Ukraine

About Ukraine

Ukraine is an eastern European state. It is the second biggest European country after Russia, covering about 600,000 square kilometers, and has a population of about 40 million inhabitants.

The major Russian-Ukrainian conflict

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the bilateral relations of its successor states experienced periods of links, tensions, and outright hostility. In the early 1990s, Ukraine's policy was dominated by aspirations to ensure its sovereignty and independence, followed by a foreign policy that balanced cooperation with the European Union (EU), Russia, and other powerful polities.

Relations between the two countries became hostile after the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, which was followed by Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, and due to Russia's backing for the separatist fighters of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic in the war, conflicts that had killed more than 13,000 people by early 2020, and brought Western sanctions on Russia.

Thousands have been killed since then, cities like Mariupol are in ruins and 13 million people have been displaced.

Russian control over Ukraine

Before the February invasion, Ukrainian officials said Russia controlled some 7 percent of the country, including the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014, and areas held by the separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has reached a new stage. After fierce resistance from the Ukrainian military, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces have pivoted to consolidate their positions toward the south and east of the country as they begin a fresh offensive, bombing residential areas, and civilian targets.

Latest Reports

The missile attacks destroyed three buildings in the residential neighborhood of the city of Chasiv Yar, killing at least 15 people.

Dozens of Ukrainian emergency workers worked to rescue people from the rubble after a Russian rocket attack smashed apartment buildings in eastern Ukraine, killing at least 15 people.

Over 20 people are reported to have been trapped again on Sunday.

The strike late on Saturday destroyed three buildings in a residential quarter of the town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk province, inhabited mostly by people who work in nearby factories.

The provincial governor of Donetsk said that the city of approximately 12,000 was struck by Russian Uragan rockets that are fired from truck systems.

Chasiv Yar is located 20 km (12 miles) southeast of Kramatorsk, a city that is a significant target of Russian forces as they move west.

On Sunday evening, rescuers were able to remove sufficient bricks and concrete to recover a man who had been trapped for nearly 24 hours. Rescuers placed him on a stretcher, and he was quickly taken to the hospital.

The emergency services of Ukraine said that the last rescue brought to six the number of people dug out of the debris. Earlier on Sunday, they came into contact with three other people still trapped alive under the rubble.

Cranes and excavators worked alongside rescue teams to clean up the remains of a building, the walls of which were completely torn away by the impact of the strike.

Rescuers continued to operate in the rain despite the hazardous conditions.

The thud of artillery on the neighboring front line resounded a few kilometers away, causing some workers and others to tremble.

There were no comments on Chasiv Yar's attack during a briefing by the Russian Ministry of Defense on Sunday.

Donetsk is one of two provinces – alongside Luhansk – that form the Donbas region, where separatist rebels have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014.

Lugansk – some analysts have predicted that Moscow's troops would probably take some time to rearm and regroup.