Year of the Fierce: Major events of 12 months of full-scale Russian aggression

February 24

The beginning of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine after eight years of war.

At 3:40 a.m., the first tank column entered the territory of Luhansk Oblast. At 4:00 a.m. the Russian Federation published Vladimir Putin's statement about the start of a "special military operation" with the purported goal of the "demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine."

At the same time, Russia carried out airstrikes on dozens of targets across most regions of Ukraine, and a Russian ground offensive from Belarus, Russia, and occupied the previously-occupied parts Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts began.

The first week of the war:
February 24 - March 2

The decisive days of the invasion, which determined the course of events of the great war for a long time to come.

After the Russians' unsuccessful attempt to immediately seize Ukraine's capital by landing an airborne assault at the Hostomel airport, the defense of Kyiv began. During this week, Snake Island, Kherson, Melitopol, Berdyansk, Enerhodar, and the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant were captured, and areas in Kyiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhya, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Zhytomyr Oblasts came under occupation.

During the fighting for the Hostomel airport, the invaders destroyed the world's largest aircraft, the An-225 Mriya. The Ukrainian Armed Forces managed to defend Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, and Odesa.

February 28

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed Ukraine's official application for membership in the EU.

Mariupol was completely surrounded, the heroic defense of the besieged city began. The occupiers turned it into a trap for the civilian population. A minimum of 25,000 of Mariupol's inhabitants are estimated to have died during the Russian siege.

Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka / Facebook

“We were essentially the Instagram police and called out fake influencers left, right and centre. It was fun and all, but there is only so many bikini chicks you can look at on Instagram before you start losing your mind.”

Dan, Co-founder and CEO of Lumio

February 28, March 3 and 7

Three rounds of negotiations are held between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations on the Belarusian border with Belarus, the only result of which was an agreement on the organization of humanitarian corridors (which Russian troops regularly violated).

On the same day, a member of the Ukrainian negotiating delegation, Denys Kireev, was killed in Kyiv. As it turned out later, he helped Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) to receive important intelligence about the invasion from Russia, although the SBU suspected him of treason.

March 1

Russia carries out a missile strike on the Kharkiv Regional State Administration, which is emblematic of the missile terror that the Russians would carry out against the city for many weeks. The attack killed 29 people and seriously damaged other buildings in the area of Maidan Svobody in the city's center. The State Administration building was later determined to be damaged beyond repair.

“We were essentially the Instagram police and called out fake influencers left, right and centre. It was fun and all, but there is only so many bikini chicks you can look at on Instagram before you start losing your mind.”

Dan, Co-founder and CEO of Lumio

March 9

Russia carries out an airstrike on hospital No. 3 in the center of Mariupol. The maternity hospital, children's department, and therapy center were destroyed. The war crime was recorded by photographers Mstislav Chernov and Yevhen Maloletka, whose photos traveled around the world.

“We were essentially the Instagram police and called out fake influencers left, right and centre. It was fun and all, but there is only so many bikini chicks you can look at on Instagram before you start losing your mind.”

Dan, Co-founder and CEO of Lumio

Фото: Evgeniy Maloletka / Facebook

At least one pregnant woman and her baby later died in hospital from their injuries, and another pregnant woman lost her long-awaited unborn child.

March 10

A meeting between Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov takes place in Turkey, but fails to produce a result. It is the only meeting between the two in the first year of the invasion.

March 16

One of the most egregious crimes of the war occurs when Russia carries out an airstrike on the Donetsk Academic Regional Drama Theater in Mariupol. Civilian residents of the city, in particular families with children, used it as a bomb shelter, as evidenced by the inscription "CHILDREN" in car-sized letters on both sides of the theater.

“We were essentially the Instagram police and called out fake influencers left, right and centre. It was fun and all, but there is only so many bikini chicks you can look at on Instagram before you start losing your mind.”

Dan, Co-founder and CEO of Lumio

The building was thought to hold more than 1,000 people. A detailed investigation by the Associated Press concludes that the attack killed at least 600 people. In December 2022, the Russians demolished what remained of the theater, destroying the evidence of their crime.

March 21

The first of seven secret missions by Ukrainian helicopters in Mariupol is launched to deliver equipment, provisions, medicines, and ammunition to the defenders of the Azovstal steelworks, as well as to evacuate the wounded. One of the wounded rescued was Nikita Nadtochy, who assumed the role of commander of the Azov Battalion in June 2022.

During the fifth and seventh of these missions, two helicopters were shot down on the way back. Another Ukrainian helicopter which went to rescue one of the downed crews was itself also shot down.

March 29

A rocket attack on the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration kills 38 people and completely destroys the central part of the building. Another approximately 35 people were injured.

March 31

The Kyiv suburb of Bucha is liberated, and Russian forces withdraw from the Chornobyl NPP. These two events are harbingers of Russia's great retreat from the north of Ukraine.

1 April

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces confirms the fall of the city of Izyum, which for five months became an important logistics center for the occupiers in Kharkiv Oblast.

April 2

Kyiv Oblast is completely liberated, and the full scale of the war crimes committed by the Russians during their occupation is revealed. The world sees images of hundreds of bodies of civilians tortured and killed by the Russians: in mass graves, in shot-up cars, and simply lying on the streets.

Bucha, liberated days before, would become known around the world as a site of Russian genocide. The world begins seeing photos of scores of bodies of people tortured and killed by the Russian occupiers in the town.

“We were essentially the Instagram police and called out fake influencers left, right and centre. It was fun and all, but there is only so many bikini chicks you can look at on Instagram before you start losing your mind.”

Dan, Co-founder and CEO of Lumio

422 bodies are ultimately found in Bucha, and 1,300 murdered civilians are ultimately found in Kyiv Oblast. Similar crimes have been recorded in all regions of Ukraine that fell under Russian occupation.

First week of April

Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, and Sumy oblasts are completely liberated from enemy troops.

April 3

The Russian propaganda agency RIA Novosti publishes an article titled What Russia Should Do With Ukraine. The text is an explicit call to end the existence of Ukraine and commit genocide against the Ukrainian people.

April 8

Russia carries out a missile strike on the main train station of the city of Kramatorsk, where hundreds of people had assembled to board evacuation trains. The missile's cluster munitions kill 61 people, including seven children, and maim more than 120.

Фото: Ministry of Defence Ukraine/via REUTERS

April 9

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson makes his iconic first visit to Kyiv. Johnson is preceded in his wartime visit to Ukraine's capital by a number of other Western leaders, such as the Lithuanian Foreign Minister, the prime ministers of Poland, Czechia, and Slovenia, the presidents of the European Parliament and PACE, the head of the European Commission, and its vice president. However, the Johnson’s walk with President Zelenskyy through the center of Kyiv becomes an important signal for the whole world that Kyiv is still standing.

A strong sign of support. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrived in Kyiv — photo report

“We were essentially the Instagram police and called out fake influencers left, right and centre. It was fun and all, but there is only so many bikini chicks you can look at on Instagram before you start losing your mind.”

Dan, Co-founder and CEO of Lumio

April 13

The Ukrainian Navy strikes the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the missile cruiser Moskva, using a Ukrainian-made Neptune missile. The Moskva sinks the next day. The ship's crew numbered up to 500 people, and Russia is yet to announce how many were lost.

“We were essentially the Instagram police and called out fake influencers left, right and centre. It was fun and all, but there is only so many bikini chicks you can look at on Instagram before you start losing your mind.”

Dan, Co-founder and CEO of Lumio

April 18

Russia launches the Battle of Donbas after regrouping its forces from its withdrawal from northern Ukraine. President Zelenskyy and Secretary of the National Security Council Oleksiy Danilov announce that fighting is intensifying in the east.

