In March and April 2021, Russian Armed Forces began massing thousands of personnel and military equipment near Russia’s border with Ukraine and in Crimea, representing the largest mobilization since the annexation of Crimea in 2014. This precipitated an international crisis due to concerns over a potential invasion.On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine, marking a steep escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has caused Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II,[16][17] with more than 6.1 million Ukrainians fleeing the country[18] and a third of the population displaced.[19][20]At the start of the war in 2014, Russia annexed the south Ukrainian region of Crimea, and Russian-backed separatists seized part of the south-eastern regions of Ukraine (the Donbas; in Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts), sparking a regional war.[21][22] In 2021, Russia began a large military build-up along its border with Ukraine, amassing up to 190,000 troops and their equipment.
In a televised address shortly before the invasion, Russian president Vladimir Putin espoused irredentist views,[23] questioned Ukraine’s right to statehood,[24][25] and falsely[26] accused Ukraine of being governed by neo-Nazis who persecute the ethnic Russian minority.[27] Putin also said the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) constituted a threat to Russia’s national security by having expanded eastward since the early 2000s, which NATO disputed.[28] Russia demanded NATO stop expanding and permanently bar Ukraine from ever joining the alliance.[29] Multiple nations accused Russia of planning to attack or invade Ukraine, which Russian officials repeatedly denied as late as 23 February 2022.[33]
911 Help Ukraine was formed to raise funds for medical and protective supplies for the war. 911 Help Ukraine is the American and EU fundraising branch of the NGO Assistance to Defenders of Ukraine Foundation. Through Kristi’s knowledge of start-ups and nonprofit organizations she helped her friend Cynthia, organize the 911 Help Ukraine initiative into a non-profit organization to continue to allow them to accept donations as a solution to a setback due to legislative changes regarding military fundraising and using digital wallets.
