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99-465: On 24 February 2022, Ukraine closed airspace to civilian flights due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine . The old terminal at Kharkiv was built in the 1950s employing a neoclassical style. However, with the selection of Poland and Ukraine to co-host the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship , a new modern international terminal was built in order to comply with UEFA regulations. The old building

198-594: A neutral country and renounce its aspirations to join NATO. Zelenskyy replied that Putin could not be trusted to abide by such a settlement. Ukraine had been a neutral country in 2014 when Russia occupied Crimea and invaded the Donbas . On 19 February, Zelenskyy made a speech at the Munich Security Conference , calling for Western powers to drop their policy of " appeasement " towards Moscow and give

297-508: A new Novorossiya . Putin referred to the Kosovo independence precedent and NATO bombing of Yugoslavia as a justification for the annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbas, while historians note the similarities with Nazi Germany's Anschluss of Austria . Because of Russia's occupation of Crimea and its invasion of the Donbas , Ukraine's parliament voted in December 2014 to remove

396-861: A sphere of influence to try to control their neighbours". NATO underlined that it is a defensive alliance , and that it had co-operated with Russia until the latter annexed Crimea. It offered to improve communication with Russia, and to negotiate limits on missile placements and military exercises , provided Russia withdrew its troops from Ukraine's borders, but Russia did not do so. Western leaders vowed that heavy sanctions would be imposed should Putin choose to invade rather than to negotiate. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met Putin in February 2022 to dissuade him from an invasion. According to Scholz, Putin told him that Ukraine should not be an independent state. Scholz told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to declare Ukraine

495-532: A 2023 survey by the Anti-Defamation League Ukraine has a 29% index score (answering 'probably true' to a majority of the antisemitic stereotypes tested), compared to 37% for Hungary, 35% for Poland and 26% for Russia. Mierzejewski-Voznyak and Bustikov stated that the antisemitic rhetoric used by far-right activists relatively rarely translates into violent actions. Between 2004 and 2014, there were 112 anti-Semitic violent attacks, with

594-724: A European country and the first full-scale war in Europe since the Second World War. Russia launched a simultaneous ground and air attack. Russian missiles struck targets throughout Ukraine, and Russian troops invaded from the north, east, and south. Russia did not officially declare war. It was Russia's largest combined arms operation since the Soviet Union 's Battle of Berlin in 1945. Fighting began in Luhansk Oblast at 3:40 a.m. Kyiv time near Milove on

693-473: A Russian disinformation campaign to justify the invasion, with many pointing out that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is Jewish and had relatives who were victims of the Holocaust . Some of the world's leading historians of Nazism and the Holocaust put out a statement rejecting Putin's claims, which was signed by hundreds of other historians and scholars of the subject. It says: "We strongly reject

792-485: A clear time-frame for when Ukraine could join NATO. As political analysts Taras Kuzio and Vladimir Socor agree, "when Russia made its decision to invade Ukraine, that country was more remote than ever not only from NATO membership but from any track that might lead to membership". On 21 February, Putin announced that Russia recognized the Russian-controlled territories of Ukraine as independent states:

891-612: A continuation of the Soviet Union's " Great Patriotic War " against Nazi Germany, "even as Russia supports extreme-right groups across Europe". Experts on disinformation say that portraying Ukrainians as Nazis also helps Russians justify war crimes against them , such as the Bucha massacre . Historian Timothy Snyder said the Russian regime calls Ukrainians "Nazis" to justify genocidal acts against them . He said pro-war Russians use

990-707: A decrease over time, in Ukraine. In April 2015, Ukraine passed four decommunization laws regulating official memory of the Soviet period. The laws ban Nazi and Communist ideology and symbols and the "public denial of the criminal nature of the Communist totalitarian regime 1917–1991"; they open former KGB archives; replace the Soviet term "great patriotic war" with the European second world war, and provide public recognition to anyone who fought for Ukrainian independence in

1089-460: A distorted view of Ukraine, as well as of its own history, and that these distortions were propagated through the state. In December 2021, Russia issued an ultimatum to the West , which included demands that NATO end all activity in its Eastern European member states and ban Ukraine or any former Soviet state from ever joining the alliance. Russia's government said NATO was a threat and warned of

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1188-506: A fake Ukrainian postage stamp featuring the SS Galician veteran Hunka. After Yanokovych's ouster in February 2014, the interim First Yatsenyuk government placed four Svoboda members in leading positions: Oleksandr Sych as Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, Ihor Tenyukh as Minister of Defense, lawyer Ihor Shvaika as Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food and Andriy Mokhnyk as Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine; with

1287-524: A ground invasion were launched on a northern front from Belarus towards the capital Kyiv , a southern front from Crimea , and an eastern front from the Donbas and towards Kharkiv . Ukraine enacted martial law , ordered a general mobilization and severed diplomatic relations with Russia . Russian troops retreated from the north and the outskirts of Kyiv by April 2022, after encountering stiff resistance and logistical challenges. The Bucha massacre

