Country Background
A Note on Wikipedia:
Ordinarily, Wikipedia is a fairly reliable source regarding basic geographical and historical facts. However, these are not ordinary times. When reading Wikipedia pages on Ukrainian and Russian topics, be aware that they may be being manipulated for rhetorical or even propagandistic purposes. It is relatively uncommon that outright falsehoods are presented on Wikipedia, but more common that certain facts might be deleted or overemphasized. (For instance, as of this writing some articles have had discussion of Russian vs. Ukrainian ethnic identity in eastern Ukraine deleted.) As always, if it's really important make sure that Wikipedia isn't the only source you use!
History
Ukraine has had a rich history--and a complicated one, as it has been at the crossroads of numerous warring states over the centuries. ("Ukraine" itself approximately means "Borderland," which gives an idea.) The following resources can provide some of this background.
Some of the earliest historical traces of what is now Ukraine appear with the Kyivan (sometimes "Kievan") Rus. Characteristically, it featured a mix of ethnicities and languages, including the Norse. Jackson Crawford and and Vicki Grove discuss not just the Norse aspect of old Kyiv, but also some of the linguistic distinctions of the region.
Imperial Gamble by
Marvin Kalb, former CBS Moscow bureau chief, traces how the Crimea of Catherine the Great became a global tinder box. The world was stunned when Vladimir Putin invaded and seized the seaport region of Crimea in March 2014. In the weeks that followed, separatist rebels aided by Russia took over territory in the area surrounding Crimea in eastern Ukraine. The United States and its Western allies immediately imposed strict sanctions on Russia and have continued to tighten those sanctions. This sharp deterioration in East-West relations has raised basic questions about the policies of Vladimir Putin and the future of Russia. Marvin Kalb, who reported from Russia in the 1950s for Edward R. Murrow and served as the CBS Moscow bureau chief in the early 1960s, argues that, contrary to conventional wisdom, Putin did not "suddenly" decide to invade Crimea and then instigate a pro-Russian rebellion in eastern Ukraine. He had been waiting for the right moment in the months after Ukrainians rose up in bloody protests against the pro-Russian president in Kiev's Maidan Square. Those demonstrations had led Putin to the conclusion that Ukraine's opposition constituted an existential threat to Russia. Imperial Gamble examines how Putin reached that conclusion by taking a critical look at the recent political history of post-Soviet Russia. It also journeys deeper into the Russian past to more fully explain the roots of Russian nationalism that drives both Putin and the Russian people who support his actions in Ukraine. Kalb argues that the post-cold war world today hangs on the resolution of the Ukraine crisis. So long as it is treated as a problem to be resolved by Russia, on the one side, and the United States and Europe, on the other, it will remain a danger zone with global consequences. The only sensible solution lies in both Russia and Ukraine recognizing that their futures are irrevocably linked by the geography, power, politics, and history that Kalb brings to life in Imperial Gamble.
ISBN: 0815726643Publication Date: 2015-09-30
NATO's Return to Europe by
NATO's 2010 Strategic Concept officially broadened the alliance's mission beyond collective defense, reflecting a peaceful Europe and changes in alliance activities. NATO had become an international security facilitator, a crisis-manager even outside Europe, and a liberal democratic club as much as a mutual-defense organization. However, Russia's re-entry into great power politics has changed NATO's strategic calculus. Russia's aggressive annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its ongoing military support for Ukrainian separatists dramatically altered the strategic environment and called into question the liberal European security order. States bordering Russia, many of which are now NATO members, are worried, and the alliance is divided over assessments of Russia's behavior. Against the backdrop of Russia's new assertiveness, an international group of scholars examines a broad range of issues in the interest of not only explaining recent alliance developments but also making recommendations about critical choices confronting the NATO allies. While a renewed emphasis on collective defense is clearly a priority, this volume's contributors caution against an overcorrection, which would leave the alliance too inwardly focused, play into Russia's hand, and exacerbate regional fault lines always just below the surface at NATO. This volume places rapid-fire events in theoretical perspective and will be useful to foreign policy students, scholars, and practitioners alike.
