Russia takes one more step towards reincarnating an idea long dissolved – the Soviet Union.

After recent events, the balance of peace in Europe came under question – are we really living in harmony? 2014 marked a bloody event in the history books after the violent Ukrainian protests and the Russian annexation of Crimea. The questionable act leaves spectators scratching their heads in thought – is this an unjustifiable military invasion or a long-awaited joining of nations?

The BBC describes the Ukrainian crisis as “the most dangerous conflict to grip Europe since the wars in the former Yugoslavia.” Military actions and monumental protests took the lives of civilians and soldiers on both sides, with an estimated number of more than a hundred dead and over a thousand injured, as the numbers keep climbing to this day.

The conflict appears to be in a temporary state of limbo at the moment, following the more violent previous months. Nevertheless, tensions are mounting as whispers of Russia secretly arming separatist forces to fight in East Ukraine reach the Western leaders. Moscow, however, denies this.

Follow the Russo-Ukrainian relations since the fall of the Soviet Union, and the string of events that lead to the bloodiest European riot in the past decade, in the WNOL Russo-Ukrainian timeline.

Picture: Andrew Butko @ Wikimedia Commons