Ukraine's journey: from the "cradle of the Russian nation" to the Soviet Union to the current conflict

On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognised Donetsk and Luhansk, two separatist-held territories in eastern Ukraine, as autonomous entities and authorised a special military operation "to safeguard" the people in the Donbas region, which encompasses the two separatist-held districts.

Ukraine, which is located in eastern Europe, is the continent's second-largest country after Russia, with a population of ....