From the BBC: Why is Russia ordering troops into Ukraine and what does Putin want?

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Russia has long resisted Ukraine's move towards European institutions, both Nato and the EU. Now, Mr Putin has claimed Ukraine is a puppet of the West and was never a proper state anyway.

He demands guarantees from the West and Ukraine that it will not join Nato, a defensive alliance of 30 countries, and that Ukraine demilitarise and become a neutral state.

As a former Soviet republic Ukraine has deep social and cultural ties with Russia, and Russian is widely spoken there, but ever since Russia invaded in 2014 those relations have frayed.

Russia attacked Ukraine when its pro-Russian president was deposed in early 2014. The war in the east has since claimed more than 14,000 lives.