Timeline and New Events from the War in Ukraine
Covering all the major events from February to day of release
New York Times- Brendan Hoffman
September 28, 2022
On February 24, 2022, Russia began an invasion of Ukraine. We all probably remember when all news channels were broadcasting about the invasion.
It was startling to see how fast everything began to happen, seeing footage of bombings in Kyiv, and hearing of the resilience of the Ukrainian people. Civilians began switching road signs to confuse Russians.
Here is the course this war has taken, and what has led up to recent Ukrainian victories in recovering territory.
The tension had been building since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and parts of the Donbas region held by Russian separatist groups. Fighting along the border escalated until forces finally started entering.
Right away, Ukraine was outnumbered, and odds seemed against the country against the thousands of Russian troops pushing in. Countries around the world began putting sanctions on Russia.
After weeks of fighting, Ukraine shocked the world by holding a steady defense, causing Russia to retreat. In March, Kherson, a port city on the Black Sea, fell to Russian forces. The New York Times explains the attacks as “part of an attempt to secure Ukraine’s Black Sea coast and form a land bridge between the region of Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.”
Russia has made it clear that the Donbas region is an important objective, and they claim they are liberating the region. The capitol city of Kyiv remains under consistent bombing.
In April, a train station in Kramatorsk that had been used for evacuations, was bombed, resulting in at least 50 dead and a hundred injured. Reports came detailing that Russia had used cluster bombs, which were banned from being used by a Convention on Cluster Munitions in 2008. 120 countries signed off on this agreement.
Mariupol fell in May, with a thousand Ukrainian soldiers surrendering. Thousands of civilians died from Russia’s attempts to take the city, and footage shows mass graves around the area. Bloomberg describes the motive as “hope to establish a land bridge between Crimea and separatist republics the Donbas.”
In June, Ukraine retook Snake Island, which Russia had held previously in the war. In doing so, Ukraine was able to have a better defense on the close port city of Odesa.
In July, the final city controlled by Ukraine in the Luhansk region fell after weeks of bombings and fighting.
Then, in August, Ukraine started a counteroffensive in the region of Kherson. Missiles supplied by other countries were used to destroy Russian supplies to help slow the forces.
Now, in terms of more recent news, Ukraine has launched an offensive and took back control of over 2,300 square miles in the south and east. Among the land retaken is the city of Izium, containing a Russian logistics hub. Russian troops have needed to retreat due to the speedy offensive, and this is a sure victory for the country that has stunned the world with its resilience.
As of September 21, Putin made a recent speech announcing “partial mobilization” of citizens. This means that citizens in the reserve and with military experience could be called. The Defense Minister said 300,000 reservists would be gathered.
Putin also said Russia would use “all the means at our disposal,” including nuclear weapons, if the “territorial integrity” of Russia was to be jeopardized. Putin’s speech is an acknowledgement to the Ukrainian forces regaining thousands of square miles in recent times.
Over the course of the war, Ukraine has fought valiantly against the Russian forces pushing in. The war has taken many turns, and no person is not shocked and inspired by the hard work and determination of the Ukrainian people who have been living through terrible conditions to fight for their country. If you would like to donate to a charity supporting Ukraine, you can find a list of organizations at https://help-ukraine.carrd.co/
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