Last Updated:
Russia launched a military operation to ‘rid Ukraine of Nazis’, it said. It also faced a rebellion in the meantime and now Trump looks to pull the US out of supporting the war.
Servicemen of the 32nd Separate Mechanised Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine fire a D-20 howitzer toward Russian troops, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, near the frontline town of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, Ukraine. (IMAGE: AFP)
Here is a timeline of the main events since Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago on February 24, 2022.
Military Operation/De-Nazification Of Ukraine
On February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin declares a “special military operation” in Ukraine, framing it as an effort to “de-Nazify” the country.
Moscow unleashes a large-scale invasion, bombarding Ukrainian cities with missile strikes.
The attack triggers Europe’s most severe refugee crisis since World War II, forcing millions to flee.
In response, the West slaps Russia with sweeping sanctions while the US and EU rush military aid and financial support to Ukraine.
Despite the onslaught, Ukrainian forces successfully push back Russian troops attempting to seize Kyiv.
Russia captures swathes of territory in the south and east.
Accusations Of War Crimes/Bucha Massacre
In early April 2022, AFP reports seeing at least 20 civilian bodies lying on a street in Kyiv’s Bucha suburb.
It marks the first of several grim revelations in towns left behind by retreating Russian troops, drawing global condemnation and triggering war crimes investigations. Moscow dismisses the accusations.
On May 21, 2022, after months of relentless bombardment, Russia captures the southeastern port city of Mariupol. The last group of Ukrainian defenders, entrenched in a steel plant, finally surrenders.
In September 2022, facing mounting losses, Russia announces a “partial mobilisation,” drafting around 300,000 men to reinforce its struggling forces.
On September 30, Putin annexed the Ukrainian regions of Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
Wagner rebellion
On June 24, 2023, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin led a mutiny to bring down Moscow’s top military brass but retreated following mediation via Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.
Prigozhin dies two months later in a mysterious plane crash.
Ukrainian counteroffensive fails
Ukraine’s counter-offensive, launched in June 2023, fails. On February 17, 2024, Russian forces captured the eastern industrial town of Avdiivka after an onslaught which began in October.
In April 2024, Russia pounds energy facilities across Ukraine, in what Putin says is partly a response to Kyiv targeting Russia’s oil refineries
On April 23, Washington approves a long-delayed $61-billion aid package for Ukraine.
Russian offensive
On May 10, 2024, Russian forces launched a surprise ground offensive in the Kharkiv region, capturing several villages. Ukraine sends reinforcements.
G7 and peace summit
G7 leaders agreed on June 13 in Italy on a new $50-billion loan for Ukraine using profits from frozen Russian assets.
On June 17, dozens of world leaders backed Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity at a summit in Switzerland.
On July 15, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia, not invited to the first meeting, should be represented at a second summit.
Ukrainian incursion
As long-awaited US-made F-16 fighter jets start to arrive, Ukrainian forces launch a surprise incursion into Russia’s western Kursk region on August 6.
Kyiv says its army will create a buffer zone in the area and aims to persuade Russia into “fair” negotiations.
In late August and early September, Russia makes a string of deadly strikes on Ukrainian territory and makes new advances in the Donbass, in the east.
North Korean reinforcements
In October 2024, Seoul, Kyiv and Washington said more than 10,000 North Korean troops had been deployed to support Russia’s army fighting in the Kursk region.
Long-range missiles, escalation
On October 29, 2024, Ukraine announced plans to mobilise an extra 160,000 soldiers, faced with advancing Russian troops.
On the 1,000th day of the invasion, on November 19, Ukraine uses Western-supplied long-range missiles against Russian territory for the first time after obtaining US and British clearance.
Putin targets Ukraine with Russia’s new hypersonic missile, nicknamed Oreshnik, without a nuclear warhead.
Putin warns of the possibility of a world conflict and says Russia has all the options on the table.
Trump: gamechanger
Weeks before Donald Trump returns to the White House, Joe Biden ramps up announcements of military aid to Kyiv.
Russia claims new gains in eastern Ukraine and Moscow carries out several massive missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Shortly after Trump is sworn in as US president, he creates shock by saying he and Putin have agreed to start “immediate” talks on ending the Ukraine conflict, following a phone call on February 12.
Washington says Ukraine’s ambition to join NATO and to return to its pre-2014 borders, before the Russian annexation of Crimea, are unrealistic.
On February 16, the US president says he could meet Putin in Saudi Arabia “very soon”, adding that he believes his Russian counterpart genuinely wants to stop fighting in Ukraine.
The US initiatives worry the EU, which fears being shut out of events happening on its doorstep.
Zelenskyy urges his European allies to avoid accepting an accord struck by the US behind the backs of Kyiv and Europe.
(with AFP inputs)
