Russo-Ukrainian War (Path of Humanity)

The Russo-Ukrainian War was a military conflict between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Ukraine from February 20th, 2014 to June 8th, 2022 with the signing of the Warsaw Protocol. Most historians argued that the Russo-Ukrainian War should be classified as two separate wars, considering that there was minimal fighting between 2015 and 2020.
The Russo-Ukrainian War would begin on February 22nd with the Russian invasion of Crimea and the rebellion in the Donbas regions. After intense fighting for a year or so, a ceasefire was agreed upon, freezing the borders for several years without much changes. After a buildup of troops on the Ukrainian border by Russia, the country launched a full-scale offensive into the country on February 24th, 2022. The war would last for just over 100 days before a peace was mediated between the two nations on June 8th, ending the hostilties in the Donbas, while securing Ukrainian independence. Despite having a far larger army than the Ukrainians, the Russians struggled immensely during their invasion, and it took massive convincing from both NATO and China before the two sides agreed to sign a peace deal.
The war resulted in the full annexation of Crimea and the separtist regions to Russia, in exchange for self-determination of Ukraine and their eventual ascension to the European Union in 2025. This war also sparked the beginning of Russian isolationism, as no foreign companies dared to work in Russia under their legal name out of fears for sanctions. The war would also spark the Russian hyperinflation crisis and a subsequent collapse of the Russian economy. Western and Eastern Media has compared this war as a 21st Century version of the Winter War.
== Course of the War ==
In 2014, massive protests eurpted in Ukraine after their pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych halted the country's ascenion to NATO and the EU. After his dismissal however, Russia under Vladimir Putin took over the region of Crimea, and funded separtist rebels as heavy fighting began in the Donbas region. As 2014 progressed, it became clear that this war would be around for quite some time, and eventually, a ceasefire agreement was made on February 15th, 2015, effectively ending the Russo-Ukrainian War in a situation very similar to the Korean War.
Over the next few years, the fronts would see little to no change save for a few skirmishes, and most Ukrainians just moved on with their daily lives. The country would later elect Volodymyr Zelenskyy to power in 2019 after a landslide victory. He is well known for being a comedian prior to his presidency. His main promise is to end the war with Russia at last, but it would eventually take a full-scale war to end it, as seen in the second phase. The first two years of his reign was rather uneventful, save for a brief crisis in March of 2021 due to another buildup of Russian troops.
In the winter of 2021, Russia began stacking hundreds of tanks onto the Ukrainian border, sparking a major international crisis with the fear that Russia is about to invade Ukraine. Many laughed at the Anglophone states for fearmongering everyone, but on February 24th, Russia announced a "special military operation" within Ukraine. It was clear that this is a full-blown offensive into the country, and that sparked the second phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War.
To the top Russian generals, they believed that Ukraine will fall easily within days; the reality was anything but easy. They were unable to capture Kyiv, the nation's capital; they failed to take Kharkiv or Sumy throughout the entire war; all the while sanctions wreaked havoc to the morale of troops. It took them 10 days before they were able to capture Kherson, while in the southeast, a deadly siege was happening in the city of Mauripol. The Ukrainians never gave up, and on April 2nd, a spearheaded offensive liberated Mauripol from the Russian siege.
When the Ukrainians liberated Mauripol from the Russians, they saw the city being practically razed to the ground, proving that Russia is committing massive war crimes in the country. On April 15th, Russia launched a mass assault by bypassing Sumy and Kharkiv to attack along the Dnieper into the cities of Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro. Zaporizhzhia would prove to be another Stalingrad for the Russians, as the Ukrainians defended fiercely to protect the city. On May 1st, Kherson would be liberated by the Ukrainians, but as Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro are under siege, and with Russian troops still being near Kyiv, both sides knew that now is the best time to drag each other to peace negotiations.
Ukraine is convinced by NATO to give up Crimea and the separtist regions in order to live and fight another day. Initally skeptial of the idea, Zelenskyy eventually accepted it, with Putin also accepting the deal. On June 8th, the Warsaw Protocol was signed, ending the war between these two nations.