A timeline of Russia’s stand-off with Ukraine
- Russian President Vladimir Putin approves operation in Ukraine
- Announcement follows months of escalating tensions in the region
November 10, 2021: Washington reports unusual Russian troop movements near the Ukrainian border.
November 28: Ukraine says Russia is massing nearly 92,000 troops for an offensive at the end of January or early February. Moscow denies this and accuses Kyiv of a build-up of its own, demanding “legal guarantees” that it will never join Nato.
January 17: Russian troops begin arriving in ex-Soviet Belarus for drills, which Moscow says are aimed at “thwarting external aggression”. Two days later, Washington announces an extra US$200 million in security aid to Kyiv.
January 24: Nato puts troops on standby and sends ships and fighter jets to bolster Europe’s eastern defences. The next day, Moscow begins exercises involving some 6,000 troops and at least 60 fighter jets in southern Russia near Ukraine and in Moscow-annexed Crimea.
