While most Americans are focused on Venezuela and Greenland right now, the full-scale war in Ukraine continues to rage on, nearing its fourth anniversary. Ukrainian cities and Russian energy and military infrastructure continue to be destroyed, along with recent threats of using nuclear weapons by Russia. 

While there are certainly more recent and more urgent international developments, the Russo-Ukrainian War should not be forgotten. This conflict not only affects the political and military aspects of both countries, but also the social and educational factors of them and the future of Europe as a whole.

There are many opinions regarding the war, some based on the economic burden on the United States and diplomatic ties with Ukraine. While those opinions can be understandable, it is important to learn the history behind the conflict to understand it better and form a better opinion on the matter.

On Aug 25, 1991, Ukraine, along with other Eastern European and Central European countries, gained independence from the Soviet Union. It was the first time since 1920 that the Ukrainian people had their own nation. Along with its independence came its first president, Leonid Kravchuk. Three years after independence, he signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and agreed to surrender former Soviet nuclear weapons in Ukraine. By signing the treaty, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States agreed to protect Ukraine’s independence through the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances. 

Furthermore, in 1997, Russia and Ukraine signed the Treaty of Friendship, recognizing existing borders and allowing Russia to lease the naval base at Sevastopol in the contentious region of Crimea; the region contains many Russians and Ukrainians together. While those diplomatic decisions were debated amongst the Ukrainian populace, they assured autonomy and safety for the country, something they have not had for a long time.

Then controversy came in 2004 when the highly contentious Ukrainian presidential election came underway; then incumbent and pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych would be challenged by pro-Western candidate Viktor Yushchenko. Many Ukrainians, particularly those in support of Yuschenko, were fed up with the corrupt government of the pro-Russian president Leonid Kushma and his successor Yanukovych. They wanted change. Unfortunately for them, Yanukovych had reportedly won the election. However, it was revealed later that the election was fraudulent due to widespread reports of ballot stuffing, voter intimidation, falsification, and even the attempted assassination of Yushchenko.

This triggered public outcry from Yushchenko’s supporters. They took to Maidan Nezalezhnosti, also known as Kyiv’s Independence Square, clad in orange to match his campaign colors. It worked as a runoff election would be held. Yushchenko would eventually win the second time. Naturally, the United States and European Union allies praised his supporters and victory, while Russia saw this as a renewal of Western imperialism.

Yushchenko did not live up to the promises of the Orange Revolution and thus did not come close to being reelected. A shift came in 2010. Yanukovych came back to run against Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, with the pro-Russian winning. Having finally been elected president, Yanukovych would be able to steer Ukraine towards Russia instead of the European Union. In 2013, Yanukovych rejected a trade agreement with the European Union, spurring protests in the same place where his apparent fraudulent victory was protested. The protests turned violent the following year, with reports of protestors being killed by security forces. Yanukovych promptly fled to Russia; Parliament would vote him out of power.

In late February, Russian troops were seen in Crimea, whereRussia would later occupy the region in March. This was met with much scrutiny from the West. To justify the takeover, the Russian government conducted a referendum with official results claiming that 97% voted to join Russia. Although one must understand that under a military takeover, it would be challenging to vote and speak against the military without consequence. Russian President Vladimir Putin would then sign a treaty annexing Crimea, which was the first annexation of European territory since World War II.

A little less than a month from that, pro-Russian separatists seized government buildings in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, also known as the Donbas. These separatists would form their own republics: the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics. Russia would give them support, including weapons, to defend themselves. While it may not be clear if the Russian military was directly involved, a Malaysia Airlines airplane was shot down over the Donbas region, killing 298 people aboard. An investigation confirmed a Russian-supplied missile was used; two separatists and a Russian would be arrested for murder. To try to prevent bloodshed, the Minsk Protocol was initiated as a ceasefire attempt; it was unsuccessful. In February of the next year, an official agreement was signed in Minsk with the same purpose, but, like the previous one, was also unsuccessful. Low-intensity war would continue in Donbas for seven years. While the fighting was relatively minor, over 14,000 people were still killed during that time.

In late 2021, Russia mobilized over 100,000 troops near the border with Ukraine. It was a warning to complement Putin’s demands to NATO, a Western military organization against Russia, to never accept Ukraine as a member; if Ukraine were to be a member, it would receive full support from many European countries and the United States. In February of the following year, Russia officially recognized the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, while also dispatching Russian troops into those regions. This would eventually lead to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the largest military attack in Europe since World War II. 

Russia aimed for Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, to hopefully change the regime quickly. However, they were met with heavy resistance. So much so that they withdrew troops from northern Ukraine to focus on the southern and eastern fronts. Furthermore, Russia announced that it would annex four Ukrainian regions despite not fully controlling them: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. They made slow but steady progress in Eastern Ukraine. Despite this, Ukraine, under the leadership of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, managed to hold on and even recapture land. They defended themselves so well that, in fact, they even launched the Kursk offensive to pierce into Russian territory in August 2024. In response, Russia painted the eastern Ukrainian landscape with heavy missile strikes and big tanks. Recently, on Jan 7, Russia launched nuclear-capable missiles at drone-making and energy infrastructure.

This war drew worldwide support for both Ukraine and Russia. Sweden and Finland, previously neutral in the conflict, applied for NATO membership in May 2022. The United States also sent support through supplies and financial aid. Meanwhile, more than 10,000 North Korean troops were reportedly deployed to support Russia in November 2024. 

On the Ukrainian side, around 46,000 troops were killed and about 380,000 wounded. On the opposite side, the figures range from around 220,000 to over 350,000 killed and 700,000 to 900,000 wounded.  For citizens on both sides, around 16,000 were officially pronounced dead, as well as nearly seven million refugees seeking asylum in other European countries and the United States. This war not only killed, injured, and displaced people, but also set them back years in education and health. Because of the constant bombing and moving, Ukrainian children have been unable to consistently attend school and learn. Additionally, the Russian missile targets on power grids have caused hospitals and refrigerators to cease functioning. 

While United States President Trump has engaged in diplomatic efforts with both Putin and Zelensky this year, the war continues to this day with no near ending.