Russia s military attack on Ukraine

At dawn, on 24 February 2022, on the pretext of a ‘special military operation’ in the Donbass, Russia launched a full-scale military attack on strategic locations in major cities across Ukraine, sparking anti-war protests including across Russia (see Figure 1). The invasion occurred a few days after Russia’s recognition, in violation of international law, of the independence of the self-proclaimed Donetsk (DPR) and Luhansk (LPR) republics, where a Russian so-called ‘peacekeeping’ force was sent earlier in the week. In response to the attack, Ukraine cut diplomatic ties, declared martial law and called on all its citizens of an age to do what is necessary to protect the country.