Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine
- Date
- 24 February 2022
- Category
- Military & conflict
- Region
- Ukraine, Eastern Europe
- Era
- Contemporary
- Significance
On 24 February 2022 Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the largest armed conflict in Europe since the Second World War, escalating a war that had begun with Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and intervention in the Donbas.
Russian forces advanced on Kyiv and multiple fronts but met fierce Ukrainian resistance, and the assault triggered a vast humanitarian crisis, with millions of refugees fleeing the country. Western nations responded with sweeping sanctions on Russia and large-scale military and financial aid to Ukraine, while NATO reinforced its eastern flank and Finland and Sweden moved to join the alliance. The war severely disrupted global energy and food markets: Russia cut gas supplies to Europe, plunging it into an energy crisis, while Russia and Ukraine — together accounting for nearly 30 percent of global wheat exports — saw Black Sea grain exports interrupted, driving food prices sharply higher and worsening hunger in import-dependent nations. The invasion became a central driver of the 2022 global inflation surge and reshaped European security.
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Further reading
The wider story
The Age of Extremes: The Short Twentieth Century, 1914-1991
The classic account of Europe and the world's turbulent twentieth century.
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