The main events since the beginning on February 24 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which entered its fourth month on Tuesday and has already claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people.
Beginning of the invasion
At dawn on February 24, Russian President Vladimir announces a “military operation” in Ukraine to defend the self-proclaimed separatist “republics” in the east of that country, whose independence he had recognized three days earlier.
Russian ground forces penetrate Ukrainian territory from Russia and from Belarus.
The offensive sparks international outrage. The European Union (EU) reports that it will finance the purchase and delivery of weapons to Ukraine, a first. The United States announces $2.3 billion in military aid.
The West begins to apply increasingly harsh economic sanctions against Russia.
First negotiations
On the 28th the first negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are held.
Putin demands that Crimea be recognized as a Russian territory, the “denazification” of the Ukrainian government, and that Ukraine have a “neutral status.” For months now, Moscow has been demanding guarantees that Ukraine will never join NATO.
On March 2, Russian troops arrive in Kharkov (north), Ukraine’s second largest city. In the south, the Russians take the city of Kherson.
On March 8, US President Joe Biden decrees an embargo on Russian oil and gas.
On March 10, the leaders of the 27 EU countries rule out a rapid accession of Ukraine to the bloc, demanded by President Volodimir Zelensky, while opening the door to closer ties.
Mariupol under siege
On March 21, the EU denounces “a major war crime” in Mariupol, a strategic port on the Sea of Azov.
Tens of thousands of people are stranded in the besieged city, where Russian forces bomb a theater and a maternity hospital.
On March 24, NATO decides to strengthen its defenses on the eastern flank and equip Ukraine against the chemical and nuclear threat.
On March 25, faced with the resistance of the Ukrainians, Russia announces that it is going to concentrate on the “liberation of Donbas”.
Horror in Bucha
On April 2, Ukraine announces that it has regained control of the kyiv region after the withdrawal of Russian forces, which are converging to the east and south.
In several towns near kyiv, including Bucha, the discovery of dozens of civilian bodies provokes strong international reactions.
On April 8, a missile kills 57 people who wanted to flee the war at the Kramatorsk station (east).
Russian cruiser ‘Moskva’ sinks
On April 14, the Ukrainians claim to have hit the Moskva cruiser, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, with missiles.
According to Moscow, the ship sank due to a fire caused by the explosion of ammunition.
On the 21st, Vladimir Putin claims the conquest of Mariúpol, although some 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers, entrenched in the Azovstal steelworks along with a thousand civilians, continue to resist.
On April 27, the Ukrainian army recognizes a Russian advance in the east, with the conquest of several towns in the Kharkov region and Donbas.
NATO bid
On May 3, Russian and pro-Russian forces launch a “powerful assault” on the Azovstal steelworks.
On the 8th, sixty people are considered missing after the bombing of a school in the Lugansk region.
On May 18, Sweden and Finland submit their applications for NATO membership.
On the 19th, the US Congress approves aid of 40,000 million dollars to support the Ukrainian war effort.
The next day, the G7 pledges $19.8 billion to keep kyiv’s public accounts afloat.
Azovstal under Russian control
On May 20, Russia announces that it has taken control of Azovstal. According to kyiv, 90% of Mariupol is destroyed and at least 20,000 people have died.
In the east, the cities of Severodonetsk and Lyssytchansk constitute the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in the Luhansk region.
On the 23rd, a kyiv court sentences a Russian soldier to life in prison in the first trial for war crimes since the beginning of the invasion.
