Ukrainian military forces walk in front of damaged buildings on the front line with Russian-backed separatists in Mariinka, Donetsk region, February 7.
Aleksey Filippov / AFP via Getty Images
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Ukrainian military forces walk in front of damaged buildings on the front line with Russian-backed separatists in Mariinka, Donetsk region, February 7.
Aleksey Filippov / AFP via Getty Images
In the latest outbreak of the crisis in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin in Monday recognized the independence of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent and ordered military forces to be deployed there.
The rebel-controlled territories, Luhansk and Donetsk, include a larger region called Donbas that borders Russia. Two territories have led by pro-Russian separatists for nearly a decade.
Experts warn that Putin’s ordering of the military to carry out what he calls a “peacekeeping function” in the region – and what President Biden has now been called the beginning of an invasion — could provide the basis and pretext for a larger Russian military attack on Ukraine.
To understand why Luhansk and Donetsk have played such a central role in the most recent escalation of the conflict, it is necessary to go back to the popular uprising that started the current unrest in Ukraine, which is already simmering. since 2013.
The Maidan Revolution led to a major political change in Ukraine
In November of that year, then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych announced that he would refuse to sign an agreement with the European Union to include Ukraine in a free trade agreement, citing pressure from Russia.
The move sparked massive protests in Ukraine calling for Yanukovych to step down. In February 2014, violence between police and protesters left dozens dead; Yanukovych eventually fled to Russia and the Ukrainian parliament formed a new government.
Welcoming the new government and Yanukovych’s overthrow in a coup, Putin sent troops into Crimea, a former Soviet republic that has been part of Ukraine since 1954.
During the day Russia annexed CrimeaDespite international pressure from the United States and its European allies, the post-referendum seems to have resulted in 97% of voters choosing to join Russia, although the outcome is controversial.
In April 2014, fighting began just northwest of Crimea across the Sea of Azov, in another pro-Russian stronghold called Donbas.
Rising separatist factions in Luhansk and Donetsk are encouraged
Clashes quickly broke out between pro-Russian rebels in the Donbas and Ukrainian military forces, with some 40,000 Russian troops stationed just across the border. (In a similar warning to his more recent public outings, Putin said at that time that Russia has no intention of invading Ukraine and that it will only send troops into the country if necessary.)
Critics accuse Russia of supporting the uprising in eastern Ukraine, although Moscow denies that.
In late April 2014, Ukraine’s interim President Alexander Turchinov said the government had lost control of the eastern part of the country.
Then there were years of tense relations between the Ukrainian government in Kyiv and the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic.
A man walks past an abandoned building in the town of Avdiivka, Donetsk region on February 21.
Aleksey Filippov / AFP via Getty Images
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A man walks past an abandoned building in the town of Avdiivka, Donetsk region on February 21.
Aleksey Filippov / AFP via Getty Images
A 2014 regional referendum found strong support of the secessionist residents from Ukraine, and a national presidential election in the spring is tarnished by obstruction and in some cases violence in the seceding east, when clashing continue.
Then the Ukrainian government decision to grant autonomy to the breakaway regions and amnesty for fighters, although the move was limited to declaring the regions completely independent. It was a big concession from the government, though some separatists said it didn’t go far enough. On-again-off-again fighting continues even if both sides have agreed on a ceasefire.
The conflict in eastern Ukraine continues today
The violent power struggle in eastern Ukraine, although it has at times cooled to a boiling point, has never really ended.
In 2019, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Putin because peace negotiations face to face about continued violence in eastern Ukraine, but the discussions did not lead to a lasting solution.
More than 13,000 people have died as a result of the conflict and more than 1.5 million have been displaced, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
Activists hold banners and chant slogans during an “Empire must die” rally outside the Russian embassy in Kyiv on February 22.
Sergei Supinsky / AFP via Getty Images
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Activists hold banners and chant slogans during an “Empire must die” rally outside the Russian embassy in Kyiv on February 22.
Sergei Supinsky / AFP via Getty Images
Now the threat of great violence looms again.
US officials say that the recent warning from Denis Pushilin, leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, about an impending attack by Ukrainian troops was nothing more than that. “false flags” operation meant to sow instability. Russian state media have also accused the Ukrainian military of killing civilians, though again no proof to back up their statements.
Western powers say they support Ukraine’s sovereignty and have provided the country with military equipment to defend itself, but they have not sent their own troops to hit back at the Russian advance.
Instead, now that Biden has called Russia’s latest move an invasion, Western powers are responding with sanctions that they hope will end any further escalation in Ukraine. .
