A monastery and warehouse lie in ruins following fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces on Oct. 23, 2022 in Slovyansk, in the Donetsk region as Ukraine reclaimes more territory in the east. Photo: Carl Court/Getty Images
The latest:
- Russian military plane crashes into residential building in Siberia
- Russia orders immediate evacuation from occupied Kherson
- Russian commander says Kherson situation "difficult" as Ukraine advances
- Freedom Caucus chair floats potential Ukraine peace talks probe
- Ukraine aid under threat in Republican-controlled House
- Russian attacks destroyed 30% of Ukrainian power stations, Zelensky says
- Death toll rises from "kamikaze" drone strikes in Kyiv
- Russia targeting civilian areas to forcibly enlist men into Ukraine war
How we got here:
- The crisis in eastern Ukraine escalated drastically on Feb. 21 when Putin recognized two pro-Russian separatist "republics" and sent Russian "peacekeepers" to the territories.
- Ukraine has been battling Russian-backed separatists in the east since 2014, when Russia also occupied and annexed the Crimean Peninsula. U.S. officials began warning in November that Putin could be planning another incursion, possibly to topple the pro-Western government in Kyiv.
- The U.S. and its European allies had met with Russian officials in a variety of settings to try to build a diplomatic off-ramp, while also warning that an invasion could be imminent.
- Russia had issued a series of demands, including a legal guarantee that Ukraine will never join NATO. At the same time, Putin amassed more than 150,000 troops along Ukraine's borders and conducted unprecedented military drills — preparing the option to take military action if Russia didn't secure the concessions it was seeking.
Axios explains Ukraine:
- Why Ukraine wants a no-fly zone — but is unlikely to get one
- The "kamikaze" drones the U.S. is giving to Ukraine
- What Russia's war in Ukraine means for global economic growth
- What global companies are abandoning Russia, and why
- Divesting from Russia is easier said than done
- How Russia's invasion of Ukraine is changing air travel
- What to know about Ukraine's wartime president
- Why SWIFT matters to Russia
- Here are the Russian oligarchs speaking out against invading Ukraine
- Economic warfare's collateral damage
- Why it's so hard to quit Russian energy
- Why gas prices are so high and what Biden can do about it