February 2022

On February 24, 2022, Russian president Vladimir Putin would announce his decision to conduct a “special military operation” in Ukraine. The invasion of Ukraine would begin shortly after.

After president Putin’s announcement, bombings were soon reported in Kyiv, Kharkiv,  Odessa, and the Donbas. Ukraine then reported that Russian forces had landed in  Mariupol and Odessa. Shortly afterwards, Russian forces entered through Senkivka, a  three way border checkpoint between Ukraine with Russia and Belarus. According to  the United States, Russia had initially intended to “decapitate” the Government. U.S.  intelligence reported that Russia expected Ukraine to fall within 96 hours. 

Shortly after the invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would immediately  declare martial law and break off any relations between the Russian and Ukrainian  government. Ukraine distributed 18,000 guns to Ukrainian residents who were willing to fight for their country and would establish the Ukrainian territorial defense. Ukrainian forces would respond back to the Russian forces by showing strong resistance against Russian forces.

March 2022 

By March, Russian forces had taken the city of Kherson in an attempt to landlock  Ukraine. It was also reported by the UN that far more citizens were killed in March than  in any other month of the war. Russia also wanted to look for a way to create a land bridge between Crimea, which was illegally invaded and annexed by Russia back in  2014. 

April 2022 

In April, Russia would begin an offensive to take control of Donetsk and Luhansk. A  good chunk of the population in Donetsk and Luhansk were ethnically Russian and the  Russian government believed that the people would support this. Along with the new  offensive, Russia would launch several missiles towards Ukraine infrastructure as a  response to a strike on a train station in Kramatorsk. 50 civilians have died during the  missile strikes. 

Ukraine would order citizens to evacuate the city of Mariupol due to the city falling under  siege by Russian forces. Russian forces would launch airstrikes on the city of Mariupol to remove the last Ukrainian soldiers holding out. 

May 2022 

In May, the last Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol surrendered to Russian forces. The  fighting here ended with the siege at the Azovstal steel plant. This siege became a  symbol of Ukrainian resistance. 

The United States and its allies ramped up weapon deliveries and economic aid to  Ukraine as a response to Russia critically damaging Ukrainian infrastructure. It’s  reported that the G7 (the group of seven) has sent up to 19.8 billions of dollars towards  economic aid. The G7 has stated that they will continue to support Ukraine. 

Companies such as McDonalds and Starbucks are beginning to shut down their  operations in Russia. Though companies like Starbucks announced that they are still  paying it’s Russian employees for six months and are assisting them with finding new  jobs. 

June 2022 

During June, Ukrainian forces raised a flag over Snake Island, an island located in the  Black Sea which Russian forces had occupied in February. June was a notable month  for Ukrainian forces as Ukrainian forces managed to heavily suppress the Russian  Navy.  

Around six million Ukrainians have fled the country during this period. At the same time however, around two million Ukrainians are crossing in and out of Ukraine to visit family.  

At this point, the war is turning into a lengthy stalemate between Russian and Ukrainian  forces as both sides aren’t capable of delivering a critical blow to one another. Because  of this, both sides are entrenching themselves on the front lines.

July 2022 

On July 4, the last city under Ukrainian control in the region of Luhansk would be fully in  control of the Russian government. 

Women’s basketball star Brittney Griner would plead guilty to drug charges. She had  been arrested since February of 2022 for carrying hashish/cannabis oil in her luggage. 

August 2022

Ukraine launched a counteroffensive to regain the region of Kherson. 

Ukrainian forces would deploy Western-supplied weapons to attack crucial Russian  military infrastructure. 

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy would meet with United Nations head Antonio  Guterres and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erogdan to discuss issues, such as the  mistreatment of Ukrainian POWs. 

The United States government would once again send military equipment valued at  around 700 million dollars to aid Ukraine in their fight against Russia in the southern  portion of the country. The packages include drones, anti-mine vehicles, and anti-tank  missiles.  

September 2022 

Ukrainian forces would retake the northeastern portion of the Kharkiv region. On top of  that, the United States would againaid Ukrainian forces by sending 675 million dollars  worth of military equipment and an additional 2.2 billion dollars to help security. 

In a response to Ukrainian forces taking Kharkiv, Russian forces would hit Ukrainian  power plants and infrastructure. This would start fires on the outskirts of Kharkiv and  would leave the city without electricity. 

October 2022 

In a blow to the Russian war effort, Ukrainian forces would blow up the Kerch strait  bridge, which linked Crimea and Russia together. As a response, Russia would launch  a series of airstrikes throughout Ukraine. Russia would also illegally annex four  Ukrainian regions despite being condemned by multiple countries and even losing  territory in some of these regions. 

Russia would also continue sending missile strikes towards Kyiv and Zaporizhia.  Zaporizhia being a crucial target for Russian forces as the Zaporizhia power plant is  located there which is a crucial energy supply for Ukraine. Russia has also warned the United States that if they were to continue to involve themselves in the conflict, then they would attack United States commercial satellites. The United States commercial satellites have provided intel for Ukrainian forces such as weapons formations, images of Russian troops, etc. 

