Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.Insider spoke to three experts about why it happened, and the motives behind President Putin's move.
AP Photo/Evgeniy MaloletkaPutin blamed the WestTaylor said the invasion of Ukraine reflects Putin's "grievances that have been brewing for a long time."
For Putin, "Russia has a right to rule Ukraine.
At the start of the invasion, Putin blamed NATO's expansion into eastern Europe for forcing his hand, echoing a criticism he has made for years.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with war correspondents in Moscow, June 13, 2023.
Persons:
Putin's, —, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Felipe Dana, it's, George W, Bush, Stephen Hall, Hall, Alexander Ermochenko, Brian Taylor, Thomas Graham, Graham, Evgeniy Maloletka Putin, West Taylor, Taylor, Lithuania — Taylor, NATO didn't, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Omar Marques, They've, Russia's, Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Stalin, Zelenskyy, Viktor Medvedchuk, Donald Trump, Trump, Joe Biden, GAVRIIL
Organizations:
Service, AP, University of Bath, Kyiv, REUTERS, Slavic, of, West, Syracuse University, Yale, NATO, NATO doesn't, Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Getty, Nazis, Nazism, Putin, SPUTNIK
Locations:
Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Bucha, Kyiv, Russian Ukraine, Soviet Union, USSR, Russian, Moscow, Luhansk, Belarus, Asia, of Russia, East, Avdiivka, Europe, Ryazan, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Zelenskyy, Afghanistan, Germany