*A look at some of the key moments starting from the end of the 20th Century up to today's conflict between Russia and Ukraine, derived from The New York Times. (For a more detailed timeline, please follow the source below).
1991
The Soviet Union is terminated via a treaty. Ukraine becomes independent and begins a transition to a market economy. It also comes into possession of a significant stockpile of nuclear weapons that had belonged to the Soviet Union.
1994
Under the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine gives up its nuclear arsenal in exchange for a commitment from Moscow “to respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine.
February 2014
Protesters in Ukraine overthrow President Viktor Yanukovych, who was friendly to Russia’s interests. The interim government that followed this pro-Western revolution eventually signs a trade agreement with the European Union that is seen as a first step toward membership of the bloc.
April 2014
Russia invades and then annexes the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. Two secessionist regions, the Donetsk People’s Republic and the neighboring Luhansk People’s Republic, break off from Ukraine. The war continues in the eastern Ukrainian region known as Donbas. It then spreads west. Roughly 13,000 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians eventually die in the conflict. The front lines have barely shifted for years.
2014-2015
Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany sign a series of cease-fire agreements known as the Minsk Accords. Many view these accords as ambiguous.
April 2019
A former comedian, Volodymyr Zelensky, is elected by a large majority as President of Ukraine on a promise to restore Donbas to the country.
2021-2022
President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia seeks to prevent Ukraine’s drift toward the United States and its allies. Mr. Putin demands “security guarantees,” including an assurance by NATO that Ukraine will never join the group and that the alliance pulls back troops stationed in countries that joined after 1997.
Many Russians view the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, as the birthplace of their nation and cite the numerous cultural ties between the two countries.
Feb. 21, 2022: Russia Recognizes Breakaway Ukrainian Regions as Sovereign
Feb. 24, 2022: Russia Launches Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine
