THE RUSSIAN invasion of Ukraine, which, along with the heartbreaking human toll in the region, will have massive implications on Australian agriculture, has people scrambling to find the root causes that led to Russia's decision to invade and spark what is likely to be Europe's worst conflict in 25 years.
There has been a long and uneasy history between the two nations since the Ukrainian state was established in 1991 following the fall of the Soviet Union, with tensions escalating rapidly in recent years.
In a telling speech late last week Russian president Vladimir Putin said Russia did not recognise Ukraine as historic nation, saying it was an artificial construct of the Soviet era, rhetoric that proved a clue as to his mindset regarding the legitimacy of any military advances.
This was then followed by Russia officially recognising two eastern Ukrainian provinces, Luhansk and Donetsk as breakaway independent states, with pro-Russian forces in prevalent in both regions.
Recognising these two states as independent nations meant Russia could put in troops as invited peace keepers, rather than an act of invasion.
By Thursday Russia had declared war on Ukraine, saying it was acting in response to 'threats' from the Ukrainian government.
It marks a flash point in the simmering tensions between the two nations, which have famously flared in the past, such as with Russia's annexation of Crimea, a Ukrainian province, in 2014.
From a Russian perspective, the displeasure goes all the way back to the creation of the modern Ukrainian nation following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Mr Putin, along with others in the Russian government, believes despite the separate Ukrainian language and culture, the lands of present-day Ukrainian were historically Russian.
In modern days the dispute has reached boiling point due to the issue of Russia's displeasure at Ukraine's attempts to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
NATO membership has been a hot topic in Ukraine, with pro-Russian, anti-NATO president Viktor Yanukovych ousted from his role as part of the Ukrainian Revolution of 2013-14 for not supporting joining the alliance.
Russia, for its part, does not want NATO, which counts the US among its members, to be able to have troops on its doorstep in Ukraine.
The conflict will be of enormous strategic importance throughout the Black Sea region.
Already, Russian troops are active in the Sea of Azov, a critical water on the north side of the Black Sea.
Reports are that no marine traffic is moving in the Straits of Krech, which connects the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.
Critical Ukrainian ports such as Mariupol are located on the Sea of Azov.
With a host of countries with limited access to ports, such as Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Romania all using the Black Sea for shipping exports, control of the ports on the Black Sea and Sea of Azov will have immense importance in the struggle.
It has been reported that Russia's main military forays will involve targeting Black Sea ports and moving north up through the rest of Ukraine.
The dispute is of immense importance economically for Australian agriculture.
There are three main areas being monitored, energy, fertiliser and grain.
On the grain price front there is scope for a rise in values because of the risk in getting supplies out of the Black Sea, which supplies around 30pc of the world's wheat.
Energy-wise, Russia is a major exporter of gas and oil and global sanctions will force buyers to search elsewhere for product.
This has already seen crude oil prices climb in excess of $US100 a barrel for the benchmark Brent-type oil, a multi-year high.
Australian fuel consumers were already facing high prices, with the latest unrest potentially leading to prices climbing above $2 a litre for petrol.
Thirdly, on the fertiliser front Russia has implemented export tariffs on urea to ensure there is sufficient supply of the nitrogen fertiliser to meet its own domestic needs.
Urea prices were also at multi-year highs late last year before falling slightly as global gas supplies improved.
The latest news is likely to place renewed upward pressure on global nitrogen fertiliser prices.
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