The invasion of Ukraine by Russia ends this Friday (24th) a year. The conflict continues with no prospect of a ceasefire and is the most serious in Europe since World War II. Recall some of the most important events of this period
*Internship at R7directed by Lucas Ferreira
On the first day of Russia’s offensive against Ukraine, Moscow seized the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which houses the sarcophagus covering the remains of the plant’s crashed reactor. When they left the site in March, “the Russians looted the facilities, stole equipment and valuable items,” according to Ukraine’s State Atomic Energy Agency.
When Russian troops surrounded the city of Odessa in southern Ukraine, the ports were unable to transport the large grain production. The event caused food shortages in several countries and sent agricultural commodity prices skyrocketing. At that moment, the effects of the war began to be felt around the world.
Ukrainian civilians began enlisting in the army to confront the Russians. With little or no experience, men and women came forward to receive equipment and go into the conflict zones.
The war in Ukraine also revealed Europe’s dependence on Russian gas, which uses the resource as a weapon of war. Amid the sanctions, countries were forced to look to other markets, and Russia lost its status as a major energy supplier to Europe.
Among other civilian equipment, the world’s largest cargo plane, the Antonov An225 Mriya, was also destroyed by the war. The plane was stopped at Gostomel Airport near the capital, Kiev. After days of fighting between Russians and Ukrainians for control of the airbase, a bombing raid destroyed part of the airport facilities and the hangar where the plane was located.
A strategic Ukrainian port in the Sea of Azov region was captured on March 21
In April, Russian troops managed to capture the city of Mariupol in southern Ukraine, a key strategic point of the Russian offensive. One of the cases that caused a worldwide stir during the war was the attack on the city’s Maternity and Children’s Hospital. At least three people were killed in the bombing, including a child and a pregnant woman, and 17 were injured. Additionally, a woman who was in labor at the time of the incident had to be removed from the room.
Another crucial moment was the capture of the Azovstal Steelworks, the last stronghold of the Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol. More than 2,500 fighters from the Ukrainian army and the Azov battalion were forced to surrender after weeks of a siege at the factory. But it was not until May that the last bastion of resistance capitulated 250 combatants left the place and became prisoners of war
In April, a massacre in Bucha, northwest of Kiev, sparked a global outcry. The images of corpses with their hands tied behind their backs — what can characterize an execution by the russians — spread via social media. Most of the bodies lying on the streets were not identified, and as a result many were buried in mass graves. Ukrainian authorities counted at least 410 civilians murdered. The shocking image of the hand of Iryna Filkina, one of the victims of the Bucha massacre, became a symbol of the war in Ukraine and spread around the world. The woman had recognized her body by her red and pink painted nail
On Mother’s Day, May 8, Jill Biden visited Ukraine, where she met with the country’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska. During the official date, they both visited schools and Jill presented Zelenska with a bouquet of flowers after a long hug between the two
Zelenska was also on the cover of the October issue of Vogue magazine. The Ukrainian posed for the renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz in conflict zones in the capital Kiev. Many people did not applaud the photoshoot and the first lady was attacked on social media for being accused of “spectacularizing” the war
A truck bomb explosion on the Kerch Bridge, which connects Russia to Crimea, on October 8 killed three people and blocked passage of cars on the main access road to the region annexed by Russia in 2014. Authorship of the attack, but Putin classified the situation as a “terrorist attack” and blamed the Ukrainian secret service
One reason for concern from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA): The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which has been occupied by the Russian military since the beginning of the war against Ukraine, had to be temporarily taken off the grid again after a Russian bomb attack on October 17. The site had to be powered by generators. Although owned by the Russians, it is Ukrainian officials who keep the facility operational. Energoatom, the state agency responsible for controlling nuclear energy in Ukraine, called for “urgent action” to demilitarize the nuclear power plant
A recent “novelty” used by Russian troops is “suicide drones” to attack Ukraine’s capital, Kiev, and other locations in the country. The Iranianmade aircraft is difficult to detect, carries explosive payloads of up to 36 kg and is programmed via GPS to reach targets. In early October, Ukraine said it had managed to intercept 60% of all incoming Shahed136 drones.
According to Ukrainian President Volodmir Zelenskyy, Iranian drones attacked and about 30% of Ukraine’s power plants were destroyed by bombing. The country has even imposed restrictions on energy consumption and the government is working to create mobile power supply points for critical infrastructure. Over the past week, more than 1,000 Ukrainian sites have lost power due to Russian bombing. In the middle of winter, Russia began attacking Ukraine’s infrastructure, using the cold as a weapon of war, leaving millions of people without electricity and heating.
In addition to promoting numerous sanctions against Russia and the supply of arms to Ukraine, several European leaders wanted to show their support with visits to Zelenskyy, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
The most awaited meeting with international politicians took place between Zelenski and the President of the United States, Joe Biden. The Ukrainian visited Washington in late December, while the American leader traveled to Kiev this week.
In September, a majority of voters who took part in Russianbacked referendums in eastern and southern Ukraine voted in favor of the annexation of Russian territory. Campaigns in Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia are viewed by the Kiev government as an “electoral farce” and are not recognized internationally
In November the world stopped when a Russian missile crashes in Poland and killed at least two people in the eastern border town of Przewodów. The event raised fears of a possible escalation of the conflict as Poland is a member of NATO, Article 5 of which establishes the “principle of collective defence” between members. Zelenskyy blamed Russia for the incident, while NATO calmed the issue by saying the missile came from Ukraine to defend against Russian attacks.
Time Magazine named President Zelenskyy its “Person of the Year” in December 2022. “Whether the struggle for Ukraine fills you with hope or fear, Zelensky has captured the world in a way we have not seen in decades,” wrote Edward Felsenthal, editor of the publication.
A ceasefire proposed by Russia during the Orthodox Christmas celebrations in early January ended with reported attacks from both sides. This was the first attempt at a ceasefire since the confrontation began.
A bomb attack in Dnipro in midJanuary destroyed more than 200 apartments. At the end of the rescue operations, the Ukrainian government announced that at least 45 people had died while another 20 were missing.
A day after Western militaries from countries including Germany, Spain, the United States and Poland promised Ukraine tanks, Russian forces carried out dozens of bombing raids, killing 11 and injuring 11.
The war also triggered a wave of refugees. Women and children tried desperately to cross the country’s borders in cars, buses, trains and even on foot. In just a few days, 1.73 million people left Ukraine, the largest influx of refugees Europe has seen since World War II. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), more than 8 million Ukrainian refugees are currently spread across Europe.
The number of war dead is uncertain. The UN estimates that 8,000 civilians died while another 13,287 were injured. According to estimates by the British newspaper The Telegraph, among the Ukrainian armed forces 120,000 men died or were forced to withdraw from the front lines due to injuries. On the Russian side, US officials estimate that 200,000 people who fought for Moscow (soldiers and mercenaries) died or were wounded in the war.