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Russia invades Ukraine

Latest

Ukrainian forces were holding out in Sievierodonetsk on Tuesday, resisting Russia's all-out assault to capture a bombed-out wasteland that Moscow has made the principal objective of its invasion in recent days.

A map of Ukraine that shows where Russian forces have invaded, highlighting areas controlled by Russian-backed separatists.

The axes of attack
1

Main effort Eastern Ukraine — Russian likely objective is to surround Ukrainian forces in Eastern Ukraine and capture the entirety of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.

2

Supporting effort Kharkiv city — Russian objective to keep positions on the outskirts of Kharkiv, defend ground lines of communication and prevent Ukrainian counterattacks.

3

Supporting effort southern axis — Russian objective to defend Kherson and Zaporizhzhia against Ukrainian counterattacks.

Latest Reuters reports

Natalia Maznichenko mourns her husband at his funeral, in Bucha, Ukraine April 21, 2022. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters
Medical workers rescue an injured man following Russian shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine, April 27, 2022. Ricardo Moraes / Reuters
Local children play in front of a church damaged during Russia's invasion of Ukraine in Kolychivka, Ukraine, April 27, 2022. Vladyslav Musiienko / Reuters

Refugees flee the fighting

More than an estimated two million refugees have fled for neighbouring countries since Russia invaded on Feb. 24, according to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

Map of refugee movements from Ukraine into neighbouring countries. Poland 547982, Slovakia 72200, Hungary 133009, Romania 51261, Moldova 97827 people.

Russian forces seize nuclear plant

Updated March 4, 2022, 3:45 p.m. CUT

Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in eastern Ukraine, the largest nuclear plant in Europe, after a building at the complex was set ablaze during intense fighting with Ukrainian defenders. Fears of a potential nuclear disaster at the plant had spread alarm across world capitals before authorities said the fire in a building identified as a training centre had been extinguished.

The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine called the Russian assault on the Zaporizhzhia plant a “war crime.” Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said it showed how reckless the Russian invasion has been.

Sanctions tracker

The European Union, the United States, Britain and others have hit Russia with a wide range of sanctions after its invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions span various industries and include financial, energy, export and travel bans.

Russia’s large banks are deeply integrated into the global financial system and the country is one of the world’s biggest energy producers, meaning sanctions could disrupt economies around the world.

Major events

Updated May 31, 2022, 2:31 p.m. CUT

May 18
Mariupol defenders surrender to Russia but their fate is uncertain

More than 250 Ukrainian fighters surrendered to Russian forces at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol after weeks of desperate resistance, bringing an end to the most devastating siege of Russia's war in Ukraine and allowing President Vladimir Putin to claim a rare victory in his faltering campaign.

May 10
U.S. House passes $40 bln bill to bolster Ukraine against Russian invasion

The U.S. House of Representatives approved more than $40 billion more aid for Ukraine on Tuesday, as Congress races to keep military aid flowing and boost the government in Kyiv as it grapples with the Russian invasion.

Apr. 28
Russian-controlled region of Ukraine will start using rouble

Ukraine's southern Kherson region will start using the Russian rouble from May 1, an official from a pro-Russian committee which styles itself as the region's "military-civil administration" told Russian news agency RIA.

Apr. 27
Russia halts gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria

The Security Council of Moldova's breakaway Transdniestria region has reported a "terrorist attack" on a military unit near the city of Tiraspol, the TASS news agency reported on Tuesday.

Apr. 26
Military unit in Moldovan breakaway region hit by 'terrorist attack' - media

The Security Council of Moldova's breakaway Transdniestria region has reported a "terrorist attack" on a military unit near the city of Tiraspol, the TASS news agency reported on Tuesday.

Apr. 8
Death toll from Kramatorsk missile strike rises to 57, Ukraine official says

At least 57 people were killed in a missile strike on a railway station in east Ukraine that was packed with women, children and elderly trying to flee fighting, Ukrainian authorities said.

Apr. 7
U.N. suspends Russia from human rights body, Moscow then quits

The United Nations General Assembly suspended Russia from the U.N. Human Rights Council over reports of "gross and systematic violations and abuses of human rights" in Ukraine, prompting Moscow to announce it was quitting the body.