April 26

The first meeting of the Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine takes place at the American air base in Ramstein, Germany, hence the name later assigned to it, the Ramstein format meetings. It marked the creation of an anti-Russian coalition of more than 40 countries to provide Ukraine with arms for its defense.

Фото: Антон Геращенко / Facebook

May 8-13

Russian forces attempt to ford the Siverskyy Donets river near the town of Bilohorivka in Luhansk Oblast, but are crushed in one of the greatest single defeats of Russian forces in the war. Almost 500 invaders and about 80 pieces of equipment are destroyed in the failed river crossing.

“We were essentially the Instagram police and called out fake influencers left, right and centre. It was fun and all, but there is only so many bikini chicks you can look at on Instagram before you start losing your mind.”

Dan, Co-founder and CEO of Lumio

May 9th

U.S. President Joe Biden signs the Lend-Lease Law for Ukraine, which entered into force in October 2022.

May 16

The defenders of the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol begin handing themselves over to Russian occupiers. After their heroic 86-day defense of the city, the Mariupol garrison receives the command to lay down arms in order to save their lives. According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the defenders of Mariupol pinned down about 20,000 Russians troops, preventing the invader from taking the city of Zaporizhzhya, reaching the borders of Donetsk Oblast, and encircling Ukrainian forces in Donbas. About 2,500 Azovstal defenders are taken prisoner, including 600 seriously wounded soldiers.

One Mariupol defender is able to share farewell photos from the remains of the bunker where he and his comrades in the Ukrainian garrison heroically resisted the Russian invaders.

“We were essentially the Instagram police and called out fake influencers left, right and centre. It was fun and all, but there is only so many bikini chicks you can look at on Instagram before you start losing your mind.”

Dan, Co-founder and CEO of Lumio

June 16

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi visit Kyiv and Irpin. They lend their support to granting Ukraine EU candidate status, pledged not to pressure Kyiv to sue for peace, and condemned Russia's war crimes.

June 23

Ukraine and Moldova officially become candidates for EU membership by the decision of the European Council, which unites the leaders of the 27 countries of the European Union.

The first American HIMARS MLRS arrive in Ukraine. Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov hints that it will be a "hot summer for the occupiers." Thanks to the weapon system's ability to strike targets up to 80 km away with pinpoint accuracy, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are able to begin directly targeting Russia's logistics facilities, ammunition depots, command headquarters, and concentrations of personnel, causing massive disruption to Russian war plans.

These strikes were crucial for the subsequent liberation of part of Kherson Oblast and other areas on the front.

June 24

The Ukrainian Armed Forces fall back from Sieverodonetsk. The Russians had been trying to capture the city since the beginning of the invasion, subjecting Sieverodonetsk and its surroundings to devastating artillery and air strikes.

Street fighting in the city began at the end of May. The occupiers almost completely destroyed the city, annihilating all its critical infrastructure and 80% of its residential buildings, according to the Luhansk Oblast Military Administration.

June 27

Russia launches a missile attack on the Amstor shopping center in the city of Kremenchuk in Poltava Oblast. The packed shopping center burns down completely, killing 22 people.

“We were essentially the Instagram police and called out fake influencers left, right and centre. It was fun and all, but there is only so many bikini chicks you can look at on Instagram before you start losing your mind.”

Dan, Co-founder and CEO of Lumio

June 30

Ukraine liberates Snake Island, as the Russian occupiers abandon the island in the western Black Sea in what they call a “goodwill measure.” On July 4, the Ukrainian flag is raised on the island. The retaking of Snake Island allows Ukraine to re-assert control of the western Black Sea.

The military raises the flag of Ukraine on Snake Island — photos

“We were essentially the Instagram police and called out fake influencers left, right and centre. It was fun and all, but there is only so many bikini chicks you can look at on Instagram before you start losing your mind.”