1386-535: A major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War , which started in 2014. The invasion, the largest and deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II , has caused hundreds of thousands of military casualties and tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties . As of 2024, Russian troops occupy about 20% of Ukraine . From a population of 41 million, about 8 million Ukrainians had been internally displaced and more than 8.2 million had fled

1485-458: A maximum of 2,000 organized skinheads whereas in Russia the estimates range between 20,000 and 70,000 members of skinhead groups. Since 2008, there has been a more explicit response to such crimes by law enforcement and the justice system, which has led to a decrease of violent right-wing offences. Ukraine has seen a decrease in both the frequency and the severity of hate crimes since their high in

1584-577: A measure to prevent friendly fire . Immediately after the invasion began, Zelenskyy declared martial law in Ukraine in a first video speech. The same evening, he ordered a general mobilisation of all Ukrainian males between 18 and 60 years old, prohibiting them from leaving the country. Wagner Group mercenaries and Kadyrovites contracted by the Kremlin reportedly made several attempts to assassinate Zelenskyy , including an operation involving several hundred mercenaries meant to infiltrate Kyiv with

1683-821: A military response if it followed an "aggressive line". Some of the demands had already been ruled out by NATO. A senior US official said the US was willing to discuss the proposals, but added that there were some "that the Russians know are unacceptable". Eastern European states willingly joined NATO for security reasons, and the last time a country bordering Russia had joined was in 2004. Ukraine had not yet applied, and some members were wary of letting it join. Barring Ukraine would go against NATO's " open door " policy, and against treaties agreed to by Russia itself. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg replied that "Russia has no say" on whether Ukraine joins, and "has no right to establish

1782-795: A missile strike against Kyiv on 6 June after not directly attacking the city for several weeks. On 10 June 2022, deputy head of the SBU Vadym Skibitsky stated that during the Severodonetsk campaign, the frontlines were where the future of the invasion would be decided: "This is an artillery war now, and we are losing in terms of artillery. Everything now depends on what [the west] gives us. Ukraine has one artillery piece to 10 to 15 Russian artillery pieces. Our western partners have given us about 10% of what they have." On 29 June, Reuters reported that US Intelligence Director Avril Haines, in an update of past US intelligence assessments on

1881-564: A probative spearhead on 24 February, from Belarus south along the west bank of the Dnipro River . The apparent intent was to encircle the city from the west, supported by two separate axes of attack from Russia along the east bank of the Dnipro: the western at Chernihiv , and from the east at Sumy . These were likely intended to encircle Kyiv from the northeast and east. Russia tried to seize Kyiv quickly, with Spetsnaz infiltrating into

1980-665: A quick victory in Kyiv, Russian forces switched their strategy to indiscriminate bombing and siege warfare. On 25 March, a Ukrainian counter-offensive retook several towns to the east and west of Kyiv, including Makariv . Russian troops in the Bucha area retreated north at the end of March. Ukrainian forces entered the city on 1 April. Ukraine said it had recaptured the entire region around Kyiv, including Irpin, Bucha, and Hostomel, and uncovered evidence of war crimes in Bucha . On 6 April, NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said that

2079-707: A rally outside Ukrainian parliament in August 2015. Russian president Vladimir Putin used the pretext of " denazification " to launch the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, falsely claiming that the Ukrainian government were neo-Nazis. Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti published an article by Timofey Sergeytsev, " What Russia should do with Ukraine ", where he argued that Ukraine and Ukrainian national identity must be wiped out, because he claimed most Ukrainians are at least "passive Nazis". These allegations of Nazism are widely rejected as untrue and part of

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2178-498: A reconstruction conference in Switzerland that Ukraine needs $ 750bn for a recovery plan and Russian oligarchs should contribute to the cost. The invasion began on 24 February, launched out of Belarus to target Kyiv, and from the northeast against the city of Kharkiv. The southeastern front was conducted as two separate spearheads, from Crimea and the southeast against Luhansk and Donetsk. Russian efforts to capture Kyiv included

2277-461: A similar landing at Vasylkiv , near Vasylkiv Air Base , on 26 February. By early March, Russian advances along the west side of the Dnipro were limited by Ukrainian defences. As of 5 March, a large Russian convoy , reportedly 64 kilometres (40 mi) long, had made little progress toward Kyiv. The London-based think tank Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) assessed Russian advances from

2376-684: A special danger due to its well-armed and well-organized nature. Cohen cited the Azov Battalion and Right Sector in this regard. In 2020, Taras Kuzio criticized Cohen, noting research finding that these groups were largely made up of Russian speakers and national minorities. Kuzio says despite Cohen's claims, even Right Sector and the Azov Regiment that are often described as 'Ukrainian nationalist', included minorities such as Georgians, Jews, Russians, Tatars, and Armenians. British scholar Richard Sakwa wrote in 2015 that "The creation of

