Summary in seconds: the timeline of the main events of the war in Ukraine and its phases: Russians preparing for the invasion (Prelude), the initial invasion (from February 24 to April 7), the Southeastern front (from April 8 to September 11), and what I will cover in the next article.
The course of the Ukrainian war
On February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched Europe’s biggest military assault since World War II, killing thousands of people, forcing millions of Ukrainians to leave their homes, shaking the geopolitical system that prevailed in Europe after the end of the Cold War, and roiling global markets.
In this article, I will provide a timeline of the war’s initial phases, from the prelude to the first stalemate, and briefly touch on the subsequent phases.
Prelude (Before February 24):
The world became aware of the tense situation between Russia and Ukraine when, on November 10, 2021, the United States reported unusual Russian troop movements near the Ukrainian border. By late November, Ukrainian officials estimated that approximately 92,000 Russian troops were stationed near its border. Tensions continued to escalate in December 2021 and January 2022 as Russia’s military buildup along the Ukrainian border
The All-Out Invasion (February 24 to April 7, 2022):
February:
On February 24, Russia launched a full-scale invasion, catching Ukraine off guard. The opening hours of the war seemed to predict a defeat. The next day, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine rejected calls to flee Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Instead, he called for international support and for weapons.
Few days into the invasion, it was clear that Russian forces faced logistical challenges, while Ukrainian soldiers displayed resilience and urban warfare tactics. Russian troops captured the Chernobyl nuclear power plant but failed to take major cities or eliminate Ukrainian air defenses. The failure of Russian forces to break through Ukrainian defenses on the northern front were met with a modest success on the southern front.
March:
On the second day of March, Russia captured the city of Kherson on the Black Sea, and the pro-Russian separatist surrounded the city of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov. Two days later, Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant fell under Russian control.
On March 10, Ukrainian rejected Kremlin’s surrender demand. During the following days and until the end of March, Ukrainians managed to keep Russian troops out of Kyiv and Kharkiv, but the Russians continued their attacks on the city of Mariupol in the southeast, where the situation began to deteriorate.
April (Days 1-7):
At the beginning of April, the Ukrainian troops managed to liberate areas around Kyiv and Chernihiv regions on the northern front. On April 7, Russian troops deployed to the northern front were pulled back from the Kyiv offensive, apparently to resupply then redeploy to the Donbas region and to reinforce the renewed invasion of southeastern Ukraine.
The Russian pullback from Bucha revealed mass graves and signs of torture, drawing international condemnation.
Southeastern Front (April 8 to September 11, 2022):
April (Days 8-30):
On April 13, the missile cruiser Moskva, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, was hit by Ukrainian missiles and sank by the next day. By mid-April, the Russian military shifted its focus to the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, while fighting continued around Mariupol in the south.
May:
On May 17, the siege of Mariupol ended with Ukrainian forces surrender, heavy causalities reported. On 24 of May, President Zelenskyy of the Ukraine said that 60–100 Ukrainian soldiers were being killed per day. Over the next few days, the Russians intensified their assault against Sievierodonetsk until the Ukrainian decided to withdraw from the city to regroup.
June:
In the first week of June, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy mentioned that Russian forces controlled 20% of Ukrainian territory. On June 10, Ukrainians stated that they were losing between 100 and 200 soldiers every day. On the last day of June, Russian troops pulled from Snake Island, located off the Black Sea port of Odesa, and was seized by the Russians in the opening days of the invasion.
July:
On July 7, it was reported that Russian forces paused for rest and reinforcement. A week later, Russia intensified its recruiting efforts.
On July 17, the Chief of UK Defense Staff, said that the Russian army had lost 50,000 soldiers killed or wounded, along with nearly 1700 tanks and 4000 fighting vehicles, which is a loss of more than 30% of Russia’s ground forces. On July 20, former Ambassador to Russia and current head of the CIA, William J. Burns, estimated Russian losses at about 15,000 killed and 45,000 wounded.
August:
On August 5, shelling of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant raised international concerns. forcing the operators to disconnect a reactor. Towards the end of the month, On August 29, Ukraine launched a counteroffensive in the south, claiming that their forces breached Russia’s first line of defense near the city of Kherson.
September (Day 1-11):
On September 6, the Ukrainian forces launched a surprise counteroffensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region, forcing Russia to pull back. On September 10, President Zelenskyy raised the Ukrainian flag in the war-scarred city of Izium, a big strategic win for Kyiv.
This timeline highlights the early phases of the Ukrainian war, from the prelude to thee first stalemate in September 2022. In the next article of this series, we will cover the Ukrainian counteroffensive and the second stalemate.
Sources
1. Timeline of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Wikipedia, last edited March 1, 2023 – 22:06 UTC
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2022_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine
2. Timeline of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine: prelude (up to 23 February 2022). Wikipedia, last edited February 22, 2023 – 18:21 UTC
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2022_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine:_prelude
3. Timeline of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine: phase 1: initial invasion (24 February – 7 April). Wikipedia, last edited February 25, 2023 – 02:30 UTC
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2022_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine:_phase_1
4. Timeline of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine: phase 2: Battle of Donbas (8 April – 11 September). Wikipedia, last edited February 10, 2023 – 15:02 UTC
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2022_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine:_phase_2
5. Associated Press, 1 year after the invasion began, a timeline of Russian war in Ukraine. WOSU-PBS, News Hour,February 19, 2023 – 10:25 AM EST
6. Joshua Askew,Ukraine war: A month-by-month timeline of the conflict so far. Euronews, Updated: 02/03/2023 – 14:59
https://www.euronews.com/2023/01/30/ukraine-war-a-month-by-month-timeline-of-the-conflict-in-2022
7. John Fallain and Andra Timu, Russia’s War in Ukraine: Key Events and How its Unfolding. Bloomberg, February 17, 2023 – 12:00 AM EST