The conflict in the east has been a focal point of the West’s conflict with Russia since its start in 2014. After a protest movement in Kiev ousted Kremlin-favored President Viktor Yanukovich in February 2014, Moscow moved troops into the Crimean Peninsula in the Black Sea, under the pretext that Russia needed to protect the Russian-speaking population there. Moscow annexed the peninsula, an act that remains unrecognized by most of the international community.

Source: Los Angeles Times April 24, 2019 19:07 UTC