February 24.. a date that is hard to forget.. On that day, the spark of war broke out in Ukraine. Since then, the world has been experiencing tension, escalation, and political developments that are difficult to predict.
Here we recall together the most prominent stations of the war:
February 24, 2022… The start of the Russian military operation
After months of holding their breath, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.
March 2022.. Russia is advancing east
By March, the Russian army had made significant progress in the first major Ukrainian city, Kharkiv, in the north-east of the country.
April 2022… NATO announces the arming of Ukraine
NATO approved in the twenty-fourth of the same month arming Ukraine to address threats of chemical or nuclear attacks.
April 2022: The Ukrainian army regains control of Kiev
Perhaps the most prominent stations of the Ukrainian war, the Ukrainian authorities regained control of the Kiev region, after the withdrawal of the Russian forces, which carried out a repositioning process towards the east and south.
Late April 2022.. Russian control of Mariupol
But in late April, Putin declared relative control of the southeastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, at a time when up to 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers were still resisting until mid-May from inside the Azovstal steel plant, accompanied by about 1,000 civilians.
Late May 2022… Russia controls more regions
In another development, on May 28, pro-Russian forces managed to take control of the city of Liman, which is an important railway center in the Donetsk region. The same month witnessed the continuation of Western support for Ukraine.
June 2022… Russia controls Severodonetsk
The following month, Moscow intensified its artillery bombardment in the Donbass and ended up taking control of Severodonetsk, but in return withdrew from the strategic Snake Island.
August 2022: Targeting the Zaporizhya Nuclear Power Plant
During the month of August, Moscow and Kiev exchanged accusations regarding the bombing of the Zaporizhia nuclear plant, in southern Ukraine, amid international warnings of a possible nuclear disaster.
September 2022… Russia includes 4 regions in a popular referendum
A few weeks later, Russia succeeded, through a popular referendum, in annexing four Ukrainian regions: Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson.
November 2022… Russian withdrawal from Kherson
And when November came, the Russian army received orders to withdraw from the city of Kherson with the advance of Ukrainian forces in the region.
January-February 2023… the arms race accelerates
With the advent of 2023, several Western countries decided to increase their support for Kiev by providing it with advanced tanks such as the Abrams and Leopard tanks.
It became clear that the Ukrainian-Russian conflict entered a new direction, especially after Kiev strengthened its military arsenal.
