Questions about the Ukraine-Russia conflict, answered

The U.S. and its allies have imposed severe sanctions on Russia.

ByNadine El-Bawab

February 25, 2022, 7:09 PM

What you need to know about the Russia-Ukraine conflict

As Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, what you should know about how and why it started.

AP

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday launched an all-out military assault on Ukraine after weeks of denying "hysteria" from the West about the possibility of a Russian invasion.

Despite calling the attack a "special military operation" in the eastern Donbas region, bombing campaigns began across almost the entirety of Ukraine, including near the capital of Kyiv, and Russian forces crossed borders from three sides of Ukraine, including Russian-occupied Crimea to the south and Ukraine's neighbor Belarus to the north.

Putin claimed Russia's plans did not include occupying Ukraine, while warning other countries not to interfere or "face consequences greater than any you have faced in history."

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This is not the first time in recent years that Russia has invaded Ukraine, a former Soviet republic. In 2014, Russia invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea.

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