Rusko-ukrajinská válka - Od Majdanu po válku na Ukrajině – Katchanovski Ivan (2026)

This book examines the war between Russia and Ukraine and its causes. Based on an analysis of a large number of primary and secondary sources, it provides a systematic study of this major war, its nature, outcomes, prospects for a peaceful settlement, violence against civilians and underlying causes. It explores the role of factors including Ukraine’s potential NATO membership, Russian imperialism, democracy, genocide and the far right in the outbreak of the war, and traces the escalation of the conflict back through earlier violent confrontations in Ukraine, particularly Euromaidan, the Maidan massacre, Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbas. In terms of the countries involved, the number of casualties and its actual and potential global impact, the war between Russia and Ukraine is the most significant armed conflict of the 21st century worldwide and the most significant in Europe since the Second World War. The book analyses the involvement of the Ukrainian, Russian and Western governments, Donbas separatists and the far right in this key war and in Euromaidan, the Maidan massacre, Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbas, as well as the nature of these conflicts. It also examines support for pro-Western and pro-nationalist or pro-Russian and pro-communist political parties and presidential candidates, together with attitudes towards separatism and joining the European Union, NATO and a union with Russia in different regions of Ukraine, based on parliamentary and presidential elections and opinion polls since Euromaidan. The first chapter provides an introduction. The second deals with Euromaidan in 2013–2014. The following chapter examines which sides in the conflict were involved in the key massacre of protesters and police officers on the Maidan in Ukraine during Euromaidan in February 2014. The next chapter discusses Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. Chapter five analyses the civil war and Russian military interventions in Donbas from 2014 to 2022. Chapter six examines the involvement of the far right in Euromaidan, the massacres on the Maidan and in Odesa, and the war in Donbas. Another chapter explores regional political divisions in Ukraine in terms of support for pro-Western and pro-nationalist or pro-Russian and pro-communist parties and presidential candidates, and attitudes towards separatism, joining the EU and NATO, and the Russian-led customs union. Chapter eight analyses the causes and origins of the Russia–Ukraine war. The following chapter examines the war and its nature, while chapter ten analyses whether genocide or war crimes took place during the conflict. The book is in Czech.