Dan, Co-founder and CEO of Lumio

July 3

The Ukrainian Armed Forces withdraw from Lysychansk, the last remaining large unoccupied city in Luhansk Oblast. Several villages in Luhansk Oblast remain under Ukrainian control. However, the Russians are exhausted and depleted by their efforts to take the two cities, as they will not manage to take another Ukrainian city until Soledar in January 2023.

July 4

The first evidence emerges of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the man behind the Wagner mercenary outfit, beginning a large-scale campaign to recruit inmates from Russian prison colonies to fight in the war against Ukraine.

These convicts, to whom Prigozhin promised an amnesty after six months of service, temporarily fill the gaps caused by Russian losses in Ukraine and serve as cannon fodder in Russia's the battles in Donbas. In February 2023, Prigozhin announces the end of his prisoner recruitment campaign.

July 14

Russia carries out a missile strike on a central square in the city of Vinnytsia. The attack kills 27 people, including three children (a 4-year-old girl and 7- and 8-year-old boys), and injures more than 200.

“We were essentially the Instagram police and called out fake influencers left, right and centre. It was fun and all, but there is only so many bikini chicks you can look at on Instagram before you start losing your mind.”

Dan, Co-founder and CEO of Lumio

July 22

The Black Sea Grain Initiative is signed, partially unblocking the maritime export of Ukrainian grain. The Initiative was agreed upon between Ukraine, Turkey, and the UN, with a mirror agreement concluded with Russia. It allowed the export of Ukrainian grain from the Ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk, and Pivdennyy. Under the initiative, merchant vessels allowed to pass through specially created and de-mined corridors, and are required to pass inspection in Turkey.

July 24

The Ukrainian Armed Forces strike the bridge over the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam. It is the last of the three large bridges across the Dnipro in Kherson Oblast to be hit and damaged in that week (including the Antonivka road and railway bridges). Ukrainian fire control over Russia's transport and logistics routes and river crossings made it possible to isolate and significantly worsen the provision of Russian forces on the right bank of Kherson Oblast, which ultimately helped to "squeeze" the occupiers out.

The night of July 29

Russia carries out a terrorist attack at a prisoner of war camp in Olenivka, committing an organized killing of Ukrainian POWs, mostly defenders of Mariupol from Azovstal. By deliberately burning down a prisoner barracks at former Volnova correctional colony No. 120, Russia kills about 50 POWs and injures more than 130.

The invaders had created a filtration prison in Olenivka after February 2022. Former inmates have testified to the torture and mistreatment used on Ukrainian prisoners here.

August 9

Explosions at the Saka airbase near the village of Novofedorivka in occupied Crimea mark the first high-profile strikes by the Ukrainian Armed Forces against military facilities on the peninsula. At least 8-9 Russian military aircraft are destroyed, with several more damaged.

Later, Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valery Zaluzhnyi calls the attack as an example of Ukraine's successful efforts to physically shift hostilities onto the occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. On August 16, explosions ring out at a Russian ammunition depot near Dzhankoi, with more near the Belbek airfield on August 18.

August 29

The Ukrainian Armed Forces announce the beginning of "offensive actions in many directions in the south of Ukraine," marking the of the counteroffensive which eventually led to the liberation of the right bank of Kherson Oblast.

September 6

A parallel rapid counteroffensive kicks off in Kharkiv Oblast. Over the next six days, about 6,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory are retaken, bringing almost all of Kharkiv Oblast back under Ukrainian control.
• September 8 - Balaklia is liberated
• September 10 – Izyum is liberated
• September 12 - Sviatohirsk is liberated (the beginning of the liberation of Donetsk Oblast)
• September 16 - Kupyansk is liberated

“We were essentially the Instagram police and called out fake influencers left, right and centre. It was fun and all, but there is only so many bikini chicks you can look at on Instagram before you start losing your mind.”

