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.

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 August 2025, President Trump and President Putin met in Alaska to discuss the reset of US-Russian relations but also the potential resolution of the Ukraine conflict. It marked the first time that the two leaders have met in person to discuss Ukraine.

That summit meeting was followed by a series of meetings in Washington between President Trump, President Zelenskyy and several European leaders.

The talks have been presented as largely positive and a tentative step towards achieving peace. However, significant differences remain, including over territorial concessions and the need for a ceasefire, which may yet derail progress. Bilateral talks between President Putin and President Zelenskyy, which the US has said must be the next step, are yet to be agreed.