine. British nationals
currently in Ukraine are urged to leave
immediately while commercial means are still
available.

In an interview with NBC News, US President

Biden again tells American citizens to leave
Ukraine, saying there are no plans for a
military operation to rescue them.

It is reported that Russia has now amassed

some 140,000 troops close to the border with
Ukraine and in annexed Crimea.

14 February 2022 Russia’s ambassador to the EU says Moscow

would be within its rights to launch a
“counterattack” if it felt it needed to protect
Russian citizens living in eastern Ukraine.

G7 Finance Ministers meet to discuss the

situation in Ukraine and issue a statement
“supporting the ongoing efforts to urgently
identify a diplomatic path towards de-
escalation”.

15 February 2022 President Putin confirms a “partial”

drawdown of Russian forces near the
Ukrainian border, in a step that could begin a
de-escalation of tensions. However, NATO

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Conflict in Ukraine: A timeline (2014 - eve of 2022 invasion)

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says

there is no immediate sign of a withdrawal.

The Duma, Russia’s lower house of

parliament, votes to ask President Putin to
recognise the Donetsk People’s Republic and
Luhansk People’s Republic as independent.

16 February 2022 In a “Unity Day” holiday created earlier in the

week by President Zelenskyy, Ukrainians raise
national flags and play the country's anthem
to show unity against fears of a Russian
invasion that Western powers say could be
imminent.

17 February 2022 Addressing a UN Security Council meeting, US

Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Russia
is preparing an invasion of Ukraine “in the
coming days” and that there is no evidence it
is withdrawing any troops.

Russia expels the US deputy chief of mission

(DCM) to Russia, Bart Gorman, the US’s
second most senior diplomat in Moscow. The
US State Department describes the move as
“an escalatory step”.

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss criticises the

Duma’s request for President Putin to
recognise the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk
and Luhansk as independent, saying it shows
a “flagrant disregard” for Russia’s peace
process commitments.

The Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace,

announces a substantial UK contribution to
NATO’s uplift in Eastern Europe, doubling the
number of personnel in Estonia and sending
additional equipment, including tanks and
armoured fighting vehicles.

18 February 2022 US ambassador to the Organisation for

Security and Cooperation in Europe, Michael
Carpenter, says Russia has “massed between
169,000 and 190,000 personnel in and near
Ukraine”.

President Biden says he is “convinced”

Russia’s president has decided to invade

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Conflict in Ukraine: A timeline (2014 - eve of 2022 invasion)

Ukraine, but says there is still time for

diplomacy to avert war.

19 February 2022 Prime Minister Boris Johnson meets Ukrainian

President Zelenskyy at the Munich security
conference and underscores the UK’s
unequivocal support for Ukraine’s sovereignty
and territorial integrity.

Foreign Minister Liz Truss tells the conference

that Ukraine could face the “worst-case
scenario” of a Russian invasion as soon as
next week, and Europe faces one of its most
perilous security situations since the early
20th century.

A joint statement from G7 foreign ministers

urges further diplomacy but warns it will
“judge Russia by its deeds”.

Russia’s strategic nuclear forces hold

exercises overseen by Putin. The Kremlin says
Russia successfully test-launched hypersonic
and cruise missiles at sea and land-based
targets during the exercises.

20 February 2022 President Macron of France invites Russian

President Putin and US President Biden to
attend a summit aimed at de-escalating the
Ukraine crisis. The leaders agree in principle.

The US administration signals its willingness

to work towards a diplomatic solution, but
reiterates its view that Russian forces have
been ordered to proceed with an invasion of
Ukraine.

Satellite images appear to show new

deployments of Russian troops and armoured
equipment, with some just 15 kilometres from
the border with Ukraine.

21 February 2022 President Putin recognises the independence

of the two breakaway territories in eastern
Ukraine – the Luhansk People’s Republic and
Donetsk People’s Republic. Treaties of
friendship, cooperation and mutual
assistance were signed by Russia and the
leaders of the LPR and DPR. Several Western

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Conflict in Ukraine: A timeline (2014 - eve of 2022 invasion)

leaders condemn the move, calling it a

violation of the Minsk peace deal.

Putin orders Russian troops into the territories

for what he describes as “peacekeeping
duties”.

In a statement to the House of Commons,

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace updates
Members on Russia's actions towards
Ukraine. He notes an increased number of
Russian troops massing around the border
with Ukraine, saying: “As of 09.00 hours
today, there are now more than 110 battalion
tactical groups massed around Ukraine’s
borders with Russia and Belarus. In addition,
in the Black Sea Fleet, there are two
amphibious groups, nine cruise missile-
equipped Russian ships and a further four
cruise missile-capable vessels in the Caspian
sea.”

In the evening, Prime Minister Boris Johnson

speaks to Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy to discuss the deteriorating
situation in and around Ukraine, and warns
an invasion is a real possibility in the coming
hours and days.

The UN Security Council meets in the evening

for an emergency session, at the request of
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba.

22 February 2022 NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg

tells reporters there is “every indication is
that Russia is continuing to plan for a full-
scale attack of Ukraine”.

In a statement to the House of Commons, the

Prime Minister updates Members on the
situation in Ukraine and condemns President
Putin’s violation of the Minsk peace
agreements in recognising the so-called
people’s republics of Donetsk and Luhansk as
independent.

The Prime Minister outlines a package of

sanctions to be imposed on “Russian

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Conflict in Ukraine: A timeline (2014 - eve of 2022 invasion)

individuals and entities of strategic

importance to the Kremlin”.

He also provides an update on the measures

the UK has taken to prepare Ukraine for
another onslaught: “Training 22,000 soldiers,
supplying 2,000 anti-tank missiles, and
providing £100 million for economic reform
and energy independence.” A new guarantee
of up to $500 million of Development Bank
financing is also announced.

Following Russia’s recognition of two so-

called “people's republics” and the movement
of military forces into Ukraine, the Foreign
Office summons the Russian Ambassador to
register the UK’s formal protest over Russia’s
“continued undermining of Ukraine’s
territorial integrity and sovereignty and
flagrant disregard for the international
obligations and commitments it has freely
signed up to”.

The US and EU also impose sanctions on

Russia, and Germany announces it will halt
certification of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

23 February 2022 Ukraine prepares its population for the

prospect of a devastating war, with the
parliament voting to approve a state of
emergency decree, allowing authorities to
“impose curfews and restrictions on
movement, block rallies and ban political
parties and organisations”. The decree will
begin on 24 February and last for 30 days.

Airports in the eastern Ukrainian cities of

Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Zaporizhzhia close their
air space, and the nearly 3 million Ukrainians
still in Russia are told to leave the country as
soon as possible.

President Putin says Russia is ready to look for

“diplomatic solutions” over Ukraine, but
stresses his country’s interests are non-
negotiable. In an address marking the
Defender of the Fatherland Day, Putin is cited
as saying: “Our country is always open for
direct and honest dialogue, for the search for
diplomatic solutions to the most complex

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Conflict in Ukraine: A timeline (2014 - eve of 2022 invasion)

problems. The interests of Russia, the security

of our citizens, are non-negotiable for us.”

Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik, the

respective heads of the so-called People’s
Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, request
help “in repelling the aggression of the
Ukrainian armed forces”, according to the
Interfax news agency, quoting Kremlin
spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Several analysts
suggest these requests could be the pretext
Russia uses to launch an attack on Ukraine.

The UN General Assembly meets to discuss

the Ukraine crisis, with several member states
calling for Russia to deescalate and spelling
out the consequences of an invasion.

38 Commons Library Research Briefing, 22 August 2023

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