2475-695: A terrorist state. Protests occurred around the world, with anti-war protesters in Russia being met by mass arrests and greater media censorship . The Russian attacks on civilians have led to allegations of genocide . War-related disruption to Ukrainian agriculture and shipping contributed to a world food crisis , while war-related environmental damage has been described as ecocide . The International Criminal Court (ICC) opened an investigation into crimes against humanity , war crimes , abduction of Ukrainian children , and genocide against Ukrainians. The ICC issued arrest warrants for Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova , and for four Russian military officials. After

2574-598: A western area of operations toward Mariupol was opened by the Southern Military District , including the 58th , 49th , and 8th Combined Arms Army , the latter also commanding the 1st and 2nd Army Corps of the Russian separatist forces in Donbas . By 7 April, Russian troops deployed to the northern front by the Russian Eastern Military District pulled back from the Kyiv offensive, reportedly to resupply and redeploy to

2673-614: Is committing severe human rights violations in occupied Ukraine. The invasion was met with widespread international condemnation . The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution condemning the invasion and demanding a full Russian withdrawal. The International Court of Justice ordered Russia to halt military operations, and the Council of Europe expelled Russia. Many countries imposed sanctions on Russia and its ally Belarus, and provided humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine. The Baltic states and Poland declared Russia

2772-586: Is the defining feature of the Ukrainian far right. " A survey by the Pew Research Center in 2018 found that antisemitic sentiments were less prevalent in Ukraine than other Eastern and Central European countries. While 5% of Ukrainians stated that they would not like to have Jews as their fellow citizens, the figure was 14% in Russia and Hungary , 16% in Greece and 32% in Armenia . According to

2871-559: Is under attack by foreign invaders, it is understandable that Ukrainians will not focus on the political views of their co-defenders, but on who can and will fight the invaders". American scholar and journalist Stephen F. Cohen wrote in The Nation in 2018 that the resurrection of Nazi ideology could be observed all around the globe, including Europe and the United States, but that the growing Ukrainian Neo-Nazi movement posed

2970-687: The 29th , 35th , and 36th Combined Arms Armies . A second axis, deployed towards eastern Kyiv from Russia by the Central Military District (northeastern front), comprised the 41st Combined Arms Army and the 2nd Guards Combined Arms Army . A third axis was deployed towards Kharkiv by the Western Military District (eastern front), with the 1st Guards Tank Army and 20th Combined Arms Army . A fourth, southern front originating in occupied Crimea and Russia's Rostov oblast with an eastern axis towards Odesa and

3069-595: The Charter for European Security , affirming the right of each state "to choose or change its security arrangements" and to join alliances. In 2002, Putin said that Ukraine's relations with NATO were "a matter for those two partners". Russian forces invaded Georgia in August 2008 and took control of the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia , demonstrating Russia's willingness to use military force to attain its political objectives. The United States "was accused of appeasement and naivete" in their reaction to

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3168-817: The National Bolshevik Party , the Eurasian Youth Union , and Cossack groups formed branches to recruit volunteers to join the separatists. A former RNU member, Pavel Gubarev , was founder of the Donbas People's Militia and first "governor" of the Donetsk People's Republic. RNU is particularly linked to the Russian Orthodox Army , one of a number of separatist units described as "pro-Tsarist" and "extremist" Orthodox nationalists. Neo-Nazi units such as

3267-602: The Russian Defence Ministry stated that the first stage of the "military operation" in Ukraine was "generally complete", that the Ukrainian military forces had suffered serious losses, and the Russian military would now concentrate on the "liberation of Donbas ." The "first stage" of the invasion was conducted on four fronts, including one towards western Kyiv from Belarus by the Russian Eastern Military District , comprising

3366-802: The dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, the newly independent states of the Russian Federation and Ukraine maintained cordial relations. In return for security guarantees, Ukraine signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1994, agreeing to dismantle the nuclear weapons the former USSR had left in Ukraine. At that time, Russia, the UK, and the USA agreed in the Budapest Memorandum to uphold Ukraine's territorial integrity. In 1999, Russia signed

3465-479: The far-right has remained on the political periphery and been largely excluded from national politics since independence in 1991 . Unlike most Eastern European countries which saw far-right groups become permanent fixtures in their countries' politics during the decline and the Dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the national electoral support for far-right parties in Ukraine only rarely exceeded 3% of

3564-710: The neutrality clause from the Constitution and to seek Ukraine's membership in NATO . However, it was impossible for Ukraine to join NATO at the time, as any applicant country must have no "unresolved external territorial disputes". In 2016, President of the European Commission , Jean-Claude Juncker , said that it would take 20–25 years for Ukraine to join the EU and NATO. The Minsk agreements , signed in September 2014 and February 2015, aimed to resolve

