A map detailing where Russian troops have struck around Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine Wednesday night, launching airstrikes and plunging Europe into a nightmare not seen since the darkest days of World War II.īut Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was a massive escalation of a conflict that has been simmering since Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.Īt issue are two separatist states - Donetsk and Luhansk - that have been in open, if muted, conflict with Kyiv since 2014, as well as larger questions about Russia’s sphere of influence and Ukraine’s place in greater Europe.
