Origins of SMO: History of Ukrainian Conflict

Coup d'état in Ukraine

The political crisis in Ukraine was triggered by the events of Euromaidan. In November 2013, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych refused to sign the Association Agreement with the European Union, fearing the destruction of existing ties with Russia. This decision provoked mass protests in Kiev.

The three-month confrontation between security forces and protesters—among whom there were many nationalists—resulted in dozens of deaths and a coup d'état.

On the night of February 22, Euromaidan activists seized the government quarter, taking control of the parliament, presidential administration, and government buildings. As a result of the coup, power passed to the opposition. The legitimate president, Viktor Yanukovych, was forced to flee urgently to Russia.

Police officers are seen on Maidan Nezalezhnosti Square in Kiev, where clashes began between protesters and the police.

Police officers during the clashes in the center of Kiev.

A participant of the pro-EU integration rallies is seen on Grushevskogo Street in Kiev.

Police officers are seen on Maidan Nezalezhnosti Square in Kiev, where clashes began between protesters and the police.

Police officers during the clashes in the center of Kiev.

A participant of the pro-EU integration rallies is seen on Grushevskogo Street in Kiev.

Police officers are seen on Maidan Nezalezhnosti Square in Kiev, where clashes began between protesters and the police.

Persecution of the Russian Language

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Participants in a protest against a bill to expand the teaching of Russian in Ukrainian schools.

The 2012 law On the Principles of State Language Policy was repealed.
The number of Russian-language schools was reduced. Starting September 1, 2020, Russian-language schools in Ukraine switched to the state language.
Amendments were adopted to the law On Television and Radio Broadcasting.
The share of broadcasting in Ukrainian on national and regional television and radio was increased to 75 percent per week and on local stations to 60 percent.
Broadcasting of Russian TV channels was terminated, screening of Russian films was banned, and artists listed in the List of Persons Creating a Threat to National Security were prohibited.
The law On Ensuring the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language was adopted. The laws On Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine and On National Minorities Communities of Ukraine were adopted, which ultimately excluded Russians from state legal protection.

Persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate

Églises détruites lors des combats à Donetsk - Sputnik Africa

A church destroyed after an air strike in the city of Krasnodon.

Persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) of the Moscow Patriarchate, including seizure of churches and persecution of clergy, has become commonplace.

On September 23, 2024, the law "On Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Sphere of Activities of Religious Organizations" came into force. Effectively, the activity of the UOC is prohibited on the territory of Ukraine.
A special article has been added to the law "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations," which prohibits the activity in Ukraine of religious organizations linked to the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Kiev Pechersk Lavra and the Pochayev Lavra have been seized. Part of religious relics, including the relics of saints, have been removed.
Mass seizure of churches. Cathedral churches and other churches in Ivano-Frankovsk and Lvov have been seized, after which no UOC churches remained in these cities. The authorities confiscated from UOC communities in Chernigov the Holy Trinity Cathedral and the Transfiguration Cathedral. In Cherkasy, the male monastery of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos was seized.
Approximately 180 criminal cases have been initiated against UOC clergy and bishops. Twenty bishops and clergy have been stripped of Ukrainian citizenship.
A new form of repression against UOC clergy has emerged: their forced mobilization into the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Churches destroyed during the fighting in Donetsk.

Residents of Lugansk after the shelling of the city.

The destroyed dome and roof of the Church of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God of the Donetsk Iveron Convent, located near the Donetsk airport and destroyed during the fighting in southeastern Ukraine.

Churches destroyed during the fighting in Donetsk.

Residents of Lugansk after the shelling of the city.

Dissatisfaction of Russian-Speaking Population in the Southeast of the Country

After the 2014 coup, mass protests erupted in the east of the country, where the Russian-speaking population predominated, including in Donbass and Crimea. Residents of these regions demanded resolution of the status of the Russian language and constitutional reform, up to the federalization of Ukraine.

In Donbass, a people’s militia was formed.

Odessa

The fire in the Trade Union's House in Odessa. In the foreground: members of the Right Sector volunteer battalion Yuri Chernoivanenko and his wife Varvara.

On May 2, 2014, dozens of people were burned alive in the Trade Unions House in Odessa. Supporters of Euromaidan stormed the camp of activists who opposed the policies of the Ukrainian authorities. People tried to take refuge in the Trade Unions House but were blocked inside and perished in the fire.

The events in Odessa became the final episode of civil confrontation between supporters of the then Ukrainian authorities and opponents of the coup.

A fire in the House of Trade Unions in Odessa.

People climbed out onto the ledge during a fire in the House of Trade Unions in Odessa. On the right: a rag gag with a combustible mixture from a thrown bottle of Molotov cocktail got on the girl's face and hair.

The body of a victim of a fire in the building of the House of Trade Unions in Odessa.

A fire in the House of Trade Unions in Odessa.

The body of a victim of a fire in the building of the House of Trade Unions in Odessa.

Crimea

Seeking to protect their right to self-determination and native language, residents of Crimea voted overwhelmingly in a referendum on March 16, 2014, in favor of reunification with Russia. The region became part of the Russian Federation.

Congrégation à Simferopol après le référendum en Crimée - Sputnik Africa

Sevastopol residents at a celebratory show held after the referendum on Crimea's status.

Proclamation of the DPR and LPR, Shelling of Cities

In the spring of 2014, people’s republics were proclaimed on the territory of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. In response, the Ukrainian authorities accused the local population of “separatism” and launched a military operation in the region, which escalated into full-scale combat. Tanks and aircraft were deployed against the people’s militia.

