Crimean Crisis
On February 20th, 2014, Russia annexed Ukraine, specifically the Crimean Peninsula. This would mark the beginning of the war. Three days later, the biggest pro-Russian mass meeting that was held thus far was held in Sevastopol. This would be the first time that calls to not recognize Ukraine’s authority would be publicly announced. At around the same time, Russian businessman Aleksei Chaly was elected as mayor, however, some sources, particularly Ukrainian ones, question its legitimacy. More protests and rallies would be held in the upcoming days, and a referendum would be held on March 16th, 2014 that completely went against international norms was held. This included; it being conducted under the presence of Russian troops, it being conducted without the consent of the Ukrainian government, and biased wording, This is the reason why the referendum is not widely internationally recognized, and the Ukrainian government has declared it illegal since then. On March 25th, 2014, the Ukrainian minesweeper Cherkasy would be seized, and this would mark the complete annexation of Crimea.
A storm brewing
The war would go relatively cold until October 2021, when Russia would amass soldiers on the border between the two countries as well as in Belarus. By February 2022, around 190,000 Russian personnel would be around the border, and an invasion would seem imminent. Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, would dismiss these claims as nothing more than exercises that were scheduled previously. Later, Putin would issue demands calling for veto power over the expansion of NATO and containment of forces that have been members since 1997. This would mean that the cutoff for membership would be Spain, which joined in 1982. These proposals would be sent to the proverbial paper shredder, and Russia would respond by recognizing the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, located in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in Ukraine respectively. Russian troops were ordered to the regions as “peacekeepers” and military activity in the Donbas, which had been recorded but denied by Russia since 2014, became overt. Western leaders responded with sanctions. On February 24th, 2022, at about 6 AM in Moscow (about 10 PM in Washington DC), Putin, the president of Russia, would announce the commencement of a “special military operation” in Ukraine. Minutes later, explosions were heard in major cities across Ukraine. And air raid sirens in Kyiv were sounded. Western leaders responded with sanctions against Russia. The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, would respond by declaring martial law and ordering a general mobilization of the military-aged population.
War
The First major battle of the war would be the battle of Hostomel Airport (also known as the battle of Antonov Airport), located 12 miles away from the Ukrainian capital on February 24th, 2022, and would last until February 25th. Russian paratroopers would attempt to seize the airport to use it to rapidly advance to Kyiv. The battle ended in Russia gaining control of the Airport, but damage rendered it unusable, meaning that it was functionally useless, and any planned operations were obsolete.
Meanwhile, a garrison on Snake Island, a little island off the coast of Odesa Oblast (region) fairly close to Romania, was under threat by the Russian Navy. Two Russian warships, the patrol ship Vasily Bykov and cruiser and flagship of the Russian Black Sea fleet Moskva had set off to take control of the island. The Moskva radioed the defenders to surrender, and while the response can be translated in several ways, it’s typically translated as “Russian warship, go F*** yourself” (however, it can also be translated as “F*** you, Russian Warship”). The defenders were able to fend off two attacks but were forced to surrender due to a lack of ammunition. The phrase would be immortalized, being compared to other battle taunts such as “Molon Labe” (Translation: come and take them) from the Battle of Thermopylae and “Nuts!” from the Battle of the Bulge.
Telling Russian vehicles to **** themselves
The brave response from the Ukrainian defenders sparked others to do the same in the future. On February 26th, 2022, a Railway junction connecting Russian and Ukrainian railways was blown up by Ukrainian troops. This was done to block supplies from being delivered to the Russian Army. Russia proceeded to ask the Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railway Service) to restore the rails for alleged humanitarian purposes, and they got the simple response of “Russian train, go F*** yourself”. In a separate incident, a Russian ship asked a Georgian oil tanker for a refuel. The tanker asked for confirmation of if they were Russian or not, and when they got their confirmation, the Georgian tanker responded “Russian ship, go F*** yourself”. Lastly, the Ukrainian band Botashe made a song named ПНХ, which translates from Ukrainian into English as PNH and includes the famous line about Russian warships.
War (continued)
While all that was happening, Russian troops in Belarus crossed the border and occupied the Chornobyl power plant as part of a general advance of Kyiv. Russian forces in Crimea crossed into the mainland, captured Kherson, and attempted an encirclement in Kharkiv.
As the war entered its second month, The Russian offensive started to fall apart. Russian Paratroopers in Hostomel were isolated and were cursed by unrelenting artillery, and Russian troops had to withdraw from the Kyiv suburbs of Irpin and Bucha, where war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed, most of them targeted towards civilians.
On April 14th, 2022, the Russian cruiser and flagship of the Russian Black Sea fleet Moskva, famous for being one of the ships present during the Snake Island incident, sunk in the Black Sea. Ukraine would claim that two of their Neptune anti-ship missiles would sink it while Russia would claim that it was ammunition exploding in bad weather. However, analysis of the conditions at the time shows that the weather was generally fair.
On August 6th, 2024, Ukraine would make its incursion into the Kursk Oblast. This would mark the first time since WWII that Russia has had land conquered from them by an opposing military force. The international community hasn’t said that this is illegal but rather said that it follows Article 51 of the UN Charter on self-defense.
In November 2024, North Korea would send volunteers to assist the Russian military. This move is strange, considering North Korea’s fear of outside influence. Sending North Koreans abroad could have them pick up ideas the government considers incorrect, such as why everywhere else is so luxurious. This has happened before, in 1992, North Korea was barely able to hold off a coup started by military officers who just returned from studying in Moscow.
Early in February 2025, Ukraine renewed its offensive in Kursk. However, as of writing, it is too early to tell how it will pan out.
In Conclusion
The war in Ukraine has been steadily going on without an end in sight. Despite all the flowery depictions that we who are not on the front see of the war, people, only cared about as a faceless number, are still dying there. Do not forget them.
