Ukraine

Background reviewed 2026-10-23 · Background as of 2026-10

Background

Armed conflict in Ukraine began in 2014 in the eastern Donbas region and escalated into a full-scale war when Russian forces invaded on 24 February 2022. Fighting, strikes on cities and attacks on energy infrastructure have been reported across much of the country since then.

The war is fought along a long front line in the east and south, while long-range missile and drone strikes reach cities far from the front on both sides of the border. Diplomatic efforts, including talks mediated by the United States, have taken place repeatedly since 2025 without producing a lasting ceasefire.

Events on this page are collected from news reports and grouped by place and time. Reports about the same incident from different outlets are shown together so that readers can compare them.

History

Ukraine became independent when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, and its borders, including Crimea, were recognised by Russia in several agreements, among them the 1994 Budapest Memorandum under which Ukraine gave up the nuclear weapons left on its territory.

Political divisions over closer ties with the European Union or with Russia shaped the following decades. The 2004 Orange Revolution followed a disputed presidential election, and in 2013–2014 mass protests in Kyiv, known as Euromaidan, led to the departure of President Viktor Yanukovych. Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the armed conflict in Donbas followed within weeks. The Minsk agreements of 2014 and 2015 reduced but never ended the fighting, and an international monitoring mission recorded ceasefire violations along the line of contact until 2022.

Main parties

Ukraine — Armed Forces of Ukraine and other state security forces, supported with weapons and funding by many European countries and the United States.
Russia — Russian Armed Forces and affiliated formations operating in Ukraine and in Russian border regions.

Key dates

2014-03 — Russia annexes Crimea following a disputed referendum; the annexation is not recognised by most UN member states.
2014-04 — Armed conflict begins in parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
2015-02 — Minsk II agreement signed, aimed at a ceasefire in Donbas.
2022-02-24 — Russia launches a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
2022-09-30 — Russia declares the annexation of four partly occupied Ukrainian regions; the move is widely rejected internationally.
2022-11 — Ukrainian forces return to the city of Kherson.
2024-08-06 — Ukrainian forces cross into Russia’s Kursk region.
2025-05-16 — Russian and Ukrainian delegations meet in Istanbul, the first direct talks since 2022.
2025-08-15 — US and Russian presidents meet in Alaska to discuss the war.
2026-10 — New rounds of US-mediated talks are announced while large-scale strikes continue.

Humanitarian situation

UN agencies describe the war as having caused one of the largest displacement crises in Europe since the Second World War, with millions of people displaced inside Ukraine or living as refugees abroad.

Repeated strikes on power plants and the electricity grid have caused long blackouts, especially in winter. Communities near the front line face the greatest risks and the most limited access to services.

How to read reports about Ukraine

Front lines change often; a place named in a report is not necessarily held by either side.
Air-raid alerts and interceptions are reported widely; we map an event only when at least two independent outlets report damage at a known city.

Recent events

Loading…