ISBN: 1626164886Publication Date: 2017-09-11
The War in Ukraine's Donbas by
This collective work analyzes the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, providing a coherent picture of Ukraine and Eastern Europe in the period 2013-2020. Giving voice to different social groups, scholarly communities and agencies relevant to Ukraine's recent history, The War in Ukraine's Donbasgoes beyond simplistic media interpretations that limit the analysis to Vladimir Putin and Russian aims to annex Ukraine. Instead, the authors identify the deeper roots linked to the autonomy and history of Donbas as a region. The contributions explore local society and traditions and the alienation from Ukraine caused by the events of Euromaidan, which saw the removal of the Donetsk-based president Viktor Yanukovych. Other chapters address the refugee crisis, the Minsk Accords in 2014 and the impact of the new president Volodymyr Zelensky and his efforts to bring the war to an end by negotiations among Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany. The book concludes with four proposals for a durable peace in Donbas: territorial power-sharing; the conversion of rebels into legitimate political parties; amnesty for all participants of the armed conflict; and a transitional period of several years until political institutions are fully re-established.
ISBN: 9633864194Publication Date: 2022-01-10
Bloodlands by
A prize-winning historian recasts the history of modern Europe around its central catastrophe: the fourteen million people killed by totalitarian regimes in the lands between Hitler and Stalin
ISBN: 9780465022908Publication Date: 2010-10-12
- "War of textbooks: History education in Russia and Ukraine" Karina Korostelina write in the journal of Communist and Post-Communist Studies about how differently Ukraine and Russia depict Ukrainian nationhood and history: "History education in Ukraine porrtrays Russia as oppressive and aggressive enemy...History education in the Russian Federation condemns Ukrainian nationalism and proclaims . . . Russian dominance over 'younger brother, Ukraine.'"
Military Information
Reliable information about military capabilities and equipment is hard to come by in peacetime, and in the middle of an active war zone it is almost impossible to find. Information about how many tanks or missiles an army or air force has equipped are typically optimistic in even the most transparent militaries; inevitably troop levels are lower than expected, equipment is out of service, etc.
Prewar numbers for Ukrainian, Russian, Belarusian, and NATO armed forces are typically idealized. Anyone curious about what sort of equipment is being used--is a MiG-29 like an F-16? What's the difference between a T-64 and a T-72?--the technical information on sites like Wikipedia is, while not perfect, generally not far off the mark for ordinary purposes. It is probably not wise to take very literally the subjective assessments on such pages, or any confident assertions about their performance in Ukraine.
A Brief Glossary
(Taken from a wide variety of sources. This should be seen as a very rough, informal guide.)
If you are following the military side of the conflict, you might find yourself confronting a lot of terminology that you haven't encountered before. The following are brief descriptions of the various military terms that keep turning up:
1. Force Organization
Azov Battalion: A Ukrainian volunteer force that serves around the Sea of Azov. Highly controversial, as it has drawn many recruits from far-right organizations throughout Europe. They figure highly in Russian propaganda, and are talented at social media, but it is not a large unit in and of itself.
Kadyrovtsy: Chechen volunteers fighting for Russia, raised by the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Kadyrov started out as an anti-Russian Chechen leader but turned around and is now the Russian-backed Chechen strongman. The Kadyrovtsy are among the more controversial troops fighting for Russia, and have a bloodthirsty reputation.
Rosgvardia: Essentially, "National Guard" but isn't exactly like its US counterpart. Comprises a lot of not-quite-military forces that in the US might be border patrol, SWAT teams, customs police, etc. Their starring role in the early stages of the conflict has drawn much criticism.
Spetznaz: "Special Forces," refers to specially-trained troops as well as "line" troops detached for special tasks. It's more a kind of unit, rather than the name for a unit.
