Russian and Ukraine used to be part of the same country, the United Socialist Soviet Republic (USSR).
The USSR was broken up into smaller countries in 1991, one of which is Russia and another is Ukraine. Russia has aimed to take over Ukraine since the breakup of the USSR.
The Russo-Ukraine war began in 2014 and was renewed in force when Russia launched a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Russia does not protect human rights, and has engaged in extensive war crimes.
Ukraine is a Western democracy and an American ally. The U.S. has provided Ukraine with $61 billion in defense aid.
More than 355,000 Russians and 444,000 Ukrainians have been killed and wounded in the war. Russia has been accused of mass kidnappings of tens to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian children.
Russia’s President Putin denies Ukraine’s right to exist as a separate nation. He justifies his invasion with false claims that Ukraine is governed by neo-Nazis persecuting the Russian minority in Ukraine.
The War
Over 700,000 Russians and Ukrainians have died in the war.
Russia and the U.S.
The relationship between the United States and Russia has become progressively worse since Putin came to power in 2012 and solidified authoritarian rule over Russia.
Russia and the U.S. are the world’s two nuclear superpowers. Russia is considered a security threat to the United States.
Russia actively interferes in American elections.
Russia is engaged in a full-blown disinformation campaign aimed at destabilizing the United States, as well as an aggressive disinformation war against Ukraine.
