The war is now in its fifth year - how did we get here?

It started when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbour on 24 February 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin said his goal was to "demilitarise and denazify" Ukraine - he has repeatedly painted the country as a Nazi state. The Russian leader has long questioned Ukraine's right to exist, claiming that "modern Ukraine was entirely created by Russia" after the communist revolution in 1917. How the war progressed - from before the invasion until February 2026 In