Apr. 4
Germany says West to agree more sanctions on Russia after Bucha killings

Germany said on Sunday that the West would agree to impose more sanctions on Russia in the coming days after Ukraine accused Russian forces of war crimes near Kyiv, ratcheting up the already vast economic pressure on Russia over its invasion.

Mar. 21
Ukraine defies Russian demand to lay down arms in Mariupol

Russia's military had ordered Ukrainians inside the besieged southeastern city to surrender by 5 a.m., saying that those who do so would be permitted to leave through safe corridors.

Mar. 10
Ukraine says Russian troops at gas compressor stations pose supply risk

The arrival of Russian troops at two gas compressor stations in eastern Ukraine poses a risk to European supplies, Ukraine's gas pipeline operator warned on Thursday, although there were no signs of an immediate impact on flows.

Russia shifts line on Ukraine hospital bombing

Russia shifted its stance over the bombing of a Ukrainian hospital in the city of Mariupol, with a mix of statements that veered between aggressive denials and a call to establish clear facts.

Mar. 9
Ukraine accuses Russia of genocide after bombing of children's hospital

The Mariupol city council said the hospital had been hit several times in what the White House called a "barbaric use of military force to go after innocent civilians".

Mar. 6
Fighting traps residents in Mariupol

Fighting stopped about 200,000 people from evacuating the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol for a second day in a row on Sunday, as Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to press ahead with his invasion unless Kyiv surrendered.

Mar. 4
Mariupol subjected to intense strikes

Mariupol under Ukrainian control but subject to intense strikes, UK says.

Mar. 3
Ukraine, Russia make progress on evacuation corridors as war rages

Russia and Ukraine have agreed on the need to set up humanitarian corridors and a possible ceasefire around them for fleeing civilians.

Tens of millions of people in Ukraine in "potentially mortal danger"

Military operations escalate with bombings of major cities and reports of cluster weapons striking civilian targets, according to a U.N. human rights official.

"We are being destroyed," city council of Ukraine's Mariupol says

Mariupol city council said Russian forces were constantly and deliberately shelling vital civilian infrastructure in the southeastern Ukrainian port, leaving it without water, heating or power and preventing bringing supplies or evacuating people.

Mar. 2
Kharkiv under siege

On a residential street in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, debris was strewn all around, blood stained the ground and the bodies of people carried from destroyed homes lay covered in blankets.

Mar. 1
Attacks continue in Kyiv and Kharkiv

Nearly a week since Moscow unleashed its war on its neighbour, its troops have failed to capture a single major Ukrainian city after running into fierce resistance. Deadly shelling of civilian areas in Kharkiv indicated that frustrated Russian commanders could resort to more devastating tactics to achieve the goals of their invasion.

Feb. 28
Human rights groups and Ukrainian ambassador accuse Russia of using cluster and vacuum bombs

These weapons have been condemned by a variety of international organisations.

Feb. 27
Russians push into Kharkiv

Russian soldiers and armoured vehicles were seen in different parts of Ukraine’s second-largest city and explosions rocked oil and gas installations.

Feb. 26
West to kick Russian banks out of SWIFT

The United States and its allies moved to block certain Russian banks’ access to the SWIFT international payment system, a major step that seemed all but off-the-table for many European nations just days before.

Germany sends defensive weapons

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Berlin would supply Ukraine with 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles, reversing a long-standing policy of not exporting weapons to war zones.

Kyiv still in Ukrainian hands

Russian forces battered Ukrainian cities with artillery and cruise missiles on Saturday for a third day running but a defiant President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the capital Kyiv remained in Ukrainian hands.

Feb. 25
NATO deploys more troops

NATO leaders said on Friday they were deploying more troops to eastern Europe after Russia invaded Ukraine, saying that Moscow had lied about its intentions.

Invasion continues

Missiles pounded the Ukrainian capital as Russian forces pressed their advance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pleaded with the international community to do more, saying sanctions announced so far were not enough.

Feb. 24
Russia invades Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised “special military operations” in eastern Ukraine and asked Ukrainian forces to lay down their arms in a televised address. Russian forces begin missile and artillery attacks on Ukrainian forces and air bases, striking areas in major cities.

Feb. 23
Ukraine’s parliament approves state of emergency

The Ukrainian parliament approved a declaration of a state of emergency in the entire country, except for two eastern regions where it had already been in place since 2014.