3663-561: The ' Rusich ', 'Svarozhich' and 'Ratibor' battalions, use Slavic swastikas on their badges. 'Rusich' is part of the Wagner Group , a Russian mercenary group in Ukraine which has been linked to far-right extremism. Some of the most influential far-right nationalists among the Russian separatists are neo-imperialists, who seek to revive the Russian Empire . These included Igor 'Strelkov' Girkin , first "minister of defence" of

3762-469: The 2014 Revolution of Dignity when small radical groups received disproportionate media attention not only in Russia but also in the West. The impact of these organizations on Ukrainian politics and society has been greatly exaggerated in Russian state media and also in some West European media. Media coverage has been focused largely on Right Sector and on Svoboda , whose members stand accused of killing four national guardsmen using hand grenades during

3861-618: The 20th century. The laws represent attempts to reorient historical memory and pivot more decisively away from the Russian-Soviet narrative of the Soviet period, and in particular the World War II era. They laws were criticized by intellectuals in Ukraine and abroad who argued that the laws limited freedom of speech. The fourth bill in the package, "On the Legal Status and Honouring of Fighters for Ukraine's Independence in

3960-667: The Azov Battalion—called a "neo-Nazi paramilitary militia" by Conyers and Yoho. While far-right volunteers played a role in the early stages of the Donbas War , their importance was often exaggerated, and both sides had less need to rely on them as the conflict progressed. Alexander Ritzmann, a Senior Advisor to the Counter Extremism Project , wrote of the Azov Battalion: "when your country

4059-693: The Crimean Parliament . Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014, after a widely disputed referendum held under occupation. Pro-Russian unrest immediately followed in the Ukrainian cities of Donetsk and Luhansk . The war in Donbas began in April 2014 when armed Russian-backed separatists seized Ukrainian government buildings and proclaimed the independent Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic . Russian troops were directly involved in these conflicts. The annexation of Crimea and

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4158-840: The DPR People's Militia bearing portraits of Tsar Nicholas II . Other Russian volunteers involved in separatist militias included members of the Eurasian Youth Union , and of banned groups such as the Slavic Union and the Movement Against Illegal Immigration . Another Russian separatist paramilitary unit, the Interbrigades , is made up of activists from the National Bolshevik (Nazbol) group Other Russia . Russian far-right groups gradually became less important in Donbas as

4257-796: The Donbas region in an effort to reinforce the renewed invasion of southeastern Ukraine. The northeastern front, including the Central Military District, was similarly withdrawn for resupply and redeployment to southeastern Ukraine. On 26 April, delegates from the US and 40 allied nations met at Ramstein Air Base in Germany to discuss the formation of a coalition that would provide economic support in addition to military supplies and refitting to Ukraine. Following Putin's Victory Day speech in early May, US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said no short term resolution to

4356-494: The Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic. The following day, Russia announced that it was sending troops into these territories as "peacekeepers", and the Federation Council of Russia authorised the use of military force abroad. Before 5 a.m. Kyiv time on 24 February, Putin, in another speech , announced a " special military operation ", which effectively declared war on Ukraine. Putin said

4455-549: The Donetsk People's Republic, who espouses Russian neo-imperialism and ethno-nationalism. The Russian Imperial Movement , a white supremacist militant group, has recruited thousands of volunteers to join the separatists. Some separatists have flown the black-yellow-white Russian imperial flag, such as the Sparta Battalion . In 2014, volunteers from the National Liberation Movement joined

4554-424: The European far-right, and Russian fighters in the war include neo-Nazis, and its de-Nazifications claims and invasion are not true or justified. By June 2023, some observers, such as Bellingcat analyst Michael Colborne in a New York Times article and war reporter since 2014 and Kyiv Independent journalist Illya Ponomarenko, argued that Ukraine should consider more seriously the media damage produced by

4653-730: The Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians ", in which he called Ukraine "historically Russian lands" and claimed there is "no historical basis" for the "idea of Ukrainian people as a nation separate from the Russians". Days before the invasion, Putin claimed that Ukraine never had "real statehood" and that modern Ukraine was a mistake created by the Russian Bolsheviks . American historian Timothy Snyder described Putin's ideas as Russian imperialism . British journalist Edward Lucas described it as historical revisionism. Other observers found that Russia's leadership held

4752-415: The Kremlin exaggerates the influence of the extreme right in Ukraine to justify the invasion of Ukraine . Following the February 2014 Revolution of Dignity , Russia occupied Crimea , and armed detachments of Russians seized towns in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, and, by their claims, "pulled the trigger" of the Donbas War . In response, several Ukrainian volunteer battalions formed to help

