Russia-Ukraine WAR in 3 pages

Page 1

How dothemilitaries compare? Russia's invasion pits the Kremlin's large, recently modernised military against an adversary largely using older versions of the same or similar equipment, dating back to the Soviet era. Russia has significant numerical advantages on land and in particular in the air and at sea, although Ukrainians are defending their homeland.

Russia-key elements

Ukraine -key elements

280,000

145,000

Army personnel regularforces (plus estimated

Army personnel regular forces

34,000 separatist forces in Donetsk and Luhansk)

2,840

858

Battle tanks

Battle tanks

One icon = 100 assets

5,220 Fighting vehicles

1,184

Fighting vehicles

One icon = 100 assets

1,818

4,684 Artillery pieces One icon

Artillery pieces

100 assets

1,520+ Air defence surface-to-air batteries

75t Air defence surface-to-air batteries

One icon = 100 assets

150

90

Ballistic missiles

Ballistic missiles

One icon = 10 assets

Guardian graphic. Source: International Institute for Strategic Studies


What is the historical context? In 2014 Putin sent troops to annex Crimea, a mainly Russian-speaking region of Ukraine. Russia also incited a separatist uprising in Ukraine's south-east, clandestinely sending soldiers and weapons to provoke a conflict that grew intoa

full-blown war. A 2015 peace deal established a line of demarcation and called on both sides to make concessions. Since then low-level fighting has continued along the front, and each side has accused the other of violating the agreement.

Ukraine

Russia Ukrainian forces were

Luhansk

encircled in

reglon

Line of control A 250-mile 'border

Debaltseve

- has existed for

2015

Luhansk

Crimea In 2014 Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the region

nearly eight years

Donetsk

Donetsk region

Territory controlled by Russia-backed separatists

Crimea

Kyiv 100 km

100 miless

Guardian graphic. Source: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

Going back further, Russia has long opposed any attempts by Ukraine to move towards the EU and Nato. One of Putin's often repeated demands is a guarantee that Ukraine never joins Nato, the alliance of 30 countries that has expanded eastwards since the end of the cold war. Date of

1949

1952

1955

1982

1990

1999

2004 2009

2017

2020

.Nato deterrence and defence facility

accession Not on the map

Norway

US

-Nato has deployed four multinational battlegroups in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania

Canada

Estonia and Poland

lceland

Latvia

UK Denmark

Russia

Lithuania O

Netherlands,

Germany

Belgium, Lux

Poland

Ukraine Slovakia Ballistic missile defence

Czech Rep

system at Deveselu airbase France

Stovenia Hungary Romanla Croatia

Portugal

inRomania

Bulgaria

Spain

Turkey O

Italy Greece Ships stationed at the port of Rota, Spain,

Montenegro North Macedonia

carry interceptors capable of bringing down short- and medium-range ballistic missiles Guardian graphic. Source: Nato and Reuters

Albania


What is the role of Nord Stream 2? On 22 February, the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz,

stopped the certification

process for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in response to Russia's recognition of the two self-proclaimed republics.

First announced in 2015, the $11bn (£8.3bn) pipeline owned by Russia's state backed energy firm Gazprom was built to carry gas from western Siberia to Lubmin in Germany's north-east, doubling the existing capacity of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline and keeping 26m German homes warm at an affordable price. Sweden

Finland

Northern Lights

Russia

The planned Nord Stream 2

pipeline would allow Russia to

Progress

continue gas exports to Europe

if transit through Ukraine were blocked or disrupted

Moscow

Yamal-Europe Belarus

Germany

Poland

Soyuz

Kyiv Ukraine

Kazakhstan

Romania

Turkstream

Blue Streamm Guardian graphic. Source: Global Energy Monitor

urope's most divisive energy project, the route of Nord

Stream2

bypassed the

traditional gas transit nation of Ukraine by running along the bed of the Baltic Sea. It faced resistance within the EU, and from the US as well as Ukraine, on the grounds that it increased Europe's energy dependence on Russia, denied Ukraine transit fees and made it more vulnerable to Russian invasion.


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