Road to War

Diplomatic and Military Prelude to the 2022 Russian–Ukrainian War

Abstract

The study presents the causes of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine as well as the key diplomatic and military momentums that occurred in the last one year preceding the war. The first part of the analysis focuses on the possible interpretations of the war and sheds light on the causes of the conflict. The second part of this study elaborates the diplomatic efforts made to avoid the war and the process of the Russian military build-up along Ukraine’s borders in the months before the start of the war. The analysis does not intend to detail the history of the war or its military lessons, thus, it merely provides a short summary of the first ten months of the conflict.