The war in Ukraine began nine years before Putin's invasion in 2022. In late February 2014, armed soldiers in uniforms without insignia began to occupy Crimea. Despite their Russian weapons and equipment, Russia denied involvement. Just two months after their appearance, Putin declared Crimea was now part of Russia. It marked the start of the Russo-Ukrainian War. So what led to the annexation of Crimea in 2014? And why does the Crimean Peninsula continue to be a crucial sticking point in negotiations in 2023?

One year on from the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, we talk to Research Fellow Emily Ferris from RUSI about the origins of the Russo-Ukrainian War and how it’s developed over the past nine years, as well as to photojournalist Anastasia Taylor-Lind who was working in Ukraine between 2014 and 2022.

Anastasia Taylor-Lind's photography display 'Ukraine: Photographs from the Front Line' is now open at IWM London. Plan your free visit: https://www.iwm.org.uk/events/iwm-london-ukraine-exhibition

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CREDITS
Photos of the ‘Little Green Men’ in Crimea in 2014 © Ilya Varlamov
Crimean Tatars: www.memory.gov.ua
Photos of Ukraine’s Independence 1991 © https://www.ukrinform.net/
Photo of the H. Pshenychnoy Center for the Development of Social Sciences and Humanities.
Photo of Yanukovych © ВАДИМ ЧУПРИНА
Photo of G7 meeting 2014: Crown copyright. Photographer: Arron Hoare
Video footage of the March 2014 Crimean referendum voting polls via YT Юрий Дейнека / Yuri Deineka
Minsk Agreement meeting AFP PHOTO / PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE / POOL / MYKOLA LAZARENKO
Merkel and Putin at the 70th anniversary of D-Day via Kremlin.ru
Asia-Europe (ASEM) Summit meeting of the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France, October 2014 via Kremlin.ru
Angela Merkel, Vladimir Putin, François Hollande at the Kremlin via Kremlin.ru
War tanks of pro-Russian separatists on February 23, 2022 heading for the Donbass-Ukraine border via Gennadiy Dubovoy
President Zelenskiy at the ballot box 2019 via Фото Миколи Лазаренка / The Presidential Office of Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelensky 2019 presidential inauguration via Mykhaylo Markiv / The Presidential Administration of Ukraine
A Russia-backed rebel armored fighting vehicles convoy near Donetsk via Mstyslav Chernov
Battalion "Donbas" in Donetsk region via Ліонкінг
Protests in Donetsk © Andrew Butko. (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Butko)
Zelensky, Merkel, Macron, Putin in talks 2019 via www.kremlin.ru
Participants of the First Summit of the Crimean Platform via ОПУ
Crimean Platform photos via the website of the President of Ukraine
Location map of Ukraine by NordNordWest. CC BY-SA 3.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en
Maps by https://freevectormaps.com