Russia’s Ukraine invasion: Biggest questions answered

With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine coming, these are some of the biggest questions being asked about the bloody conflict, as Europe is on the brink of war.

A tank drives along a street after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the deployment of Russian troops to two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine. Picture: Reuters

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine begins, these are some of the biggest questions being asked about the bloody conflict as Europe goes to war.

HOW CLOSE IS UKRAINE TO RUSSIA?

Ukraine and Russia have been in a faux war since the start of 2014 when in the Ukraine capital Kyiv, locals took to the streets after their Moscow-aligned president Viktor Yanukovych refused to sign a trade agreement that would have aligned his country closer to the European Union. The popular uprising and protest saw 130 mostly civilians killed and the president forced to flee to Russia. The Ukraine parliament dissolved his presidency and ordered a new election. But Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the action of its neighbour a coup and vowed to take back parts of Ukraine, notably the profitable industrial zone of the country’s east as well as the strategic Crimea peninsula.

A "Moskva" Russian cruiser during the Black sea naval exercises outside the Crimean port of Sevastopol. Picture: AFP

DID UKRAINE GIVE RUSSIA CRIMEA?

No, it was just taken by Russia. When the popular uprising in Kyiv ousted his man Yanukovych, Putin declared it a coup and deployed troops to Ukraine’s Crimea region to recapture and annex the peninsula as revenge. They did this in about one month. He declared Crimea a Russian territory, changed the clocks to Moscow time, changed the currency to roubles and even took Ukraine warships that were anchored in the harbour. Moscow then set its sights on other Ukraine regions including the Donbas, where since 2014 Russian troops have backed local militia in a war against Ukraine government troops which has so far claimed 14,000 mostly civilian lives.

Russian tanks leaving for Russia after joint exercises of the armed forces of Russia and Belarus. Picture: AFP

WHY DOES RUSSIA NOT LIKE UKRAINE?

Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe after Russia and a population of more than 41 million. In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution in 1917, which led to the founding of the Soviet Union, Ukraine developed a national movement for self-determination. A series of civil wars and conflicts with neighbours including Poland broke out and in 1922 Ukraine became a founding member of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). In 1990, 300,000 Ukrainians formed a human chain link in memory of the 1919 Ukraine People’s Republic and in 1991 as the USSR dissolved, the Ukraine parliament adopted the Act of Independence with a popular referendum attracted 90 per cent support for the move. President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine as part of a new Russian Federation.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin gestures as he speaks during a press with his Belarus counterpart, following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow. Picture: AFP

WHY IS THERE WAR NOW?

Putin and the Kremlin’s primary concern has been that the shift by Ukraine to become more aligned to the EU would see it gain NATO membership, joining an intergovernmental military alliance between 27 European nations and the United States. In Putin’s eyes, that would place a huge adversary along Russia’s western border. He began amassing troops on the border as it appeared NATO would accept Ukraine, even though it has avoided the anticipated antagonistic shift for the past decade. Russia moved 100,000 troops to the border, ostensibly for training, as it warned Ukraine to stay away from NATO. Putin has long claimed NATO was a Cold War relic that remained a threat to Russia.

Local residents of the Ukrainian-controlled village of Stanytsia Luhanska, Luhansk region, clean up debris from their home after the shelling by Russia-Backed separatists. Picture: AFP

HOW MANY TROOPS DOES RUSSIA NEED?

Ukraine has nearly 255,000 active military personnel and 900,000 reservists while Russia has one of the largest militaries in the world with one million full time troops and two million reserves. Russia has had 100,000 troops on Ukraine’s border for weeks. Analysts have long said it would need 150,000-170,000 personnel to capture and hold Ukraine. It has an estimated 150,000 troops now.

Battle group deployment and troop tents at Valuyki, Russia, approximately 27km east of the border with Ukraine. Picture: Maxar Technologies / AFP

WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF RUSSIA TAKES OVER UKRAINE?

There would be years of internal war and countless fatalities. According to various sources including the UNHCR and UNICEF, since the 2014 battle for Donbas region between Ukraine forces and Russian-backed militias, more than 14,000 people have been killed almost half of whom have been innocent civilians. That has led to 1.5 million people internally displaced, 3.4 million in need of humanitarian assistance and 50,000 homes destroyed or damaged. Since this time already, more than 510,000 children have grown up with violence, 750 schools have been damaged by shelling and one in four households in Ukraine’s east suffer water shortages. More than 100 Ukrainians are deemed political prisoners and are being held by Russia. Poland this week formally declared it was prepared to take in thousands of Ukrainians displaced by the latest round of hostilities.