It didn’t just start with a news alert. It started with a land grab.
1️⃣ The Oversimplified Version (For When You’re In a Hurry)
TL;DR:
While the massive, full-scale invasion that everyone saw on the news began on February 24, 2022, the war in Ukraine actually kicked off eight years earlier, in February 2014, when Russia invaded and annexed Crimea and then began backing a separatist war in eastern Ukraine.
What Actually Happened:
- The Spark (Feb 2014): Ukraine had a revolution (the Euromaidan Revolution) and kicked out its pro-Russian president because he rejected closer ties with the West in favor of Russia. Moscow was not pleased.
- Act I: The Land Grab (March 2014): In response, Russia sent troops (the infamous “little green men” in unmarked uniforms) into Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and, after a sham referendum, annexed it.
- Act II: The “Hidden” War (April 2014 – Feb 2022): Russia then began funding, arming, and supporting separatist forces in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. This started a grinding trench war that killed over 14,000 people long before the 2022 invasion.
- The Big One (Feb 24, 2022): After eight years of this simmering conflict, Russia dropped all pretense and launched a massive, multi-front invasion of the entire country, escalating the regional conflict into a full-scale international war.
Why It Mattered:
Knowing the war started in 2014 is key. It shows that the 2022 invasion wasn’t a sudden, unprovoked act out of nowhere, but a massive escalation of a conflict that had been raging for years over Ukraine’s right to exist as a sovereign, pro-Western nation.
Bonus Fun Fact:
In 1994, Ukraine agreed to give up its massive Soviet-era nuclear arsenal in exchange for a promise—signed by Russia, the U.S., and the U.K.—to “respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine.” Awkward.
Oversimplified Rating: 🕰️🕰️🕰️🕰️🕰️ Historical Fuse Level: Very, Very Long.
2️⃣ The War’s Long, Complicated Origin Story
A Tale of Two Timelines: 2014 vs. 2022
When you ask, “When did the war in Ukraine start?” you’re stepping into one of modern history’s most crucial and contested questions. The answer depends on your definition of “war.” Was it the moment tanks crossed the border in a full-scale blitz, or the moment the first shot was fired in a conflict that never really ended?
For most of the world, the date seared into memory is February 24, 2022. This was the day Russia launched its “special military operation”—a massive, undeniable invasion aimed at Kyiv. But for Ukrainians, the war had been a grim reality for eight years prior. The real starting point was February 2014. To understand why, you have to rewind a bit.
What Led To It? A Post-Soviet Divorce and a Turn to the West
When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, Ukraine declared independence. For Russia, this was like losing a limb. Many in Moscow viewed Ukraine not as a truly separate country, but as a historically essential part of Russia’s “sphere of influence”—a “little brother” that had gone astray.
Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Ukraine teetered between leaders who wanted closer ties with Russia and those who looked toward the West, particularly the European Union and NATO. This tension boiled over in 2004 with the Orange Revolution, a series of mass protests against a fraudulent, pro-Russian election result. It was a clear sign that a huge portion of the Ukrainian population wanted a democratic, European future.
The breaking point came in late 2013. President Viktor Yanukovych, a pro-Russian leader, was expected to sign a landmark association agreement with the EU. At the last minute, under intense pressure from Moscow, he backed out. Ukrainians were furious. This sparked the Euromaidan Revolution, months of massive protests in Kyiv’s central square that ended with Yanukovych fleeing the country in February 2014.
The First Invasion: Crimea and the Donbas (The 2014 Chapter)
Russia saw the Euromaidan Revolution as a Western-backed coup on its doorstep and acted immediately.
- Annexation of Crimea (February-March 2014): In late February, highly-trained Russian special forces without insignia (the so-called “little green men”) seized control of government buildings, airports, and military bases across Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. Russia orchestrated a hasty and illegal “referendum” and formally annexed Crimea on March 18, 2014. This was the first forcible annexation of territory in Europe since World War II.
- War in Donbas (April 2014 onward): Just weeks later, a suspiciously well-armed and organized “separatist” movement emerged in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, an industrial heartland with a large population of Russian speakers. These forces, covertly organized, funded, and even led by Russian operatives, declared independent “people’s republics” in the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk.
When the Ukrainian army tried to restore control, Russia sent in its own regular army units to back the separatists. This ignited the War in Donbas. From 2014 to 2022, this was a brutal, grinding conflict with trenches, artillery duels, and sniper fire. A series of peace deals, known as the Minsk Agreements, were signed but failed to stop the fighting. Over 14,000 soldiers and civilians were killed during this “low-intensity” phase of the war.
The Full-Scale Escalation: The 2022 Invasion
For eight years, Russia denied its direct involvement in the Donbas, calling it a “civil war.” But by late 2021, it had amassed nearly 200,000 troops on Ukraine’s borders.
On February 24, 2022, Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation,” claiming its goals were to “demilitarize” and “denazify” Ukraine and protect Russian speakers. This was a massive escalation. Russian forces attacked from the north, east, and south, bombing cities and attempting to seize the capital, Kyiv.
The 2014 conflict had been contained to Ukraine’s east and south. The 2022 invasion was an attempt to subjugate the entire country and extinguish its sovereignty for good. It was the moment the long, simmering war exploded into a full-blown fire.
🔍 Mini FAQ: What People Also Ask
Q: So, when did the war in Ukraine really start?
A: The full-scale invasion was February 24, 2022, but the conflict began in February 2014 with Russia’s invasion and annexation of Crimea and the start of the war in Donbas.
Q: Why did Russia invade Ukraine?
A: Russia claims it was to protect Russian speakers and prevent Ukraine from joining NATO. Most of the world views it as an act of imperialist aggression to crush Ukrainian democracy and restore Russian control.
Q: What is Crimea?
A: A peninsula in southern Ukraine on the Black Sea. It has a large ethnic Russian population and was annexed by Russia in 2014 in a move condemned as illegal by the international community.
Q: What is the Donbas region?
A: The industrial heartland of eastern Ukraine, comprising the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. It has been the site of a Russian-backed separatist war since 2014.
Q: Was Ukraine part of Russia before?
A: Ukraine was a part of the Russian Empire and later a founding republic of the Soviet Union. However, it has its own distinct language, culture, and a long history of fighting for the independence it finally secured in 1991.
Q: What was the Euromaidan Revolution?
A: A wave of pro-European protests in 2014 that ousted Ukraine’s pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych, triggering Russia’s military intervention.
Q: What are the Minsk Agreements?
A: A pair of failed ceasefire agreements signed in 2014 and 2015 that were intended to stop the war in Donbas but were never fully implemented by Russia or Ukraine.
Q: Is this World War III?
A: While it’s the largest land war in Europe since WWII with major global consequences, it is not technically World War III as there is no direct combat between Russia and NATO forces.
By dumbhistory
No comment yet, add your voice below!