3 years later: What started the Ukraine war, and where does the conflict stand?
WASHINGTON − Three years ago, Russian troops surged into neighboring Ukraine, starting the biggest and bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II. Tens of thousands have died, with Russia and Ukraine suffering heavy casualties.
The eastern European nation has continued to fight back, with support from the U.S. and European allies. While the fighting is taking place far from American soil, the conflict has cast a shadow over U.S. policy and politics.
Ceasefire talks have started between the U.S. and Russia, while Ukrainian and European officials have complained about their exclusion. Meanwhile, in a radical shift in the U.S. approach to Ukraine, President Donald Trump has blasted the country's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a "dicatator" and blamed him for the Russian invasion.
Here's what to know about the ongoing war.
What started the war in Ukraine?
Attacks on Feb. 24, 2022, began before dawn in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, and other cities.
Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the invasion was to protect Russian-speakers in Ukraine. Putin had also spoken out against the prospect of Ukraine joining the Western military alliance NATO, calling it a "hostile act."
At the outset of the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made clear his country's intent to defend itself.
"As of today, our countries are on different sides of world history," Zelenskyy wrote in a social media post. Russia "has embarked on a path of evil, but (Ukraine) is defending itself & won't give up its freedom no matter what Moscow thinks."
History of conflict between Russia and Ukraine
Conflict between these two countries predates 2022, though.
Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, and tensions between the country and Russia have flared through the decades since.
Putin has long refused to accept Ukraine's sovereignty, citing the countries' shared history and culture.
In 2014, Russia invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula, a Ukrainian territory between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
A Biden to Trump shake-up
Zelenskyy has called American support "critical," telling NBC's Kristen Welker his country has a "low chance to survive" without it.
But aid to Ukraine has become a hot button in Washington, splitting lawmakers, some from the same party.
And since taking office last month, President Donald Trump has flipped the script when it comes to conversations with the Kremlin.
His predecessor, former President Joe Biden, referred to Putin as a "pure thug" and "murderous dictator." Trump, while out of office, called Putin's invasion a stroke of "genius" and recently held a "lengthy and fruitful" phone call with Putin and embraced the idea of peace talks.
Will there be a resolution in this war?
Following Trump's conversation with Putin last week, Trump floated a potential meeting between U.S. and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia to kick off ceasefire discussions.
The prospect came to fruition Tuesday. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz were among those at the table. A spokesperson for Rubio said he and Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov agreed to put together "high-level teams" to negotiate an end to the war.
Ukraine, however, wasn't invitated to this week's gathering.
Zelenskyy and European allies pushed back on the exclusion and questioned the efficacy of peace talks without their representation.
“I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine,” Zelenskyy told NBC. "... There is (not) any leader in the world who can really make a deal with Putin without us, about us."
How many have died in the Ukraine war?
Zelenskyy told NBC over the weekend said the estimated number of killed Ukrainian soldiers is around 46,000, along with "tens of thousands more" unaccounted for, potentially dead as well.
There are conflicting reports when it comes to losses on the Russian side. Some researchers and journalists have placed the figure somewhere around 150,000 dead Russian soldiers since November of last year, according to The New York Times.
Ukraine's president said the death toll among civilians is difficult to estimate as the war rages.
"Everywhere where Russia occupied it and takes under its control," Zelenskyy told NBC, "we do not know how many thousands of people they killed there."
Contributing: Michael Collins, Cybele Mayes-Osterman and Kim Hjelmgaard, Paste BN