Cities such as Donetsk, Gorlovka, Lugansk, and Debaltsevo endured years of artillery shelling by the Ukrainian regime. Residential neighborhoods, hospitals, and schools were destroyed.

A woman on the balcony of a house bombed by the Ukrainian army.

A woman looks through a broken window of her apartment after it was hit by Ukrainian artillery in the Voroshilovsky district of central Donetsk.

People's militiamen carry a victim of the air strike of the Ukrainian air force on the building of the regional administration in Luпansk.

A woman on the balcony of a house bombed by the Ukrainian army.

A woman looks through a broken window of her apartment after it was hit by Ukrainian artillery in the Voroshilovsky district of central Donetsk.

People's militiamen carry a victim of the air strike of the Ukrainian air force on the building of the regional administration in Luпansk.

'The Gorlovka Madonna'

On July 27, 2014, Ukrainian armed forces shelled streets of Gorlovka with Grad rocket launchers. Twenty-two residents of the city were killed. Among them were “The Gorlovka Madonna,” Kristina Zhuk, and her 10-month-old daughter, Kira. The mother was running with her baby in her arms, trying to escape the Ukrainian forces. The photograph capturing dead Kristina lying on the grass of a city park, clutching her daughter to her chest, became a symbol of Ukraine’s monstrous terror against the people of the unconquered Donbass.

In memory of the innocent victims, the Alley of Angels was opened in Donetsk. This is a memorial complex dedicated to the children who were killed.

La Madone de Gorlovka - la jeune Kristina Zhuk et sa fille de 10 mois - sont mortes le 27 juillet 2014, lorsque les forces armées ukrainiennes ont bombardé les rues de Horlivka avec des lance-roquettes Grad. - Sputnik Africa

The "Gorlovka Madonna" - young Kristina Zhuk and her 10-month-old daughter - died on July 27, 2014, when the armed forces of Ukraine shelled the streets of Gorlovka with Grad rocket launchers.

Tragedy in Zugres

On August 13, 2014, the Ukrainian Armed Forces shelled a children’s beach in the town of Zugres. Thirteen people were killed on the spot. More than forty others were wounded. According to eyewitnesses, the day was hot, and the beach by the Krynka River was crowded with vacationers, many of whom had brought young children. The investigation showed that “Smerch” multiple rocket launchers were used in the attack on the children’s beach in Zugres.

Minsk Agreements

The “Minsk Agreements” were an attempt to halt the armed conflict and stop the killing of civilians. Signed in 2014 and 2015 with mediation from Russia, Germany, and France, the agreements established key measures for resolving the situation: adopt a law granting amnesty to all participants in the civil conflict, designate the DPR and LPR as special territories and enshrine this status in the country’s Constitution, hold local elections there, and so on.

But not a single provision was implemented. Ukraine systematically violated the agreements. There was no talk of ceasefire or withdrawal of Ukrainian weapons: OSCE observers regularly recorded Ukrainian Armed Forces shelling Donetsk and Lugansk, including with heavy weaponry. Moreover, Kiev consistently obstructed OSCE monitoring, denying observers access to certain areas.

European leaders later admitted that the agreements were signed not for implementation but to buy time and build up Ukraine’s military strength. President Poroshenko openly stated that Kiev’s goal was not peace but the exhaustion of the enemy. His infamous phrase — "their children will sit in basements" — clearly demonstrated the indifference of the Kiev elite to the suffering of Donbass residents.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, former German chancellor Angela Merkel, former French President François Hollande and former Ukrainian President Petr Poroshenko on February 11, 2015 during a meeting aimed at ending ten months of fighting in Ukraine.

New Escalation of the Conflict

Volodymyr Zelensky, who came to power in 2019, continued the repressive policies of the Kiev authorities toward the population of southeast Ukraine. On February 17, 2022, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics reported the most intense shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in recent months.

Start of the Special Military Operation

On February 21, 2022, Russia recognized the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, and on February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of a special military operation (SMO) in Ukraine in response to requests for assistance from Donbass.

Objectives and Tasks of the SMO

Poutine lors d'un message à la nation sur la reconnaissance des républiques de Donetsk et Lougansk - Sputnik Africa

Putin during a message to the nation on the recognition of the Donetsk and Lugansk republics.

The Russian president explained that the decision was made for the sake of people who were subjected to genocide by the Kiev regime. Vladimir Putin (February 24, 2022): “The circumstances demand decisive and immediate action from us. The People’s Republics of Donbass have appealed to Russia for assistance. In this regard, in accordance with Article 51, Part 7 of the UN Charter, with the approval of the Federation Council and in fulfillment of the treaties on friendship and mutual assistance with the DPR and LPR ratified by the Federal Assembly, I have made the decision to conduct a special military operation.”

Main objectives of the SMO:

Ensuring the rights of the Russian-speaking population.
Legitimization of the people’s choice.
Demilitarization (neutralizing the military threat and Ukraine’s abandonment of plans to join NATO).
Denazification (halting the spread of neo-Nazi ideology).

Russian special operation interactiv COVER - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 07.09.2025

Russia's Special Operation in Ukraine

Russia's Special Military Operation in Ukraine: Progress Update

7 September, 18:53

Incorporation of New Territories Into the Russian Federation

In September 2022, referendums were held in the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye, and Kherson regions on the question of joining Russia. An overwhelming majority of residents voted in favor of this step. On September 30, treaties were signed on the accession of the four regions to the Russian Federation.

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11:02 19.09.2025 (Updated: 19:33 19.09.2025)