4851-831: The M03 national trunk road. The following bus lines provide public transportation between the airport and the city of Kharkiv: [REDACTED] Media related to Kharkiv International Airport at Wikimedia Commons 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Eastern Ukraine campaign Southern Ukraine campaign Other regions Naval operations Spillover & related incidents Eastern Ukraine campaign Southern Ukraine campaign Other regions Spillover & related incidents Eastern Ukraine campaign Southern Ukraine campaign Other regions Naval operations Spillover & related incidents Post-Minsk II conflict Attacks on civilians Related On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in

4950-677: The National Guard, consisting largely of far-right militants and others from the Maidan self-defence forces, had the advantage of removing these militants from the centre of Kyiv and other western Ukrainian towns, but they often lacked discipline and treated south-east Ukraine as occupied territory, regularly committing atrocities against civilians and captured 'terrorists'." According to a 2016 report by French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), far-right Russian nationalism , neo-imperialism and Orthodox fundamentalism has shaped

5049-401: The Russian "retraction, resupply, and redeployment" of their troops from the Kyiv area should be interpreted as an expansion of Putin's plans for Ukraine, by redeploying and concentrating his forces on eastern Ukraine. Kyiv was generally left free from attack apart from isolated missile strikes. One did occur while UN Secretary-General António Guterres was visiting Kyiv on 28 April to discuss

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5148-497: The Russian aggression and the gross mischaracterization of Ukraine". The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum , the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and Yad Vashem condemned Putin's abuse of Holocaust history. Ukrainian Jews likewise rejected claims of Ukraine being a neo-Nazi state. Kremlin claims of Nazism against Ukraine are partly an attempt to drum-up support for the war among Russians, framing it as

5247-472: The Russian government's ... equation of the Ukrainian state with the Nazi regime to justify its unprovoked aggression. This rhetoric is factually wrong, morally repugnant and deeply offensive to the memory of millions of victims of Nazism and those who courageously fought against it". The authors say that Ukraine "has right-wing extremists and violent xenophobic groups" like any country, but "none of this justifies

5346-411: The Russian invasion", was not entirely sure of the comment's accuracy. Reporter Glenn Kessler said it came from "a single source, but on the surface it appears to be a good one." Russian forces advancing on Kyiv from Belarus gained control of the ghost town of Chernobyl . Russian Airborne Forces attempted to seize two key airfields near Kyiv, launching an airborne assault on Antonov Airport , and

5445-442: The Russian invasion, said that US intelligence agencies agree that the invasion will continue "for an extended period of time ... In short, the picture remains pretty grim and Russia's attitude toward the West is hardening." On 5 July, BBC reported that extensive destruction by the Russian invasion would cause immense financial damage to Ukraine's reconstruction economy, with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal telling nations at

5544-644: The Russo-Ukrainian border, Ukrainian forces claimed that on 28 February that 100 Russian armoured vehicles had been destroyed and dozens of soldiers captured following a Bayraktar TB2 drone and artillery attack on a large Russian column near Lebedyn in Sumy Oblast . Russian forces also attacked Okhtyrka , deploying thermobaric weapons . Far-right politics in Ukraine#Russian disinformation During Ukraine 's post-Soviet history,

5643-401: The Twentieth Century", has been particularly controversial because it covers a long list of individuals and organisations from human rights activists to fighters accused of committing crimes during World War II, including the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). Monuments in honor of members of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists and

5742-457: The Ukrainian Insurgent Army such as Stepan Bandera , Roman Shukhevych and Yaroslav Stetsko have been controversial and, in one case, earned official protest notes by Israel and Poland. Ukrainian professor Marta Havryshko said that during her history studies at Ivan Franko University in Lviv in the 1990's she was taught that Ukrainian nationalists fought for the country's independence but omitted collaboration with Nazi Germany, she added that

5841-709: The Ukrainian authorities. According to a 2018 report by Freedom House , in the first three months of 2018, extremist groups tried to disrupt twelve public events and attacked a variety of targets. While direct physical violence was not deployed in all twelve cases, extremist groups sought to restrict the rights and freedoms of Ukraine's citizens. Overall, the report argues that far-right groups have been marginal in Ukrainian society and especially in Ukrainian politics. The 2018 report by Freedom House concluded that far-right groups in Ukraine had no significant representation in parliament nor any plausible path to power, but had "a serious impact on everyday life and societal development in

5940-441: The Ukrainian far right is louder in words than in action. Empirical studies of the far-right movement in dicate that while active on the streets, the movement mostly engages in peaceful rallies and performances. " Their anti-Russian stance took roots from the WWII-times fight for the independence against the Soviet Union. " To this day, opposition to Russian influence on Ukraine and any Ukrainian political actor perceived as pro-Russian

6039-464: The Waffen-SS Division. Havryshko said that the differentiated view of the 1943 Volhynia massacre of Polish civilians is straining relations with Poland, with Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski linking Ukraine's accession to the EU to the resolution of the historic dispute. She added that these Ukrainian narratives favor Russian propaganda by ″pouring oil on its own identity politics fire″, which in turn favors Russian propaganda narratives where