The Russian government claims that Ukraine is using a “dirty bomb” which is composed  of radioactive material like uranium. A dirty bomb isn’t necessarily like a nuke which is  composed of refined radioactive materials. It could use radioactive materials from  hospitals, research laboratories, etc. Russia claims that these dirty bombs are an act of nuclear terrorism.  

November 2022 

President Putin announced that Russian forces would withdraw from the city of Kherson  due to Russia having a difficult time maintaining its supply lines across the Dnieper river  to Russian troops stationed at Kherson. This would be a major victory for Ukrainian  forces as some of the heaviest conflict occurred in Kherson. 

The European Union began to propose a specialized court to convict Russia of all the  war crimes that they’ve committed throughout the war. The European Union also  decided that they’ll use frozen Russian assets to rebuild the damaged country. 

December 2022 

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy makes a historic visit to the U.S.on December 21 2022.  There both President Zelenskyy and Biden discuss plans to deal with Russia and how  the United States will continue to aid and supply Ukraine. President Zelenskyy also  delivered a 32 minute speech to lawmakers which received much praise. 

With little progress occurring from both Russia and Ukraine. Both sides continue to  attack each other’s infrastructure and military bases with drone missiles.  

January 2023 

Russian forces had captured the strategic Ukrainian city of Soledar on January 16,  2023. Both Ukrainian and Russian forces had been fighting at the city since August  2022. Capturing the city is crucial for Russia as the city is a gateway to the city of  Bakhmut, which is a strategic transportation hub for Ukrainian forces. The battle has been referred to as the deadliest battle of the war due to the town  essentially being reduced to ruins. 

Ukraine’s allies continue to send more military aid and equipment such as heavy tanks  and fighter jets. These aids would be important as Russian forces continue to heavily  re-mobilize against Ukraine  

At this point in the war, nearly 8 million Ukrainians have become refugees and have  immigrated to bordering countries nearby. Majority of these refugees have fled to  nearby country Poland 

Ukrainian infrastructure is in a terrible state as 75,000 (and more) buildings, including  homes, schools and hospitals have been heavily destroyed by Russian missiles, fighting  occurring in certain areas, etc. To add on, 50% of the country’s energy supply has also  been destroyed as well shutting down electricity throughout certain parts of Ukraine. 

February 2023 

Russian forces attempt a new counter offensive in eastern Ukraine, as of right now  Russian forces are getting closer to occupying the city of Bakhmut, a crucial Ukrainian  city. Ukrainian president Zelenskyy has stated that the situation in Bakhmut is getting  more dire and difficult as the days go by. Though if the city of Bakhmut would fall, this  would be a pyrrhic victory (winning at a cost) due to Russian forces using a good portion  of their resources. Elsewhere however, Russian forces have faced heavy losses, such  as the battle of Vuhledar where Russian forces lost at least 130 tanks (according to the  Ukrainian military.) 

At this point in the conflict, Russian casualties have been around 200,000  killed/wounded. Ukrainian forces on the other hand have suffered around 100,000  deaths, with around 30,000 civilians being killed. 

Sources: 

– Kar, Sagar (2022, Nov. 14) https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/russia ukraine-crisis/timeline-of-russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-and developments-as-war-enters-day-264-articleshow.html

NPR News 

– https://www.npr.org/series/1084620843/russia-ukraine-recap 

Bigg, Matthew (2023, Feb. 24) 

– https://www.nytimes.com/article/ukraine-russia-war-timeline.html 

– Kramer, Andrew (2023, Mar. 1)  

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/01/world/europe/ukraine-russia-tanks.html 

Turak, Natasha and Macias, Amanda (2022, Oct. 27) 

– https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/27/russia-ukraine-live-updates.html 

– Ellyatt, Holly and Pramuk, Jacob (2022, Dec. 23) 

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/22/ukraine-war-live-updates-latest-news-on russia-and-the-war-in-ukraine.html 

– Ellyatt, Holly and Pramuk, Jacob (2023, Jan. 31) 

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/31/ukraine-war-live-updates-latest-news-on russia-and-the-war-in-ukraine.html 

– Ellyatt, Holly (2023, Feb. 28) https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/28/bakhmut-sitution getting-worse-ukraine-says-as-russia-claims-control.html 

BBC News (2022, Oct. 25)  

– https://www.bbc.com/news/world-63373637 

BBC News (2023, Jan. 13)  

– https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64263119 

Serhan, Yasmeen and Law, Tara (2023, Feb. 7) 

– https://time.com/6253515/bakhmut-battle-ukraine 

russia/#:~:text=Michael%20Kofman%2C%20the%20director%20of,necessarily% 20imminent%2C%20let%20alone%20likely.  

Hennigan, W.J. (2023, Jan. 13) 

– https://time.com/6247364/soledar-ukraine-russia/ 

Ukrainska Pravda (2023, Mar. 1)

– https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/russia-loses-major-tank-battle 145558116.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlL mNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMKADTYbmfKpwc8iYbI_8JXmEOad3wSnv 29JK-cGP6mGYMtz

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https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/30/ukraine-retakes-snake-island-from-russia-forces-5- things-to-know  

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/09/russia-ukraine-war-at-a-glance-what-we-know on-day-379-of-the-invasion