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.