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6138-400: The agreement, choosing closer ties to the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union instead. This coerced withdrawal triggered a wave of protests known as Euromaidan , culminating in the Revolution of Dignity in February 2014. Yanukovych fled and was removed from power by parliament, ending up in Russia. Russian soldiers with no insignia occupied the Ukrainian territory of Crimea, and seized

6237-401: The aim of killing the Ukrainian president. The Ukrainian government said anti-war officials within Russia's FSB shared the plans with them. Zelenskyy appeared defiant in his first and following video message , showing in another on 25 February, that he and his cabinet is still in Kiyv. On 26 February NATO met and its countries pledged military aid for Ukraine and on 27 February Germany called

6336-421: The border with Russia. The main infantry and tank attacks were launched in four spearheads, creating a northern front launched towards Kyiv from Belarus, a southern front from Crimea, a southeastern front from Russian-controlled Donbas, and an eastern front from Russia towards Kharkiv and Sumy . Russian vehicles were subsequently marked with a white Z military symbol (a non- Cyrillic letter ), believed to be

6435-413: The city supported by airborne operations and a rapid mechanised advance from the north, but failed. The United States contacted Zelenskyy and offered to help him flee the country, lest the Russian Army attempt to kidnap or kill him on seizing Kyiv; Zelenskyy responded that "The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride." The Washington Post , which described the quote as "one of the most-cited lines of

6534-425: The collaboration is also ″kept quiet and swept under the carpet″ in current Ukrainian historical scholarship. According to Havryshko, the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician) , a division of the German Nazi Party military wing Waffen-SS , are heroized by Ukrainian military units, citing an example in the Kyiv Museum of History where parallels are drawn between members of the 3rd Assault Brigade and

6633-426: The conflict declined over time. In the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election , the coalition of Svoboda and the other extreme-right political parties in Ukraine― National Corps , the Governmental Initiative of Yarosh , and the Right Sector ―won only 2.15% of the vote combined and failed to pass the 5% threshold. As a result, no party was able to win a proportional seat . One party – the Svoboda party –

6732-440: The conflict, but ceasefires and further negotiations repeatedly failed. There was a large Russian military build-up near the Ukraine border in March and April 2021, and again in both Russia and Belarus from October 2021 onward. Members of the Russian government, including Putin, repeatedly denied having plans to invade or attack Ukraine, with denials being issued up to the day before the invasion. The decision to invade Ukraine

6831-417: The country by April 2023, creating Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. In late 2021, Russia massed troops near Ukraine's borders and issued demands including a ban on Ukraine ever joining the NATO military alliance. After repeatedly denying having plans to attack Ukraine, on 24 February 2022, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced a " special military operation ", saying that it

6930-439: The country." The report identified three extremist political parties― Svoboda , National Corps and Right Sector —and argues that their lack of relevance in official politics has resulted in right-wing groups seeking avenues outside of politics to impose their agenda on Ukrainian society. Such attempts have included efforts to disrupt peaceful assemblies and violence against those with opposite political and cultural views including

7029-421: The fall of the First Yatsenyuk government on 27 November 2014, Svoboda lost representation in the Ukrainian Government. From 14 April 2016 to 29 August 2019, the Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament was Andriy Parubiy , the co-founder of the SNPU; however, Parubiy left such organizations in 2004 and later joined moderate political parties, such as Our Ukraine , Batkivshchyna and the People's Front . In

7128-463: The far-right are impacted by the ambivalent role Ukraine played during Nazi occupation, with Ukrainians volunteering in SS troops and as concentration camp guards. Hate crimes were relatively uncommon in Ukraine compared to other Eastern European countries, with increase after 2005, and decrease after 2008 - 2009. The increase was mostly due to informal youth groups, in particular skinheads . 2007

7227-400: The height of nationalist sentiment during and after Russia's annexation of Crimea and the Russo-Ukrainian War . The far-right was heavily represented among the pro-Russian separatists with several past or current leaders of the republics of Donetsk and Luhansk linked to various neo-Nazi , white supremacist and ultra-nationalist groups. The importance of the far-right on both sides of

7326-432: The illegal annexation of four partly-occupied provinces . In November, Ukraine liberated Kherson . In June 2023, Ukraine launched another counteroffensive in the southeast, but made few gains. After small but steady Russian advances in the east in the first half of 2024, Ukraine launched a cross-border offensive into Russia's Kursk Oblast in August of that year. The United Nations Human Rights Office reports that Russia

7425-534: The invasion a historic watershed. That day in the evening Putin put Russia's nuclear deterrence into alert. The Russian invasion was unexpectedly met by fierce Ukrainian resistance. In Kyiv, Russia failed to take the city and was repulsed in the battles of Irpin , Hostomel , and Bucha . The Russians tried to encircle the capital, but its defenders under Oleksandr Syrskyi held their ground, effectively using Western Javelin anti-tank missiles and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to thin Russian supply lines and stall

