Federal Documents Sources on the Russo-Ukrainian Conflict

Updated: July 16

The following is a select list of documents, websites, books and other resources that provide information, background and perspective on the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The list below is meant simply as a starting point for research. While the emphasis is on publications and sources produced by the US government, other types of resources are also included. This conflict began in 2014 with the Russian occupation of the Crimean peninsula, the proxy occupation of parts of eastern Ukraine, and now has escalated into an open Russian military invasion.

1. Basic/Overview Federal Information Resources

CIA World Factbook: Russia. Last Updated: May 2022.

CIA World Factbook: Ukraine. Last Updated: May 2022.

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe: Ukraine.

Congressional Research Service Reports: Russia. Library of Congress.

Department of Defense: Spotlight: Support for Ukraine.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Russia Invades Ukraine.

Russia: A Country Study. Library of Congress, 1998.

Soviet Union: A Country Study. Library of Congress, 1991.

U.S. Department of State: United with Ukraine.

U.S. Department of the Treasury: Ukraine/Russia-related Sanctions.

U.S. Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE): Ukraine Crisis.

2. Federal Documents on Ukraine and Russia (2014-present)

Antagonizing the neighborhood: Putin’s Frozen Conflicts and the Conflict in Ukraine: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, Energy, and the Environment of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, Second Session. March 11, 2020.

Defending U.S. Allies and Interests against Russian Aggression in Eastern Europe: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on National Security of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, House of Representatives, One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, Second Session. February 16, 2022.

Developments in Ukraine: Hearing Before the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, Second Session. June 5, 2014.

Five Years After the Revolution of Dignity: Ukraine’s Progress/Russia’s Malign Activities: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation of the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, First Session. June 18, 2019.

Life Under Occupation: The State of Human Rights In Crimea: Hearing Before the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, House of Representatives, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, Second Session. January 28, 2020.

Oleg Sentsov and Russia’s Human Rights Violations Against Ukrainian Citizens: Briefing of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. April 27, 2017.

Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine and the Propaganda that Threatens Europe: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation of the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, One Hundred Fourteenth Congress, First Session. November 3, 2015.

Russia and Developments in Ukraine: Hearing Before the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, Second Session. July 9, 2014.

Russia’s Destabilization of Ukraine: Hearing Before the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, Second Session. May 8, 2014.

The Shootdown of Malaysian Flight 17 and the Escalating Crisis in Ukraine: Joint Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats and the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, Second Session. July 29, 2014.

Ukraine: Confronting Internal Challenges and External: Hearing Before the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, Second Session. April 9, 2014.

Ukraine: Countering Russian Intervention and Supporting a Democratic State: Hearing Before the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, Second Session. May 6, 2014.

Ukraine: Report from the Front Lines: Briefing of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. November 30, 2017.

U.S. Policy in Ukraine: Countering Russia and Driving Reform: Hearing Before the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, One Hundred Fourteenth Congress, First Session. March 10, 2015.

Van Metre, Lauren, Viola G. Gienger, and Kathleen Kuehnast. The Ukraine-Russia Conflict: Signals and Scenarios for the Broader Region. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace, 2015.

For older federal documents that deal with Ukraine and its historic relationship with Russia, please see this March 2014 post.

3. Other Sources for Historical Background and Further Reading

Applebaum, Anne. Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine. New York: Doubleday, 2017. (Joyner Stacks DK508.8374 .A67 2017)

‘The Best Books on Ukraine and Russia: Recommended by Serhii Plokhy‘. Fivebooks.com, February 22, 2022.

Bliudzius, Henrikas. ‘Understanding the Ukraine Crisis: A Comprehensive Reading List‘. Literary Hub, February 24, 2022.

Giles, Keir. Moscow Rules: What Drives Russia to Confront the West. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press; London: Chatham House, The Royal Institute of International Affairs, 2019. (On order for Joyner Library)

Investigation of the Ukrainian Famine, 1932-1933: Report to Congress. Commission on the Ukraine Famine, 1988. (Joyner Docs Stacks Y 3. Uk 7: F 21/988)

Martin, Terry. The Affirmative Action Empire: Nations and Nationalism in the Soviet Union, 1923-1939. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 2010. (Joyner Stacks JN6520.M5 M27 2001)

Masters, Jonathan. ‘Ukraine: Conflict at the Crossroads of Europe and Russia‘. Council on Foreign Relations, April 1, 2022.

Oral History Project of the Commission on the Ukraine Famine. Commission on the Ukraine Famine, 1990, 3 v. (Joyner Docs Stacks Y 3. Uk 7: F 21/990/v.1-3)

Plokhy, Serhii. The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine. Rev. ed. New York: Basic Books, 2021. (Joyner New Books DK508.51 .P554 2021)

Plokhy, Serhii. Lost Kingdom: The Quest for Empire and the Making of the Russian Nation, From 1470 to the Present. New York: Basic Books, 2017. (Joyner Stacks DK43 .P56 2017)

Snyder, Timothy. Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin. New York: Basic Books, 2010. (Joyner Stacks DJK49 .S69 2010)

Ukraine, Russia, and the Cold War and its Legacies: Resources from the American Historical Association. American Historical Association, 2022.

Werth, Nicolas. ‘The Great Ukrainian Famine of 1932-33‘. Online Encyclopedia of Mass Violence, 2008.

Wilson, Andrew. Ukraine Crisis: What it Means for the West. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2014. (Joyner New Books DK508.849 .W55 2014)