The road to war: A brief history of Russo-Ukrainian crisis
Ukrainian service members ride atop armoured fighting vehicles during tactical drills at a training ground in an unknown location in Ukraine, in this handout picture released February 22, 2022. Photo :Reuters
- 1991: Leonid Kravchuk, leader of the Soviet republic of Ukraine, declares independence from Moscow.
- 2004: Pro-Russian candidate Viktor Yanukovich is declared president but allegations of vote-rigging trigger protests in what becomes known as the Orange Revolution.
- 2005: Yushchenko takes power with promises to lead Ukraine out of the Kremlin`s orbit, towards NATO and the EU.
- 2008: NATO promises Ukraine it will one day join the alliance.
- 2013: Yanukovich`s government suspends trade and association talks with the EU and opts to revive economic ties with Moscow, triggering protests.
- 2014: The protests turn violent. In February, parliament votes to remove Yanukovich, who flees. Within days, armed men seize parliament in the Ukrainian region of Crimea and raise the Russian flag. Moscow annexes the territory after a March 16 referendum which shows overwhelming support in Crimea for joining the Russian Federation.
- In April, pro-Russian separatists in the eastern region of Donbass declare independence. Fighting breaks out which has continued sporadically, despite frequent ceasefires, into 2022.
- In May, businessman Petro Poroshenko wins a presidential election with a pro-Western agenda.
- 2015: The Minsk Protocol was signed to bring the fighting in Ukraine's eastern Donbass region to a halt.
- 2017: An association agreement between Ukraine and the EU opens markets for free trade and visa-free travel.
- 2019: Volodymyr Zelenskiy defeats Poroshenko in a presidential election on promises to end the war in eastern Ukraine.
- Jan 2021 – Volodymyr Zelenskiy appeals to US president Biden to let Ukraine join NATO.
- Early 2021 – Russia starts gathering troops near Ukraine's borders in what it says are training exercises.
- 7 Dec 2021 - Biden warns Russia of sweeping Western economic sanctions if it invades Ukraine.
- 17 Dec 2021 - Russia presents detailed security demands including a legally binding guarantee that NATO will give up any military activity in eastern Europe and Ukraine.
- 3 Jan 2022 - Biden reassures Ukraine that the US will "respond decisively" if Russia invades Ukraine.
- 17 Jan – Russian forces start arriving in Belarus, to the north of Ukraine, for joint drills.
- 1 Feb - Putin denies planning an invasion and accuses the US of ignoring his country's security demands.
- 7 Feb - French President Emmanuel Macron sees some hope for a diplomatic resolution of the crisis after meeting Putin in the Kremlin. Macron then visits Kyiv and praises the "sang-froid" of Zelenskiy and the Ukrainian people.
- 9 Feb - Biden says "things could go crazy quickly" as the US State Department advises Americans in Ukraine to leave immediately. Other countries also urge their nationals to leave.
- 12 Feb - Biden and Putin hold talks via video conference, without achieving anything substantial.
- 14 Feb - Zelenskiy urges Ukrainians to fly flags and sing the national anthem in unison on 16 Feb, a date some Western media say Russia could invade.
- 21 Feb - France's Macron says Biden and Putin have agreed in principle to a summit over Ukraine. Putin signs a decree recognising two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent entities.
- 23 Feb: Western nations, including Australia and Japan, hit Russia with travel bans and financial sanctions in response to what world leaders called an invasion of Ukraine's sovereignty. The US, the EU, Britain, Australia, Canada and Japan announced plans to target banks and wealthy individuals while Germany halted a major gas pipeline project from Russia.
- 24 Feb: Russian President Vladimir Putin launches a military operation in Ukraine, primarily targeting military bases near big cities. US President Biden warns of "consequences" for Russia and said the world would "hold Russia accountable" for its actions. Fierce fighting breaks out in several places, resulting in dozens of casualties on both sides. The Ukrainian President declares martial law, and calls for citizens to fight. He also says weapons will be issued to anyone willing to fight.
