Russia–Ukraine relations
Bilateral relations / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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There are currently no diplomatic or bilateral relations between Russia and Ukraine. The two states have been at war since Russia invaded the Crimean peninsula in February 2014, and Russian-controlled armed groups seized Donbas government buildings in May 2014. Following the Ukrainian Euromaidan in 2014, Ukraine's Crimean peninsula was occupied by unmarked Russian forces, and later illegally annexed by Russia, while pro-Russia separatists simultaneously engaged the Ukrainian military in an armed conflict for control over eastern Ukraine; these events marked the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian War. In a major escalation of the conflict on 24 February 2022, Russia launched a large scale military invasion across a broad front, causing Ukraine to sever all formal diplomatic ties with Russia.[1][2][3]
Russia |
Ukraine |
---|---|
Diplomatic mission | |
Embassy of Russia, Kyiv (until 2022) | Embassy of Ukraine, Moscow (until 2022) |
Envoy | |
Ambassadorship vacant since 28 July 2016; relations terminated on 24 February 2022 | Ambassadorship vacant since March 2014; relations terminated on 24 February 2022 |
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the successor states' bilateral relations have undergone periods of ties, 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.[4]
Relations between the two countries became hostile after the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, which was followed by Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, and the war in Donbas, in which Russia backed the separatist fighters of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic. The conflicts had killed over 13,000 people by early 2020, and brought international sanctions on Russia.[5] Numerous bilateral agreements have been terminated and economic ties severed.
Throughout 2021 and 2022, a Russian military build-up on the border of Ukraine escalated tensions between the two countries and strained their bilateral relations, eventually leading to Russia initiating a full-scale invasion of the country.[6][7] Ukraine broke off diplomatic relations with Russia in response to the invasion. Streets bearing the names of Russian figures and monuments symbolising Russian and Ukrainian friendship were removed from various locations across Ukraine.[8] In March 2023, the Verkhovna Rada banned toponymy with names associated with Russia.[9]