Cause: Even though Ukraine established themselves as a country, in 1991, the Russian influence remained. As a result, Ukraine has sought to distance themselves from this domineering attitude from Russia, who continue to believe that Ukraine is apart of their country. Hence, during the elections that began in 2001, there was political civil unrest in the form of protest. These protest were based on the minority of the Ukrainians who wanted to remain attached to Russia, while the majority supported EU ties. As a result of this civil unrest, that continued throughout the years, the Russians seized and annexed Crimea. This led to the 2014 Russo-Ukrainian War, which spiraled into the invasion of the central, southern and western parts of Ukraine in 2022. This war continues up until this day (06/2025).

 

Effect: The result of the war has caused many displaced Ukrainians, who have had to flee from the Russian-Ukrainian border to other western Ukrainian regions, EU countries and other parts of the world. As of 2024, there are over 3.7 million internally displaced Ukrainians and over 6.8 million (2025) dispersed throughout the world. (1)