7524-840: The invasion should be expected. Ukraine's reliance on Western-supplied equipment constrained operational effectiveness, as supplying countries feared that Ukraine would use Western-made matériel to strike targets in Russia. Military experts disagreed on the future of the conflict; some suggested that Ukraine should trade territory for peace, while others believed that Ukraine could maintain its resistance due to Russian losses. By 30 May, disparities between Russian and Ukrainian artillery were apparent, with Ukrainian artillery being vastly outgunned, in terms of both range and number. In response to US President Joe Biden 's indication that enhanced artillery would be provided to Ukraine, Putin said that Russia would expand its invasion front to include new cities in Ukraine. In apparent retribution, Putin ordered

7623-494: The invasion. In 2013, Ukraine's parliament overwhelmingly approved finalising an association agreement with the European Union (EU). Russia had put pressure on Ukraine to reject it. Kremlin adviser Sergei Glazyev warned in September 2013 that if Ukraine signed the EU agreement, Russia would no longer acknowledge Ukraine's borders. In November, Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych suddenly withdrew from signing

7722-697: The left, feminists, LGBT groups, and human rights activists. One particular area of concern noted in the report is that Ukrainian law enforcement had failed to properly stop or punish far-right disruption. The report called on Ukrainian authorities to take more effective measures. In 2019, a Bellingcat investigation revealed that the Ukrainian government gave over 8 million hryvnias (over US$ 300,000)) for "national-patriotic education projects" targeting Ukrainian youth. A proportion of this (845,000 hryvnias — over $ 30,000) went to several far-right nationalist groups, including National Corps and possible fronts for C14 . Political scientist Tamta Gelashvili noted in 2023, "

7821-453: The mid-2000s. Between 2006 and 2012, there were 295 reported violent hate crimes and 13 hate-crime-related deaths, the last reported death occurred in 2010 before the start of the war with Russia. In 2008, Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group , issued an open letter complaining about the radical right-wing organization Patriot of Ukraine which according to the author had close ties to Russian and Ukrainian extremists. The author warned that

7920-506: The need for Russian radical nationalists faded. Despite the fact that far-right parties in Ukraine have been unpopular with the electorate and received less support than far-right parties in other European countries, the Russian government and media started to label Ukraine a "fascist state" following the Orange Revolution in 2004. The subject of the far right's alleged influence in Ukraine became especially politicized during

8019-441: The north and east as "stalled." Advances from Chernihiv largely halted as a siege began there . Russian forces continued to advance on Kyiv from the northwest, capturing Bucha , Hostomel and Vorzel by 5 March, though Irpin remained contested as of 9 March. By 11 March, the lengthy convoy had largely dispersed and taken cover. On 16 March, Ukrainian forces began a counter-offensive to repel Russian forces. Unable to achieve

8118-641: The offensive. On the southern front, Russian forces had captured the regional capital of Kherson by 2 March. A column of Russian tanks and armoured vehicles was ambushed on 9 March in Brovary and sustained heavy losses that forced them to retreat. The Russian army adopted siege tactics on the western front around the key cities of Chernihiv, Sumy and Kharkiv, but failed to capture them due to stiff resistance and logistical setbacks. In Mykolaiv Oblast , Russian forces advanced as far as Voznesensk , but were repelled and pushed back south of Mykolaiv. On 25 March,

8217-490: The official ideology of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, the two self-proclaimed states controlled by pro-Russian separatists but internationally recognized as part of Ukraine. During the Russo-Ukrainian War , especially at the beginning, far-right groups played an important role on the pro-Russian side, arguably more so than on the Ukrainian side. Members and former members of Russian National Unity (RNU),

8316-406: The operation was to "protect the people" of the Russian-controlled breakaway republics. He falsely claimed that they had "been facing humiliation and genocide perpetrated by the Kyiv regime." Putin said that Russia was being threatened: he falsely claimed that Ukrainian government officials were neo-Nazis under Western control, that Ukraine was developing nuclear weapons, and that a hostile NATO

8415-709: The partial negligence in the condemnation of some symbols, which are present in the most radical military communities of both sides in the conflict, including Azov, the Russian Volunteer Corps , Wagner, and the numerous neo-Nazis within the Russian Imperial Movement . According to Colborne, Ukraine must understand that any communication failure can undermine Western support and the country's international credibility. Ponomarenko proposed to tighten punitive measures against individual soldiers who display neo-Nazi symbols but also commented how

8514-504: The popular vote. Far-right parties usually enjoyed just a few wins in single-mandate districts, and no far right candidate for president has ever secured more than 5 percent of the popular vote in an election. Only once in the 1994–2014 period was a radical right-wing party elected to the parliament as an independent organization within the proportional part of the voting: Svoboda in 2012. Since then far-right parties have failed to gain enough votes to attain political representation, even at

