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1. The Ukraine Conflict
Українського конфлікту
By Harris Mowbray

2. Background on Ukraine-
Russia Relations

3. Russian Tsardom
In the 1600s, Russia conquered Eastern Ukraine from
Polish-Lithuanian rule
Ukrainian rebels and Russia allied to defeat the ruling
Polish-Lithuanian kingdom
Painting of a Russian
soldier preparing to fight
with Ukrainian rebels

4. First Ukrainian
Revolution
Ukraine split into two countries after World War I,
the Popular Republic of Ukraine and The Free
Territory, an anarcho-communist government
After a civil war, the Popular Republic of Ukraine
defeated The Free Territory and united Ukraine
The flag of The
Free Territory

5. USSR
Ukraine became a state in the USSR
After an attempted revolution for independence,
Stalin punished Ukraine by engineering a giant
famine that killed up to 6 million people
This famine was known as the Holodomor
The Holodomor took place in Russia and Belarus too

6. World War II
Ukrainian Nationalists allied with the Nazis, who they
saw as liberators
However, Nazi Germany destroyed this nationalist
movement and captured a large portion of Ukraine

7. Independence
After the Soviet Union dissolved, Ukraine became an
independent country
Although nationalist rebels had announced
independence in 1941, Ukraine became an
independent state in 1991, 50 years later
The Ukrainian State was an economic partner of
Russia until recently

8. Part One: Euromaidan

9. Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Yankovych was the fourth president of
Ukraine
He wanted Ukraine to be an economic ally of Russia
and he also did not want Ukraine to join the EU
After rejecting an EU association agreement, a series
of protests known as Euromaidan began

10. Euromaidan Begins
On 21 November 2013, nationalists who wanted to
end government corruption and have Ukraine enter
the EU began a series of protests called ‘Euromaidan’
These protests were originally peaceful, but
protesters became violent after the police brutally
put down the protests with force Euromaidan leaders
addressing a crowd

11. Violent Protests
Both the protesters and police used force against
each other; it was very violent
Nationalists from all around Ukraine helped the
protestors, and added to the growing numbers of
protestors

12. Anti-Maidan
Pro-Russian protestors who were against
Euromaidan arose and held demonstrations in
Donetsk and Kharkiv, both in the more ethnically
Russian eastern Ukraine
These protests were smaller than Euromaidan
protests in Kiev

13. Removal of the
President
Police brutality had increased dramatically, with over
one hundred protestors killed by police
Viktor Yanukovych stepped down from presidency in
the midst of Euromaidan
This led to the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution

14. Revolution

15. February 2014
In February, 2014, a large mass of riots and protests
culminated in a nationwide revolution, installing a
new government in Ukraine

17. Results
The revolution resulted in a complete reformation of the
Ukrainian government
The 2004 constitution was restored
Over 50 people, including powerful government officials,
were deemed responsible for police brutality during the
revolution had been arrested
The “law of regional languages” was eliminated, making
Ukrainian the sole language of Ukraine (although this was
later vetoed by the interim president)

18. Results
There was a nationwide destruction of Soviet-era
monuments
Racist attacks against ethnic Russians and Jews
severely increased in western Ukraine
Nationalist politician Yulia Tymoshenko was released
from prison. She had previously been arrested on
corruption charges
Tymoshenko
in 2011

19. Pro-Russian Unrest in
Eastern Ukraine
Eastern Ukraine did not like the new government
which they saw as illegal
In their eyes, nationalists had forced out the
president and installed an anti-Russian government

20. Part Two: The Crimean
Crisis

21. Crimean Revolution
Giant protests began in Crimea against the new
Ukrainian government, sometimes thought of as
“East Ukraine’s Euromaidan”
Many government buildings were occupied by pro-
Russian protestors
Crimea is shown in black; Ukraine in green

22. Russian Intervention
After a new government was established in Ukraine,
Russia voted to deploy troops to Crimea
There were already many Russian military bases in
Crimea, as well as many Ukrainian military bases

23. Referendum
Nearly everyone in Crimea is of Russian heritage, with a
Crimean Tartar minority
Russian troops allowed a referendum to be held asking if
Crimea wanted to either become an independent country
or stay with the Ukrainian government
Because the pro-Ukrainian Crimean Tartars did not attend
the election, about 90% of Crimean residents voted for
independence
Crimea would vote to join Russia days later

24. Immediate Surrender
Ukrainian soldiers agreed to leave Crimea, outside of
a few isolated casualties
Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers defected to the
Russian army
The city of Simferopol is the navy center of Ukraine.
Many of the navy’s top officials joined the Russian
army
Here is a Crimean “Self-Defense Force”
A few local pro-Russian militias formed

25. International Reactions
The EU and United States condemned military
occupation of Crimea
Russia faced many economic sanctions from the EU
and USA as a result
These green countries recognize Crimea as part of Russia

