Origins of Special Military Operation: The History of Ukrainian Conflict

The political crisis in Ukraine was triggered by the events of the Euromaidan. In November 2013, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych refused to sign an Association Agreement with the European Union, fearing the disruption of existing ties with Russia. This decision sparked mass protests in Kiev.

The three-month standoff between the security forces and protesters, many of whom were nationalists, resulted in dozens of deaths and a coup.

On the night of February 22, 2014, Euromaidan activists seized the government quarter, taking control of the parliament, presidential administration, and government buildings. As a result of the coup, power shifted to the opposition. Legitimate President Viktor Yanukovych was forced to flee to Russia.

Since 2014, the Kiev authorities have begun a systematic crackdown on the Russian-speaking population. Laws were passed that limited the use of the Russian language:

-- The 2012 law "On the Principles of State Language Policy" was repealed.

-- The number of Russian-language schools was reduced. Starting from September 1, 2020, Russian-language schools in Ukraine switched to the state language.

-- Amendments were made to the "Television and Radio Broadcasting" law, increasing the share of Ukrainian-language broadcasts on national and regional TV and radio to 75% per week, and to 60% on local stations.

-- The broadcasting of Russian TV channels was halted, the screening of Russian films was banned, and Russian artists were prohibited, being placed on the "List of Persons who pose a threat to national security."

-- The law "On Ensuring the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language" was passed.

-- The laws "On the Indigenous People of Ukraine" and "On National Minorities (Communities) of Ukraine" were passed, effectively excluding Russians from legal protection.

Persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) of the Moscow Patriarchate became common, including church seizures and harassment of clergy:

On September 23, 2024, the law "On Protecting the Constitutional Order in the Activity of Religious Organizations" came into force. The Ukrainian authorities effectively banned the UOC.

Special clause was added to the law "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations" prohibiting religious organizations linked to the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine.

Seizure of the Kiev-Pechersk and Pochaev Lavras, and removal of religious relics, including the remains of saints.

Mass church seizures. Cathedrals and other churches in Ivano-Frankovsk and Lvov were seized, leaving no UOC churches in those cities. Authorities also took the Holy Trinity Cathedral and the Transfiguration Cathedral from UOC communities in Chernigov. The men's Nativity of the Virgin monastery was seized in Cherkassy.

Around 180 criminal cases were opened against UOC clergy and bishops. Twenty bishops and clergy members were deprived of Ukrainian citizenship.

New form of repression against UOC clergy was their forced conscription into the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

After the 2014 coup, violent protests erupted in the eastern regions of Ukraine, where the Russian-speaking population was predominant, including in Donbass and Crimea. Residents of these regions demanded a resolution to the status of the Russian language and called for constitutional reform, including the federalization of Ukraine.

A people's militia was formed in Donbass.

On May 2, 2014, dozens of people were burned alive in the Odessa Trade Union House. Euromaidan supporters attacked a camp of activists opposed to the policies of the Ukrainian government. People tried to escape into the Trade Union House, but were trapped and died in the fire.

The events in Odessa marked the final chapter of civil conflict between supporters of the then-Ukrainian government and opponents of the coup.

In an effort to protect their right to self-determination and native language, the people of Crimea overwhelmingly voted in favor of reunification with Russia in a referendum held on March 16, 2014. The region became part of Russia.

In the spring of 2014, people's republics were proclaimed in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. In response, the Ukrainian authorities accused the population of "separatism" and began a military operation in the region, which escalated into full-scale combat. Tanks and aviation were deployed against the people's militias.

Cities like Donetsk, Gorlovka, Lugansk, and Debaltsevo were subjected to artillery shelling by the Ukrainian regime for years. Residential neighborhoods, hospitals, and schools were destroyed.

On July 27, 2014, the Ukrainian Armed Forces shelled the streets of Gorlovka using Grad rocket launchers. Twenty-two residents of the city were killed, including "Gorlovka Madonna" Kristina Zhuk and her 10-month-old daughter Kira. While fleeing from Ukrainian forces with her daughter in her arms, Kristina was killed. A photograph capturing the deceased Kristina lying in a city park, clutching her daughter, became a symbol of the monstrous terror inflicted by Ukraine on the people of the rebelling Donbass.

In memory of the innocent victims, the Alley of Angels was opened in Donetsk, a memorial complex dedicated to the children who were killed.

On August 13, 2014, the Ukrainian Armed Forces shelled a children's beach in Zugres. Thirteen people were killed on the spot, and more than 40 were injured. Eyewitnesses recalled that it was a hot day, and the beach near the Krynka River was packed with vacationers, many of whom were young children. Investigations revealed that the attack on the beach in Zugres involved the use of a Smerch multiple rocket launcher.

The Minsk Agreements were an attempt to stop the armed conflict and prevent the killing of civilians. Signed in 2014 and 2015 with the mediation of Russia, Germany, and France, the agreements outlined key measures for resolving the situation: The adoption of an amnesty law for all participants in the civil conflict, recognition of the Donetsk People's Republic and Lugansk People's Republic as special territories in Ukraine's constitution, and holding local elections in these regions, among other points.

