Recent History of Ukraine

Up until November 2013, the EU and Ukraine had been in talks to form a closer relationship under the "European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement". At the last minute, the Ukraine government backed out and proposed that rather than signing the agreement, they would prefer a tripartite agreement between Ukraine, the EU and Russia.

This was allegedly due to restrictions that the EU would place on Ukraine's ability to trade with Commonwealth of Independent States countries after they had signed. The Ukrainian Government stated this would severely damage Ukraine's economy as Russia was Ukraine's biggest trade partner at the time. The President at the time was Viktor Yanukovych, a Russian who had been voted into power in 2010.

In response to the breakdown of talks, huge protests broke out in Kiev from frustrated Pro-EU citizens. The "Euromaidan Protests" were followed by the Maidan Revolution in February 2014 which saw the President Yanukovych ousted from the Government in what some describe as a coup, and replaced by a Pro-EU Ukrainian President instead. It is alleged this coup was orchestrated by the EU/US who used Yanukovych's Russian nationality to stoke up distrust and hatred against him by Pro-EU fanatics.

Directly after ousting Yanukovych, an anti-Russian nationalistic agenda became apparent in the interim Ukrainian Government who adopted a bill to disestablish Russian as a minority language of Ukraine, despite it being the major language spoken in Eastern and Southern Ukraine. Most of the people in the Eastern regions did not accept the replacement Pro-EU Government and viewed it as illegitimate.

Soviet monuments were targeted and vandalised/destroyed by Pro-EU nationalists intent on erasing Russian heritage from the country, and eight former officials tied to Yanukovych were alleged to have "committed suicide" (however it later transpired that at least five were likely murdered). By May 2014 the Neo-Nazi Azov Battalion of the Ukraine National Guard had formed who would later murder, torture and rape Ethnic Russians in Eastern Ukraine.

The replacement Ukrainian Government fascists were so anti-Russian, that they ordered their military to shell Ethnic Russian residential areas such as Horlivka in Donetsk resulting in the deaths 235 civilians including 22 children. They viewed these deaths as acceptable collateral in their bid to stamp out any Pro-Russia sentiments that opposed the Pro-EU views of the new Government.

This all culminated in the ousted Yanukovych (who Russia still considered the legitimate President) requesting Putin send Russian military support into Southern and Eastern Ukraine. This then led to the subsequent annexing of Crimea, a majority Ethnic Russian territory, and the declaration from Donetsk and Luhansk that they too wish to be recognised as separate People's Republics, and not part of Ukraine.

The Minsk II agreement was then drawn up in 2015 to grant Donetsk and Luhansk their independence, however due to ongoing civil war in Ukraine over the past eight years, resulting in over 14,000 deaths, the agreement has never been formally settled. 

Recently Donetsk and Luhansk have declared their independence despite the Minsk II agreement not being finalised; Russia have accepted the declared independence and have sent military support into the regions to help the Russians there repel Ukrainian military attacks. In a bid to neutralise the Ukrainian military who continued to attack the Eastern territories, Russia had targeted their military infrastructure in other areas of the country.

The West refuse to recognise Donetsk and Luhansk as independent and view Russia's entry into those regions as a hostile invasion of Ukrainian territory. Russia argue that they are peacekeeping and protecting Ethnic Russians from an illegitimate and fascist Pro-EU Government.

This is pretty much where we're at today.