8613-630: The presence of these symbols is not unprecedented for Western armies, citing similar cases in the Australian Army and a US Marine Corps during the war in Afghanistan. Russian responses to the Yaroslav Hunka scandal in September 2023 were designed to cause their conduct of war in Ukraine to appear more legitimate, with James L. Turk calling the scandal "a gold mine for Russian propagandists", who shared on Twitter an image of

8712-741: The regular Ukrainian military. One of these self-funded volunteer militias was the Azov Battalion . In 2014, some members of the battalion were reported as openly white supremacists . Its first commander was Andriy Biletsky , the head of the ultra-nationalist and far right political groups Social-National Assembly and Patriots of Ukraine . The battalion was taken under the command of the National Guard of Ukraine in 2015. In June 2015, United States Democratic Representative John Conyers and his Republican colleague Ted Yoho offered bipartisan amendments to prevent U.S. military training of

8811-433: The spread of extremist ideology was reminiscent of that in Russia 2000-2001. In 2018, Human Rights Watch issued a letter stating that, in the months preceding the letter's publication, there have been a series of hate-motivated violent incidents and harassment by radical groups against LGBT people, Roma people , feminists and rights activists. According to the letter, the violent incidents were not prosecuted adequately by

8910-407: The survivors of the siege of Mariupol with Zelenskyy. One person was killed and several were injured in the attack. Russian forces advanced into Chernihiv Oblast on 24 February, besieging its administrative capital within four days of fighting . On 25 February Ukrainian forces lost control over Konotop . As street fighting took place in the city of Sumy , just 35 kilometres (22 mi) from

9009-404: The war in Donbas sparked a wave of Russian nationalism . Analyst Vladimir Socor called Putin's 2014 speech following the annexation a "manifesto of Greater-Russia irredentism ". Putin began referring to " Novorossiya " (New Russia), a former Russian imperial territory that covered much of southern Ukraine. Russian-backed forces were influenced by Russian neo-imperialism and sought to create

9108-413: The word "Nazi" to mean "a Ukrainian who refuses to be Russian", and he called Putin's Russia "the world center of fascism" ( ruscism ). Observers commented how Russia has used real issues, such antisemitism in Ukraine and Ukrainian collaboration with Nazi Germany , for its own propaganda in support of Putin's debunked de-Nazification claim, as Ukraine is not a Nazi state, Russia has been supported by

9207-401: Was able to secure a single constituency seat . The far-right in Ukraine is not identical with Ukrainian nationalism which resulted in part from Ukraine being historically divided between various imperial powers. Post-Soviet Ukraine is home to competing nationalisms and cultural orientations. The nationalist organizations during World War II remain controversial. National attitudes about

9306-407: Was building up its forces and military infrastructure in Ukraine. He said Russia sought the "demilitarization and denazification" of Ukraine, and espoused views challenging the legitimacy of the Ukrainian state. Putin said he had no plans to occupy Ukraine. The invasion began within minutes of Putin's speech. The invasion began at dawn on 24 February. It was described as the biggest attack on

9405-456: Was renovated to become a VIP terminal. Since 2013, the airport operates a CATII instrument landing system (ILS). The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at the airport: As of 24 February 2022, all passenger flights have been suspended indefinitely. Kharkiv International Airport is well served by municipal transport and is connected to the city's wider network of roads and railways via Aeroflotska Street and

9504-519: Was reportedly made by Putin and a small group of war hawks or siloviki in Putin's inner circle, including national security adviser Nikolai Patrushev and defence minister Sergei Shoigu . Reports of an alleged leak of Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) documents by US intelligence sources said that the FSB had not been aware of Putin's plan to invade. In July 2021, Putin published an essay " On

9603-422: Was the most violent year in terms of racially motivated crimes with 88 registered assaults with 6 fatalities. By comparison, in Russia during the same year there were a reported 625 casualties with 94 deaths attributed to far-right violence. The significant difference results in part the from the different sizes of the racist youth and skinhead scene in Ukraine and Russia. According to estimates, in 2008 Ukraine had

9702-529: Was to support the Russian-backed breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk , whose paramilitary forces had been fighting Ukraine in the Donbas conflict since 2014. Putin espoused irredentist and neo-imperialist views challenging Ukraine's legitimacy as a state, falsely claimed that Ukraine was governed by neo-Nazis persecuting the Russian minority , and said that Russia's goal was to "demilitarize and denazify" Ukraine. Russian air strikes and

9801-439: Was uncovered after their withdrawal. In the southeast, Russia launched an offensive in the Donbas and captured Mariupol after a destructive siege . Russia continued to bomb military and civilian targets far from the front, and struck the energy grid through the winter months. In late 2022, Ukraine launched successful counteroffensives in the south and east , liberating most of Kharkiv province . Soon after, Russia announced

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