What started as a concerning situation with hopes for dialogue and diplomacy then evolved into what the Ukrainian foreign minister described as the most blatant act of aggression in Europe since World War II. [14] In November, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych was declared the winner, despite allegations of vote-rigging by election observers. Fears escalated in early 2022 as the number of Russian forces surrounding Ukraine increased. [131], In early September 2014, Russian state-owned television channels reported on the funerals of Russian soldiers who had died in Ukraine, but described them as "volunteers" fighting for the "Russian world". Ukrainian tanks during the 2022 Kharkiv counteroffensive; Russian-installed officials in Moscow ratifying the annexation of four Ukrainian regions; Russian proxy forces during the war in Donbas; Russian bombing during the Siege of Mariupol; Russian soldiers during the annexation of Crimea; The Russo-Ukrainian War[e], previously referred to as the Ukrainian crisis[4] in its early stages, is an ongoing international conflict between Russia, alongside Russian-backed separatists, and Ukraine, which began in February 2014. [27][28][29][30] On 23 February, the parliament adopted a bill to repeal the 2012 law which gave Russian language an official status. [57][58], On 20 February 2014, Russia began an annexation of Crimea. In February 2015, Russia and Ukraine signed the Minsk II agreements to end the conflict, but the agreements were never fully implemented in the years that followed. He rationalized in a 2021 essay that a common history and culture which Ukrainians dispute entitled Russia to exert its influence there. [6] In return, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States agreed to uphold the territorial integrity and political independence of Ukraine through the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances. [355] Russia's actions increased tensions in nearby countries historically within its sphere of influence, particularly the Baltic and Moldova. [140] US general Philip M. Breedlove said "Russian tanks, Russian artillery, Russian air defence systems and Russian combat troops" had been sighted. NBC News, also attributing its figures to Western and Ukrainian officials, notes that about 13,000 Ukrainian service members have been killed. A man sits outside his destroyed building after bombings on the eastern Ukraine town of Chuguiv, on Feb. 24, 2022. [255] In the first week of the invasion, the UN reported over a million refugees had fled Ukraine; this subsequently rose to over 7,405,590 by 24 September, a reduction from over eight million due to some refugees' return. [81] By April 2014, Russian citizens had taken control of the separatist movement, supported by volunteers and materiel from Russia, including Chechen and Cossack fighters. [256][257], Ukrainian forces launched counteroffensives in the south in August, and in the northeast in September.