Ukraine separatists seek Russian help

Russian-backed separatist leaders asked Russia for help in repelling “aggression” from the Ukrainian army. The White House rejected the plea as another Russian "false flag" operation, a fake crisis manufactured to justify greater intervention.

Feb. 22
First wave of U.S. sanctions on Russia

Biden announced the first tranche of Russia sanctions. The sanctions, among others things, target Russian banks and sovereign debt.

First wave of EU sanctions on Russia

The European Union agreed to sanction 27 Russians and entities, as well as banks and the defence sector and to limit Russian access to European capital markets.

Germany freezes Nord Stream 2 gas project

Germany halted the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea gas pipeline project, designed to double the flow of Russian gas direct to Germany.

Feb. 21
Putin orders troops to Ukraine after recognising breakaway regions

Russian President Putin ordered the deployment of troops to two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine after recognising them as independent.

Russia recognises breakaway regions

Russian state television showed Putin, joined by Russia-backed separatist leaders, signing a decree recognising the independence of the two Ukrainian breakaway regions: the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic.

Feb. 14
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says Ukraine will persist with NATO goal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his country would continue to seek membership in the NATO transatlantic military alliance despite pressure to cede that aspiration to avoid war with Russia

Feb. 10
Russia holds drills in Belarus

Russia held military exercises in Belarus and the Black Sea following the buildup of its forces near Ukraine.

Feb. 3
Moscow shuts down German broadcaster’s Russian operations in retaliatory move

Russia shut down German broadcaster Deutsche Welle’s operations in Moscow and stripped its staff of their accreditation in a retaliatory move after Berlin banned Russian broadcaster RT DE.

Jan. 2022
Ukraine gets weapons from the U.S., Baltic States, others

Western countries had stepped up arms deliveries to Ukraine but it said it needed more in order to resist Russia’s bigger and better-equipped army.

Dec. 2021
Russia builds up forces near Ukraine

Satellite images showed Russia building up forces in annexed Crimea and at sites near the Ukrainian border.

Smoke rises above Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 25, 2022. Alexander Ermochenko / Reuters
Pro-Russian troops stand in front of the destroyed administration building of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol, Ukraine April 21, 2022. Chingis Kondarov / Reuters
Local resident Tamara cries in front of a destroyed apartment building in Mariupol, Ukraine April 19, 2022. Alexander Ermochenko / Reuters

Wider context

Ukraine’s military strength

Ukraine’s armed forces of more than 200,000 service members, not including the paramilitary, are less than a quarter the size of Russia’s. However, they have been significantly boosted since 2014 by Western military aid, including supplies of U.S. Javelin anti-tank missiles and Turkish drones.

Main gas waypoints between Russia and Europe

Gas flows in billion cubic metres of capacity per year

Ukraine’s population centers

Roughly 44 million people live in Ukraine with nearly 3 million in the capital city of Kyiv. Russia’s influence looms large, particularly in the urban, industrial east where Russian is the predominant language in many districts along the Ukrainian border as well as in Crimea in the south.

Breakaway regions

On Monday, Feb. 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree recognising two breakaway regions of Ukraine as independent entities, the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR).

Russian-backed separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions - collectively known as the Donbass - broke away from Ukrainian government control in 2014 and proclaimed themselves independent “people’s republics,” until now unrecognised.

Since then, Ukraine says about 15,000 people have been killed in fighting. Russia denies being a party to the conflict but has backed the separatists in numerous ways, including through covert military support, financial aid, supplies of COVID-19 vaccines and the issue of at least 800,000 Russian passports to residents. Moscow has always denied planning to invade Ukraine.

Germany suspends Nord Stream 2

On Tuesday, Feb. 22, German Chancellor Olaf Sholz suspended the approval process for Nord Stream 2, a major pipeline project between Russia and Germany. The move was widely seen as one of the strongest measures Europe could take in response to Moscow’s recognition of the two breakaway regions in Ukraine.

NATO deployments in Europe

On Feb. 14, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his country would continue to seek to join the NATO transatlantic military alliance despite pressure from Russia, which has demanded NATO roll back from eastern Europe and has said NATO deployments in Ukraine would be a “red line.”

Graphics by

Reuters Graphics

Edited by

Jon McClure, Julia Wolfe, Jonathan Oatis