History has a funny way of getting compressed. If you ask a random person on the street when Russia first attacked Ukraine, they’ll probably point to February 2024 or maybe 2022. You know, the "Special Military Operation." The images of tanks rolling toward Kyiv.
But they'd be wrong. By a lot.
To really understand the timeline, you have to look back much further than the full-scale invasion. Honestly, the real date is February 20, 2014. That is the moment the modern Russo-Ukrainian War actually kicked off. It didn't start with a formal declaration. There were no sirens in Kyiv that day. Instead, it started with "Little Green Men" and a slow-motion heist of an entire peninsula.
The 2014 Annexation: Where It All Began
While the world was busy watching the closing ceremonies of the Sochi Winter Olympics, the Kremlin was already moving pieces.
Basically, Ukraine was in the middle of a massive internal shift. The Revolution of Dignity (or Euromaidan) had just reached its peak. President Viktor Yanukovych, who was pretty tight with Moscow, had fled the country after months of protests. Ukraine’s parliament officially lists February 20, 2014, as the day the invasion began. That’s because Russian troops—without insignia on their uniforms—started popping up at strategic points in Crimea.
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People called them "Little Green Men." They looked like regular soldiers, they carried high-end Russian gear, but they had no flags. Russia denied they were their guys at first. Vladimir Putin eventually admitted they were Russian special forces, but not until after the "referendum" was over.
It was a brilliant, if illegal, bit of hybrid warfare. Within weeks, the Crimean parliament was seized. Airports were blockaded. By March 18, 2014, Russia had officially "annexed" the territory.
The War in the Donbas: 2014 to 2021
A lot of people think the fighting stopped after Crimea. It didn't.
Almost immediately after Crimea fell, things got ugly in eastern Ukraine. Specifically in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Pro-Russian "separatist" groups started seizing government buildings. Again, the Kremlin claimed these were just local rebels. But evidence from groups like the Atlantic Council and various intelligence agencies showed heavy Russian equipment—tanks, Buk missile systems, and even regular troops—crossing the border.
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This period was a "frozen conflict" in name only. It was actually quite hot.
- April 2014: The start of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) by Ukraine to reclaim the east.
- July 17, 2014: Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down by a Russian-made missile fired from separatist-controlled territory. All 298 people died.
- August 2014: Russian regular forces directly intervened at the Battle of Ilovaisk to prevent the separatists from being defeated.
Before the "big" war even started in 2022, over 14,000 people had already died in this "low-level" conflict. If you're counting the first attack, 2014 is your answer.
Why 2022 Was Different
If the war started in 2014, why does everyone talk about 2022?
Well, February 24, 2022, was the "escalation." Before that, Russia played a game of "plausible deniability." They pretended they weren't the ones fighting. In 2022, the mask came off. They launched a multi-axis invasion from the north (Belarus), south (Crimea), and east.
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It was the largest conventional military operation in Europe since World War II. But it wasn't a new war. It was just a new, much more violent chapter of a book that Russia started writing eight years earlier.
The Long View: Pre-2014 Tensions
Kinda crazy, but some historians argue the "attack" started even earlier, just through different means. You've got the 2006 and 2009 "gas wars" where Russia cut off heating fuel to Ukraine in the middle of winter. That’s a form of economic warfare.
Then there's the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. Ukraine gave up the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal in exchange for Russia (and the US and UK) promising to respect its borders. Looking back, that deal didn't age well.
Practical Steps to Stay Informed
If you’re trying to keep track of this history or follow current events, don't just rely on headlines. Here’s what you should actually do:
- Check the Source: Look for reporting from outlets with boots on the ground, like The Kyiv Independent or the Associated Press.
- Use Live Maps: Websites like DeepStateMap.Live give you a real-time look at who controls what. It’s better than reading a summary that’s three days old.
- Read the Documentation: If you want the legal side, look up the UN General Assembly resolutions regarding Crimea from 2014. It’s dry, but it proves the international community never recognized the first attack as legitimate.
- Understand the Nuance: Distinguish between the "annexation of Crimea," the "War in Donbas," and the "Full-scale Invasion." They are different phases of the same conflict.
The "first attack" wasn't a single missile. It was a slow, calculated move into Crimea in 2014 that the world didn't take seriously enough at the time. Understanding that 2014 start date is the only way to make sense of everything happening today.