Dan, Co-founder and CEO of Lumio

September 15

A mass grave is discovered near the liberated city of Izyum, where about 450 bodies are ultimately exhumed. The majority of them are Ukrainian civilians, many of whom died violently. Dozens of bodies bear signs of torture.

September 21

Vladimir Putin announces a "partial" mobilization in Russia, with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu declaring that the country plans to mobilize 300,000 reservists. Within two weeks, according to estimates by Forbes Russia, between 600,000 and 1 million people leave Russia.

The first mobilized troops began to appear at the front after a few days. On October 31, the Russian Ministry of Defense announces that it will cease serving mobilization summons. There is no decree to end the mobilization, however, so it continues covertly. Ukraine conducts its largest exchange of prisoners. Ukraine receives 215 people held by the Russians, including 188 defenders of Mariupol, as well as ten international volunteers.

Ukraine hands over 56 people to Russia, including leading collaborationist politician Viktor Medvedchuk. Under the personal guarantees of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, five commanders who defended Mariupol and Azovstal were sent to Turkey to remain until the end of the war in Ukraine.

They include Azov commander Denys Prokopenko (callsign Radis), his deputy Svyatoslav Palamar (callsign Kalyna), commander of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade Serhii Volynskyi (callsign Volyn), commander of the Dmytro Vyshnevetskyy 12th Operational Brigade Denys Shlega, and company commander Oleh Khomenko (callsign Apis), who led the defense of Azovstal.

September 23-27

Russia carries out illegal pseudo-referendums in the occupied areas of Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, Donetsk, and Luhansk Oblasts, as well as in several occupied settlements in Mykolaiv Oblast which the Russians had declared subordinate to the Kherson occupation administration.

September 30

A farce in the Kremlin following the results of its fake "referendums:" Vladimir Putin announces Russia's annexation of four Ukrainian oblasts, none of which his forces had full control over at the time. On October 2, Putin's legally void decision is ratified by the Russian Constitutional Court, and by the State Duma on October 3.

October 2

The city of Lyman in Donetsk Oblast, an important transport hub occupied by Russia since the end of May, is liberated. In addition to retaking a strategic city, Ukraine demonstrates the emptiness of Russia's claims to Ukrainian territories.

October 4

The Kherson counteroffensive develops, as the Ukrainian Armed Forces announce the liberation of about 50 settlements in the Kherson Oblast, including Dudchany, Velyka and Mala Oleksandrivka, and Davydiv Brid.

October 8

An explosion rocks the Kerch Strait bridge in Crimea, causing the collapse of two half-sections of the automobile deck of the bridge and heavily damaging the railway track. In addition to the powerful symbolism of the event, the attack further complicates Russian logistics and support for its occupying forces in Crimea and southern Ukraine.

General Sergei Surovikin is named commander Russia's forces in Ukraine. Surovikin had earned the nickname "General Armageddon" for his use of savage bombardment against civilian targets, as well as war crimes by units under him in Chechnya and Syria.

However, Surovikin would fail to significantly change situation at the front in Russia's favor: three months later, he would be replaced by the Chief the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, General Valery Gerasimov, and be demoted to Gerasimov's deputy.

October 6 and 9-10

Devastating night rocket strikes by Russia on residential high-rises and houses in Zaporizhzhya kill more than 30 and injure more than 100.

Фото: Reuters/ Stringer

October 10

Russia launches a campaign of massive missile attacks on Ukraine's critical infrastructure, leading to ongoing shortages in Ukraine's energy system. This causes both scheduled and emergency blackouts across the country.

Kyiv suffers a several series of rocket attacks that day, in particular downtown. Russian missiles strike a playground in Shevchenko Park, the intersection of Volodymyrska and Shevchenko Boulevards, and near the pedestrian and bicycle bridge over Volodymyrsky Descent. In addition, a number of energy facilities and the 101 Tower business center near the central railway station are damaged.

