The Origins of the Russia-Ukraine War
Journal: Rethinking political violence
Year: 2025

Abstract This chapter examines the origins of the Russia-Ukraine war. It analyzes narratives of the causes of this war by the Ukrainian, Russian, and Western governments and the media. It examines the role of such factors as the NATO accession of Ukraine, Russian imperialism, the Maidan, democracy, and the far right in the start of the war. The analysis shows that the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, represented the extreme escalation by Russia of the conflicts with Ukra