Ukraine conflict: An overview

On 24 February 2022 Russia launched military action in Ukraine, with forces crossing into the country from Belarus in the north, Russia in the east and Crimea in the south.

President Putin said it was a “special military operation” intended to protect the people of the Donbas and to “demilitarise and denazify Ukraine”. He denied that Russia planned to occupy Ukrainian territory or to “impose anything on anyone by force”.

Over the last three years, Russian forces have, however, been conducting a full-scale assault on the country, including targeting critical civilian infrastructure. In early October 2022 Russia signed annexation treaties recognising Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia as part of the Russian Federation, even though those regions are not totally under Russian control.

The Ukrainian government had initially vowed to retake all its sovereign territory, including Crimea which was annexed by Russia in 2014. The Kremlin said that the annexed regions will be with Russia forever. 

Prospects for a ceasefire and peace agreement 

President Trump made securing a peace agreement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict a priority for his administration. While initially suggesting that a ceasefire agreement could be reached within 24 hours, the Trump administration’s special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said in January 2025 that the aim was for the US to broker an agreement within 100 days in office (29 April 2025).

US diplomatic efforts so far have not achieved the results that President Trump initially hoped for. In March 2025, Ukraine agreed a 30-day partial ceasefire after the US suspended all US military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine (which was subsequently reinstated). President Putin said, however, that while Russia supported a ceasefire and would agree to a 30-day moratorium on striking energy infrastructure, certain conditions must be met before a full ceasefire could take effect, including addressing the root causes of the conflict. 

US frustration with Russia has become increasingly evident and in mid-April 2025 both the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and President Trump indicated that the US was ready to walk away from the peace process unless significant progress is made soon. New US proposals, which have been described as the US’s “final offer”, have been put on the table and talks continue. It remains unclear what the US response will be if an agreement is not reached. The US and Ukraine have, in the meantime, concluded a critical minerals deal that will allow  long-term US access to Ukraine’s reserves of rare earth minerals and other critical raw materials.