“We were essentially the Instagram police and called out fake influencers left, right and centre. It was fun and all, but there is only so many bikini chicks you can look at on Instagram before you start losing your mind.”

Dan, Co-founder and CEO of Lumio

October 12

The UN General Assembly adopts a resolution rejecting Russia's pseudo-referendums and the Kremlin's attempts to annex Ukrainian territory. 143 countries vote in favor of the resolution, with only five voting against: Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Nicaragua, and Syria.

October 13

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopts a resolution designating Russia a terrorist regime.

October 17

Russia carries out its first large-scale attack with Iranian kamikaze drones in Kyiv, hitting critical infrastructure and destroying a residential building. The strikes kill five people, including a young couple who were expecting a child, as well as the mother and stepfather of a soldier who had come home from the front for a few days to visit them.

Mid-October

Bakhmut emerges as the biggest battle of the first year of Russia's invasion, and as the most hellish spot on the eastern front. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense reports on October 18 that Russian forces were ordered to take the city by the month. The Russians' main assault force for Bakhmut and the nearby city of Soledar are mercenaries from Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner, in particular convicts from Russian prisons.

November 11th

The Ukrainian Armed Forces liberate Kherson, the only regional center that the Russians had managed to capture since the beginning of their full-scale invasion. The Russian command officially issues the order to retreat from the right bank of Kherson Oblast on November 9.

Flowers and autographs from soldiers. How residents of Kherson celebrated the liberation of their city after eight months of occupation - photo report

“We were essentially the Instagram police and called out fake influencers left, right and centre. It was fun and all, but there is only so many bikini chicks you can look at on Instagram before you start losing your mind.”

Dan, Co-founder and CEO of Lumio

November 23

The fifth, most serious Russian mass strike on Ukraine's energy infrastructure of Ukraine. The salvo includes about 70 missiles, and for the first time in Ukrainian history, all four Ukrainian nuclear power plants are disconnected from the power network.

The European Parliament recognizes Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism which carries out indiscriminate attacks on residential areas and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, resulting in thousands of deaths. The resolution also states that the Russians are carrying out extrajudicial executions, abductions, sexual violence, torture, and other atrocities in the territories they occupy.

“We were essentially the Instagram police and called out fake influencers left, right and centre. It was fun and all, but there is only so many bikini chicks you can look at on Instagram before you start losing your mind.”

Dan, Co-founder and CEO of Lumio

December 5

Ukraine strikes Russia's Engels-2 airfield in Saratov Oblast, marking the first time Ukraine is able to attack military facilities deep in Russia's rear. At least two Tu-95 aircraft, which Russia uses to launch missiles against Ukraine, are damaged. On December 26, a second strike is carried out on the Engels-2 airBase, along with a strike on the Diaghilev airfield in Ryazan, where another plane is damaged.

December 16

Russia carries out a record-breaking missile attack on Ukraine's civil and energy infrastructure, launching 98 missiles and more than 65 attacks with multiple ocket launchers.

December 21

President Zelenskyy makes his first trip abroad since the beginning of the invasion. He visits the United States, where he meets with President Joe Biden delivers a rousing address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress.

“We were essentially the Instagram police and called out fake influencers left, right and centre. It was fun and all, but there is only so many bikini chicks you can look at on Instagram before you start losing your mind.”

Dan, Co-founder and CEO of Lumio

December 22

The Ukrainian General Staff reports that Russian losses in Ukraine have total over 100,000 people.

December 31

In another landmark prisoner swap, another 140 Ukrainians are returned from Russian captivity, among them defenders of Mariupol and Snake Island.

December 31 - January 1

Russia bombs Kyiv and many cities of Ukraine over the New Years holidays, launching about 20 cruise missiles, about 50 Shahed-136 suicide drones, and 55 S-300 missiles, in particular at the Kherson Children's Hospital.