However, none of the provisions were implemented. Ukraine systematically violated the agreements. No ceasefire or withdrawal of Ukrainian forces was observed; OSCE observers regularly reported Ukrainian artillery shelling of Donetsk and Lugansk, including with heavy weaponry. Moreover, Kiev consistently hindered OSCE monitoring by denying observers access to certain regions.

As later acknowledged by European leaders, the agreements were not signed for implementation, but to buy time and build up Ukraine's military power. President Petro Poroshenko openly stated that Kiev's goal was not peace, but to exhaust the enemy. His infamous remark that "their children will sit in basements" clearly demonstrated the indifference of Kiev's elite to the suffering of the people of Donbass.

Volodymyr Zelensky, who came to power in 2019, continued the repressive policies of the Kiev authorities toward the population in southeastern Ukraine. On February 17, 2022, the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics reported the most intense shelling from the Ukrainian Armed Forces in months.

On February 21, 2022, Russia recognized the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, and on February 24, President Vladimir Putin announced the start of a special military operation in Ukraine in response to a request for assistance from Donbass.

The Russian president explained that the decision was made to protect people facing genocide by the Kiev regime. On February 24, 2022 Vladimir Putin said: "The circumstances require us to take decisive and immediate action. The people's republics of Donbass have requested help from Russia. Therefore, in accordance with Article 51, part 7 of the UN Charter, with the consent of the Federation Council, and in accordance with the treaties on friendship and mutual assistance ratified by the Federal Assembly with the Donetsk People's Republic and Lugansk People's Republic, I have decided to conduct a special military operation."

-- Ensuring the rights of Russian-speaking populations

-- Legitimizing the will of the people

-- Demilitarization (neutralizing the military threat and preventing Ukraine from joining NATO)

-- Denazification (stopping the spread of neo-Nazi ideology)

In September 2022, referendums were held in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republic as well as the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions on joining Russia. The overwhelming majority of residents voted in favor of the step. On September 30, treaties were signed, officially incorporating the four regions into Russia.

On the night of May 22, the Ukrainian Armed Forces struck the dormitory and academic building of the Starobelsk Professional College of Lugansk Pedagogical University in Starobelsk, Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR). The tragedy killed 21 young people, while another 65 children suffered injuries of varying severity.

On May 24, the Russian Defense Ministry stated that Russian forces carried out a massive retaliatory strike using Oreshnik, Iskander, Kinzhal and Zircon missiles against Ukrainian military-industrial facilities, command centers of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, and the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry in Kiev and the Kiev region, in response to terrorist attacks on civilian targets in Russia.

The tragedy triggered widespread public outrage. Russian President Vladimir Putin described the incident as a terrorist attack.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry called the strike “further evidence of the Nazi and terrorist nature of the Kiev regime,” emphasizing that the attack deliberately targeted a civilian facility housing children and constituted a grave violation of international humanitarian law.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described the reaction of Western countries to the Starobelsk strike as “monstrous and dehumanizing blasphemy.”

She stressed that the main issue was not only the lack of sympathy over the deaths of children, but also the spread of false narratives denying the tragedy.

Western media attempted to discredit the Russian account by claiming the strike allegedly targeted military facilities or command posts where Russian troops were present rather than a children’s educational institution. In reality, Starobelsk is a peaceful town with no military infrastructure. Zakharova emphasized that information about the attack was publicly available, with Russian journalists working at the scene and eyewitness accounts widely published.

Following the tragedy, more than 50 journalists from 19 countries — including Austria, Brazil, Britain, Hungary, Venezuela, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, Qatar, China, Cuba, Lebanon, the UAE, Pakistan, the US, Türkiye, Finland and France — arrived in the LPR to witness the aftermath firsthand. Russia’s Foreign Ministry organized the trip in response to the Western media’s silence and false statements by some UN representatives.

Several foreign journalists who visited the site confirmed its civilian nature and described the attack as deliberate. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, many reporters later faced editorial restrictions preventing them from publishing their reports. The BBC declined to visit the site, while CNN was said to be “on vacation,” Zakharova said.

▪️Irish journalist Chay Bowes called the strike a deliberate mass killing and an act of terrorism, accusing Western media of ignoring the tragedy and spreading false claims about a “stray drone”

▪️ Al Arabiya chief correspondent Saad Khalaf stated that the dormitory was “an entirely civilian facility” and rejected Kiev’s claims that drones were allegedly produced there

▪️Giovanni Pigni of Italy’s La Stampa described the aftermath as horrific, saying: “I simply see that there was a college here and that people died”

▪️Pakistani journalist Ishtiaq Hamdani compared the strike to the 2022 US attack on a school in Iran that killed 168 schoolgirls, recalling scenes of children fleeing barefoot through shattered glass, smoke and darkness

▪️American journalist Christopher Helali stated that, after what he had seen, Russia should achieve all the goals of its military operation

▪️Turkish journalist Yildiray Ajar questioned why “the Western world remains silent” about the deaths of children in Starobelsk

▪️Chinese journalist Lu Yuguang described the scene as “horrific” and added: “The West is silent” Journalists were also shown fragments of Ukrainian drones allegedly used in the strike, some bearing English and Ukrainian markings, as well as a Starlink antenna and metal shrapnel elements recovered from the drones.