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Russia–Ukraine: origins, war since 2014 and timeline
This dossier traces the Russia–Ukraine war from the seizure of Crimea and the start of fighting in the Donbas in 2014, through the full-scale invasion of 24 February 2022 and its military, diplomatic, economic and humanitarian consequences. It distinguishes recognised sovereignty, claimed annexations and actual military control.
Earlier milestones explain relations between the two states since Ukrainian independence in 1991: the 1994 Budapest security assurances, the 1997 friendship treaty, the 2003 Tuzla crisis, gas disputes and the 2010 Kharkiv agreements. The suspension of preparations for the European Union agreement in November 2013 opens the Euromaidan crisis. These antecedents are distinguished from the war that began in 2014; each entry links to its sources.
The timeline follows Ilovaisk, Donetsk airport, Debaltseve, the Minsk agreements, disengagement attempts, fighting and the humanitarian crisis in Avdiivka in 2017, the trade blockade, detainee exchanges and the Kerch maritime crisis. It then documents the war’s expansion, Ukrainian territorial recaptures, Bakhmut, international justice, grain, energy, external assistance and negotiations. Retrospective investigations are identified and claims remain attributed.
This selection of turning points includes canonical occurrences from the archived energy dossier. It expands previously sparse years without providing an exhaustive daily record: local fighting, successive sanctions, all weapons deliveries and population displacement are not detailed. Cumulative military losses and complete territorial control remain coverage limitations.
Last updated : 80 key moments
Kstovo industrial area, 29 August 2007. Archive image; it does not show the attack. Vmenkov, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, unchanged. — Vmenkov / Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ — 29 août 2007, sans modification.
Where things stand
On 31 October 2026, residents evacuated from Russian-occupied Oleshky reached Kyiv-controlled territory after travelling through Russia and Belarus. The exact number arriving has not been published. The truce remains local. Washington has authorised a potential sale of 500 Patriot interceptors, with no evidence of delivery; the proposed €45 billion in EU loans for 2027 remains subject to adoption.
Reported information
Armed conflict spreads to the Donbas
According to the OSCE’s retrospective report, Ukraine’s government launches a military operation on 13 April 2014 after armed groups seize public buildings in the east.
Parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions fall outside Kyiv’s control. Separatist formations establish self-proclaimed authorities there.
The OSCE describes this sequence in its March 2015 humanitarian report. This entry dates the government’s military response; it does not assign a single starting day to all fighting in the Donbas.
Ukraine: UN General Assembly adopts resolution 68/262
On 27 March 2014 in New York, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 68/262 on Ukraine’s territorial integrity. The vote was 100 in favour, 11 against and 58 abstentions, according to UN records and Reuters.
The text reaffirms Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders. It says the 16 March referendum in Crimea and Sevastopol cannot provide a basis for changing their status and calls for non-recognition of such a change.
Reuters notes that the resolution is non-binding. The vote therefore expresses a diplomatic position, without establishing a change in control on the ground. The document was issued on 1 April 2014, but explicitly records adoption on 27 March.
On 18 March 2014, Vladimir Putin signs a treaty in Moscow incorporating Crimea into Russia. Kyiv and Western countries reject the annexation.
The signature follows the 16 March referendum held after Russian forces seized strategic sites on the peninsula. It does not establish international recognition of a change of sovereignty.
This entry distinguishes Russia’s annexation act from the subsequent UN General Assembly decision, already documented in this dossier on 27 March.
Armed men seize Crimea’s parliament and government buildings
On 27 February 2014, armed men without insignia seize Crimea’s parliament and government headquarters in Simferopol, days after the change of power in Kyiv.
The buildings are occupied and the Russian flag is raised. Contemporary reporting describes forces whose identification remains uncertain at the time; that initial uncertainty must be distinguished from subsequent documentation of Russian intervention.
The seizure precedes the 16 March referendum and Moscow’s signing of the annexation on 18 March.
Parliament removes Yanukovych after the Maidan protests
On 22 February 2014, Ukraine’s parliament votes that Viktor Yanukovych is unable to perform his duties after leaving Kyiv, Reuters reports.
The vote follows the Maidan protests and deadly violence in the capital. A transition agreement negotiated the previous day has failed to stabilize the situation.
This political upheaval provides the immediate context for the Crimea crisis. The parliamentary vote must be distinguished from the actors’ competing political descriptions, including Moscow’s characterization as a coup.
Kyiv suspends EU agreement preparations, triggering protests
On 21 November 2013, Ukraine’s government suspends preparations to sign an association agreement with the European Union. The decision triggers the first Euromaidan protests.
The government proposes reviving economic relations with Moscow and considering three-way trade talks with the EU and Russia. Demonstrators oppose the abandonment of closer European ties.
This political crisis directly precedes Yanukovych’s fall in February 2014, already covered in the dossier.
Kharkiv agreements extend the Russian fleet’s presence in Crimea
On 21 April 2010, Viktor Yanukovych and Dmitry Medvedev reach an agreement in Kharkiv extending the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s stationing in Ukraine until 2042 in exchange for gas discounts.
Dmitry Medvedev arrives in Kharkiv on 21 April 2010. — President Press and Information Office / Kremlin.ru / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Aucune modification.
The arrangement links a military issue, Russia’s presence in Sevastopol, to an energy negotiation. It changes the 2017 expiry date for the naval facilities lease.
This is an agreement on military stationing on Ukrainian territory, not a transfer of sovereignty over Crimea.
Russian gas transit through Ukraine resumes after January crisis
On 20 January 2009, Russian gas begins transiting Ukraine towards Europe again after a complete interruption since 7 January amid a commercial dispute between Moscow and Kyiv.
Gazprom and Naftogaz signed new supply and transit contracts on 19 January. Implementation allows flows to resume after winter disruptions affecting several European countries.
This episode predates the war and illustrates the importance of gas prices and transit infrastructure in Russian-Ukrainian relations.
On 23 October 2003, authorities in Russia’s Krasnodar region order work suspended on a dam extending towards Ukraine’s Tuzla Island in the Kerch Strait.
Leonid Kuchma on Tuzla Island on 23 October 2003. ArmyInform archive. — ArmyInform / Wikimedia Commons, auteur non identifié, CC BY 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Archives du 23 octobre 2003, sans modification.
Construction has triggered a territorial crisis between Moscow and Kyiv. Russia cites protection against coastal erosion; Ukraine describes a threat to its territory and strengthens surveillance of the island.
The halt reduces the immediate risk of confrontation without settling every navigation and border issue.
Moscow and Kyiv sign a treaty recognising their borders
On 31 May 1997, Boris Yeltsin and Leonid Kuchma sign the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership between Russia and Ukraine in Kyiv.
Article 2 affirms mutual respect for territorial integrity and the inviolability of existing borders. The two countries jointly transmit the document to the United Nations.
This commitment provides a documentary reference for understanding subsequent territorial disputes. Signature is distinct from the treaty’s entry into force.
Budapest Memorandum sets out security assurances for Ukraine
On 5 December 1994, Ukraine, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom sign a memorandum in Budapest linked to Ukraine’s accession to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The signatories reaffirm respect for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and existing borders, and a commitment to refrain from the threat or use of force.
These assurances accompany Ukraine’s nuclear disarmament. The text does not create a collective defence alliance comparable to NATO.