The first weeks of January

Russia's assault on Soledar strengthens. Russian troops from Wagner and the regular army launch continuous assaults with small groups, attempting to exhaust Ukrainian defenders, but sustaining immense losses on their own side.

January 14

Russia strikes an apartment building in Dnipro. During another massive wave of 57 missiles, Russia fires a Kh-22 missile into a nine-story building in Dnipro. The bombing completely destroys part of the building, kills 46 people, injures more than 80, and leaves hundreds homeless.

January 18

A helicopter flown by the State Emergency Service crashes in the Kyiv suburb of Brovary. The aircraft falls on a kindergarten, killing 14 people, including one child. Ten of the dead were onboard the helicopter, including the leadership of Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The tragedy claimed the lives of Internal Affairs Minister Denys Monastyrskyy, his first deputy Yevhen Yenin, and State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Yuriy Lubkovich. The helicopter was on its way to a hot spot in the east of Ukraine. The causes of the disaster are being investigated.

January 19

The European Parliament supports the creation of a special international tribunal to try the crimes of aggression by Russia and Belarus against Ukraine.

January 24

The birth of the "tank" coalition: the German government agrees to provide Ukraine with Leopard-2 tanks and permit their re-export from other countries. On the same day, U.S. President Joe Biden announces the decision to transfer American M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. This move opens the way for many other countries to transfer tanks to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

January 25

The Ukrainian Armed Forces officially confirm their withdrawal from Soledar after completing the main tasks of their defense of the city, exhausting the enemy as much as possible, and holding the front line. According to the Ukrainian command, Russian losses at Soledar alone reached the level of Russian losses in both Chechen wars.

January 26

The United States recognizes the Wagner mercenary company as a transnational criminal organization. According to the Institute for the Study of War, in the battles for Bakhmut and Soledar, Ukrainian forces have exhausted Wagner forces so much that they have begun to be replaced by units of the regular Russian army on this sector of the front.

February 4

The U.S. Attorney General announces the first transfer of confiscated Russian funds to Ukraine. About $5.5 million seized from Russian billionaire Konstantin Malofeev in 2014 for evading sanctions are handed over.

February 8-9

Volodymyr Zelenskyy makes his second trip abroad since the start of the full-scale invasion. He visits London, Paris, and Brussels over two days. In the UK, Zelenskyy meets with King Charles III and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and in an address to the British Parliament calls for fighter jets to be provided to Ukraine. In France, Zelenskyy meets with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron, while in Belgium he addresses the European Parliament and a summit of the leaders of the 27 countries of the EU.

February 9

The Institute for the Study of War and the Office of the President confirm that a new major Russian offensive has begun in Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts. At the beginning of February, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense had reported that Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to capture the entire territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts by March 2023.

February 10-13

News emerges of a massive Russian defeat near Vuhledar, where Russian assaults had been intensifying in the weeks before. According to the Defense Forces of the Tavria Region, i[1] n engagements near Vuhledar, Ukrainian forces crushed Russia's elite 155th Marine Brigade from Vladivostok, killing 150-300 Russian marines in each day of the fighting.

February 20

Joe Biden pays an unexpected and historic visit to Kyiv, becoming the first U.S. president to visit Ukraine in 15 years. Before him, no modern American leader had dared to visit a warzone not under U.S. military control. Biden arrived in Kyiv on a secret train from Poland, met with President Zelenskyy, and commemorated fallen Ukrainian defenders near St. Michael's Cathedral. He assured Ukraine of America's long-term support and declared that Vladimir Putin had made a catastrophic mistake in his calculations: "One year later, Kyiv is still standing. Ukraine stands. Democracy stands. Americans stand with you, and world stands with you."

“We were essentially the Instagram police and called out fake influencers left, right and centre. It was fun and all, but there is only so many bikini chicks you can look at on Instagram before you start losing your mind.”

Dan, Co-founder and CEO of Lumio

24 лютого

24 лютого

24 лютого

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