26. Part Three: The
Novorossiyan War

27. The Donbass
The Donbass is a geographical region composed of
two states, Lugansk and Donetsk
These two states are mostly Russian in ethnicity and
did not recognize the new Ukrainian government
Donetsk is the fifth largest city in Ukraine and has
literally no Ukrainian-speaking schools
This is a statue of a pole
vaulter in Donetsk. He is
provided in this presentation
for mild comic relief

28. Referendum
In April of 2014, Donetsk and Lugansk voted to form
republics, independent from Ukraine
They created an alliance called “Novorossiya”
Novorossiya was a Russian state that existed in
Eastern Ukraine during the late 19th century
The two countries are allied but are still separate
countries
The Novorossiyan flag

29. Formation of a Country
Local militia groups formed, some pro-Ukraine, but
the majority pro-independence
The pro-independence militias forcefully took over all
government buildings and built barricades around
them
Riot police block the entrance The same building is now occupied

30. Communism
The Novorossiyan Alliance has strong communist and
socialist beliefs
Socialists from all around the world came to help
found and protect the new republic
Most of Donetsk’s residents believe that they had a
better life under the post-Stalin USSR, than under the
Ukrainian government
Anti-Stalinist revolutionary
Leon Trotsky reads a newspaper

32. Part Five: Warfare

33. The Beginning
A military draft led tens of thousands of Ukrainians
to fight against the newly formed Novorossiyan
Alliance
Many right-wing nationalist militias also fought
alongside the Ukrainian army
Novorossiyans quickly organized militias to fight the
Ukrainian army

34. Neo-Nazi Militias
Many ultra-nationalist neo-nazi militias have
organized to fight against Novorossiya
The largest of these are Svoboda and Right Sector
Many of these militias claim that they are fighting for
an ethnic cleansing of Russians in Ukraine, and use
videos of brutal executions to intimidate Novorossiya

35. Donetsk Airport
Donetsk has been a strategic point in the war
Originally it was one of the nicest airports in Ukraine
but it has been completely destroyed
Ukrainian tanks have destroyed the tower in the
picture

36. Ceasefire
Leaders of the Ukrainian Military and Pro-Russian
separatists have met in Minsk, Belarus and planned
ceasefires
There have been two ceasefires but both sides broke
the truce leading to more warfare

37. Artillery Shells
Ukrainian tanks have held a siege to Donetsk city
While tanks bombard the city from miles away,
Novorossiya defends itself with Soviet-era anti-
aircraft missles
The majority of people killed from artillery shells are
Novorossiyan civilians

38. Malaysian Airliner MH17
In the July, 2014, a Malaysian Airline plane was shot down
and crashed in rebel territory.
The United States and Ukraine blame Russia for the attack
Novorossiya says that they do not have weapons powerful
enough to destroy the plane
International observers have blamed the fact that
Ukrainian planes have been hiding next to commercial
airplanes, possibly showing that the rebels shot down the
plane by accident
Investigation
of wreckage

39. Socialist Volunteers
Socialists and Novorossiya sympathizers from all
around the world have come to Novorossiya
Many of these volunteers are from former USSR
countries Russia, Georgia and Belarus
There are also many Asian, Jewish, and African
volunteers

40. Total War

41. Racial Tensions
Throughout Kiev and Western Ukraine, attacks
against Jews and ethnic Russians have increased
greatly
The Right Sector Party and the Azov Battalion have
recruited more and more people for their mission of
“ethnic cleansing”
The sign says “Jews will not live in Lyiv”

42. Azov Battalion
The flag of the Azov Battalion incorporates a Nazi
black sun as well as a backwards “Das Reich” symbol
They also believe that Putin is Jewish…which is very
bad according to them

43. Bombing of Mariupol
Mariupol is in the state of Donetsk and the majority
reports the rebels, but they are under the control of
Ukraine
Over 30 people were killed when Novorossiya threw
artillery shells at the city Mariupol is a beautiful port city

44. Second Battle of
Donetsk Airport
The rebels took over Donetsk Airport

45. Second Battle of
Donetsk Airport
After months of heavy fighting, Novorossiya
captured all of Donetsk airport
Ukrainian Special Forces known as “cyborgs”
launched a counter-offense
The battle ended with Ukrainian forces fleeing
Note that these people are not
robot cyborgs but normal people

46. War Crimes
Both sides have used illegal bombs, like cluster
bombs that are banned by the Geneva Convention
Both sides have accused each other of attempting
genocide, and both sides like to count how many
times their enemy breaks the ceasefire and report
this number to international observers

47. Death Toll
Over 6 000 people have died in the Donbass War
Some sources estimate that the death toll could be
up to 10 000
This conflict is the deadliest conflict in Europe this
century!

48. Future
Both Russia, and the NATO have threatened military
intervention
Volunteers continue to arrive and fight for both sides
A new ceasefire has taken hold but it is very hard to
enforce

49. The End

50. By Hárris Mowbray
Copyright 2015
This presentation was not intended to be biased
All the information and pictures are from Wikipedia-
meaning that anyone (including I) can use them