This chapter examines the origins of the Russia-Ukraine war. It analyzes narratives of the causes of this war by the Ukrainian, Russian, and Western governments and the media. It examines the role of such factors as the NATO accession of Ukraine, Russian imperialism, the Maidan, democracy, and the far right in the start of the war. The analysis shows that the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, represented the extreme escalation by Russia of the conflicts with Ukraine and the West, the civil war in Donbas, the annexation of Crimea, and the Western-backed violent and illegal overthrow of the pro-Russian government in Ukraine by the oligarchic and far-right alliance by means of the Maidan massacre and assassination attempts during Euromaidan. NATO accession of Ukraine was a major factor, but it, like the role of the far right, was inflated by Russia. Russian imperialism was also significant but secondary factor. Ukraine is not a democracy.