The Russia-Ukraine war has been going on for more than two and a half years, but no steps have been taken towards a ceasefire.
Let’s take a look at the background of this battle. If we look at the war between Russia and Ukraine, it is actually not two and a half years old, but it has been almost a decade since it started. From the beginning, Russia has been trying to prevent Ukraine from becoming a part of the European Union and NATO countries. It has created all kinds of obstacles in Ukraine’s way to achieve this goal.
A similar attempt was made by Russia in late 2013 when Ukraine was due to sign an agreement to become a member of the European Union and Russia blocked it by offering other rewards. Russia also offered to lend more than $100 Billions at that time.
Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych delayed the deal with European Union and agreed with Russia. The agreement was delayed and protests started across the country. The Ukrainian people did not like their government’s move to bow to Russia. In Ukraine, under the Revolution of Dignity, the people overthrew the government of that time and re-elections were held in the country. The new president signed the deal with the European Union
In this way, Russia’s efforts to stop Ukraine from signing the agreement with the European Union failed. But during all this, Russia invaded Crimea and took control of it through highly disputed referendum. Russia also supported eastern separatist groups and made them separate from Ukraine which are called People’s Republic of Donetsk and People’s Republic of Luhansk.
Due to all this, the tension between Russia and Ukraine increased, starting the Donbas War at that time, but in 2015, Russia and Ukraine reached a ceasefire under the Minsk II agreement. But in 2021, Russia began to back away from its agreement. According to The Washington Post on November 10, 2021, it is claimed that Russia was increasing its military equipment and troop numbers along the Ukrainian border. Seeing all this, the United States and some European countries asked Russia to refrain from taking any steps against Ukraine. Russia has denied any claims of aggression against Ukraine.
According to US intelligence agencies, Russia was going to invade Ukraine on February 16, 2022. But their claim was proved wrong. China is said to have pressured Russia not to take any steps that would affect the Beijing Olympics in China. February 20 was the last day of the Beijing Olympics in China, and on February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia recognized the People’s Republic of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent and sovereign states.
After that, Russia begins military operations in Ukraine and on February 24, 2022, Putin’s statement comes out, in which he begins the war in Ukraine under the name of “Special Military Operation”. This action of Russia was widely condemned at the international level. Several states also decided to impose substantial economic sanctions on Russia.
Since February 2022, the war between Russia and Ukraine has been going on and Russia has taken control of many parts of Ukraine. Russian forces are advancing from the north of Ukraine through Belarus towards Ukraine. On the other hand, Ukraine has advanced some of its forces towards Russia in August 2024 and Ukrainian military said that the special military units have been entered Kherson, Russia. Similarly, they also occupied some areas inside Russian territory.
The Ukrainian president says that Ukraine will temporarily occupy Russian territories. According to experts, this step of Ukraine is quite bold, but it will face quite big risks.
