After weeks of building up a massive military force along Russia's border with Ukraine and in neighboring Belarus, Putin launched a full-scale invasion of the country on February 24.
Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO secretary-general, said the invasion of Ukraine has shattered the peace in Europe. In the late 1700s, Ukraine became part of the Russian Empire. It fought for independence during the early 20th century, but eventually lost and joined the Soviet Union.
Despite the country's newfound closeness to Western Europe, its cultural ties with Russia remain deeply rooted. In 2014, Putin claimed that his forces were defending the interests of ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine. Many of these individuals have never supported the country's pro-Western government.During an interview on CBS' "Sunday Morning," Applebaum noted that during the Soviet Union's rule, Ukraine was a separate entity from the rest of the USSR. It had its own language and had its own status inside the Soviet Union. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine agreed to transfer a substantial portion of its nuclear weapons to Russia.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Putin seized control of Ukraine. Despite the international community's condemnation, Russia has been in control of the region since 2014. During this time, a substantial portion of the country's nuclear arsenal was stored in Ukraine.