"Z" and "V": The "Z" painted on the side of many Russian vehicles has become one of the hallmark images of the war, especially in Russia. There are lots of theories about how those letters (which don't exist in Russian Cyrillic) were chosen. "V" is marked on vehicles coming from Belarus (and are now northwest of Kyiv) and "Z" on those moving from Russia ("Z" in a box are from Crimea, which Russia occupied before the offensive began).
2. Aircraft
Russia and Ukraine have much the same aircraft stock, derived from airplanes developed during the Cold War. Advanced Russian stealth planes are not in wide use over Ukraine. Some of the planes, aircraft, and UAVs ("drones") that appear are:
Su-25: A ground-attack plane that has the same sort of role as the US A-10. It flies low and slow and is meant to attack vehicles and troops on the ground.
MiG-29: About the same size and role as the US F-16. It is a light, maneuverable dogfighter with a limited ground attack role. Most Ukrainian fighters are MiG-29s. Some NATO countries--notably Poland--also have MiG-29s and the prospect of shipping them to Ukraine was a major story early in the war.
Su-27: About the size and role of the F-15. A large air superiority and "strike" fighter; it has had many upgrades and "forks" over the years, including the SU-30 and -35. Russia's front-line fighter; Ukraine has a limited number of these and none are in NATO service.
Su-34: A large, ground-strike-oriented development of the SU-27. The closest US equivalent is the F-111, but the SU-34 plays a much bigger role in the Russian air force and is possibly its most advanced aircraft in common use. SU-34s have led a lot of the air strikes against Ukrainian cities, including launching cruise missiles.
TB-2 Bayraktar: A UCAV (uncrewed combat air vehicle) designed by the Turkish company Baykar (owned by the designer Selçuk Bayraktar) and exported to a variety of customers, and has seen combat in Libya, the recent Armenia-Azerbaijan War, and now with Ukraine. It has been one of the most talked-about weapons in Ukraine's arsenal. The versions that have been exported thus far are do not use satellite communications (unlike many US UAVs) and thus must be piloted from relatively nearby. Ukraine had something like 20 of these when the war began.
"Loitering Munitions": Russia does not (seem to) have as many UCAVs in the air as Ukraine, but recently has been deploying so-called "loitering munitions" that are small, can stay in the air for a long period of time, and then are designed to crash themselves into targets and explode.
Mi-8: A helicopter that serves a do-it-all role much like the US Black Hawk. Russia is very proud of its airmobile and airborne troops, who tend to operate from helicopter assaults.
Mi-24: Known to NATO as the "Hind," it is a huge Cold-War era combination gunship and troop carrier which has been exported very widely and seen service in countless wars. It has been upgraded several times, but is slowly being phased out in preference for the...
Ka-52: The helicopter in Russian service most like the US Apache. Very distinctive thanks to its twin "top" rotors.
3. Missiles
This is turning into a missile war. Anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles have been around for decades, but have taken on a dominant role in this conflict--particularly shoulder-fired missiles.
Those interested in this should read this primer from The Drive's Warzone blog. A few very common terms:
Javelin: A US shoulder-fired anti-armor missile. It was the centerpiece of the Trump administration's pressure on Ukraine that led to the first impeachment trial. There are many other (and possibly more effective) anti-armor missiles being sent to Ukraine from throughout NATO, but Javelins are very common. They can be programmed to soar into the air and land downward on the top of a tank, which has thinner armor than a tank's side; this has inspired some Russian tank crews to bolt temporary "cages" to their tank turrets to (they hope) detonate the missile before it reaches the actual tank. This tends not to work well in practice, and has led to several derogatory nicknames.
Kalibr: The most common Russian cruise missile; much like the US Tomahawk.
Kinzhal: A Russian hypersonic cruise missile; it's essentially just really fast and thus harder to intercept than other missiles in the Russian inventory.
MANPADS: Man-Portable Air Defense System. Shoulder-fired anti-air missiles. The most famous being...
Stinger: The US small MANPADS, variants of which have seen conflict since the Afghan-USSR War. Some are in Ukraine, but there are many similar weapons in NATO being sent to Ukraine. These have been most effective against Russian helicopters and low-flying strike aircraft.