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Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a three-day unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine, the Kremlin announced on April 28. The decision came shortly after US President Donald Trump again expressed frustration over Russia’s ongoing refusal to end the war.
According to the Kremlin, Russian troops will halt combat operations beginning May 8 for a 72-hour period, in observance of Victory Day on May 9—a key national holiday commemorating the Soviet Union’s triumph in World War II. This marks the second ceasefire announcement by Russia in the past two weeks.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, both sides have suffered staggering troop losses. According to the most recent data provided by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Ukraine's civilian casualties alone exceed 12,910, and the damage to the country's housing, transportation, and industrial infrastructure is significant.
As the world reflects on the past 38 months of hostilities, it's time to pause and assess some of the key events that have shaped the conflict since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Click through and review the war in Ukraine so far.
Russia invades Ukraine. The evacuation of the Ukrainian population effectively begins on the same day. Here, a child sits in a refugee bus in the city of Lysychansk.
Tens of thousands of Russian troops pour into northern Ukraine in an attempt to take the capital Kyiv and overthrow the government of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The city is bombed relentlessly, resulting in numerous civilian casualties.
The world protests Vladimir Putin's indiscriminate and unjustified act of aggression. Demonstrations take place in major cities around the globe, including London where thousands of Ukrainians and their supporters gather at Trafalgar Square.
Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city, is also attacked. This photograph shows a view of a school destroyed by Russian aerial bombardment.
President Zelenskyy (seen on screen) gives a live video address during a special plenary session of the European Parliament focused on the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the EU headquarters in Brussels.
Evacuees cross a destroyed bridge as they flee the city of Irpin, northwest of Kyiv. Ukraine dismisses Moscow's cynical offer to set up humanitarian corridors from several bombarded cities after it emerges some routes would lead refugees into Russia or Belarus.
A resident uses a dustpan and broom (top) to clear the debris from an apartment as another looks out of the destroyed front of a room in a multi-story building in Kramatorsk, badly damaged as a result of a Russian missile explosion. On April 8, Kramatorsk is the scene of an atrocity after a missile strike hits the railway station, killing at least 50 civilians who are trying to evacuate to safety.
Civilians fleeing the war in Ukraine walk towards a train to relocate them to Berlin, Germany, from Krakow in neighboring Poland. Hungary and Romania are also praised for their generosity in welcoming Ukraine's displaced population.
A member of the Ukrainian special forces is seen in silhouette as he stands while a gas station burns after Russian attacks in the city of Kharkiv.
A man pushes his bike through debris and destroyed Russian military vehicles on a street in Bucha. Ukraine authorities accuse Moscow of perpetrating a massacre after hundreds of bodies are discovered in the wake of a Russian withdrawal from the city.
Smoke rises on the horizon following Russian missile strikes on Lviv, which leave six dead and eight wounded. The attack comes in the wake of the sinking of the Moskva, flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet.
A Russian serviceman patrols the grounds outside the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station. The plant becomes a dangerous battleground for both invaders and defenders. By August, UN chief António Guterres is appealing to both sides to stop their "suicide attacks."
The Azovstal iron and steel factory in Mariupol becomes a symbol of national resistance as Ukraine fighters hold back Russian forces for months. The city eventually falls after weeks of bombardment that kills thousands of civilians.
Fresh graves are seen at a cemetery in Mariupol shortly after the Ukrainian surrender.
A view of Sievierodonetsk, as seen from Lysychansk. Ukraine forces would lose control of Lysychansk in July after weeks of bloody fighting.
Ukraine forces score a major propaganda coup by retaking and raising a flag over Snake Island, a tiny but significant speck of land in the Black Sea off the city of Odesa, which Russian troops had captured in February.
After effectively blockading the movement of grain shipments out of ports in and around Odesa, Russia finally allows Ukraine to export this vital cargo across the Black Sea.
Ukraine forces launch a major counteroffensive in the Kherson region deploying Western-supplied weapons systems, such as HIMARS, to target Russian military infrastructure (pictured).
President Zelenskyy attends a flag hoisting ceremony in Izium after Ukrainian forces take control of the city from Russian forces.
Russia begins to periodically shut down the Nord Stream gas pipelines in a bid to ratchet up pressure on Europe. Tensions rise after the release of gas emanating from a leak on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea, likely as a result of an undersea explosion due to suspected sabotage. All gas exports to Europe are halted and prices immediately spiral.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen on a screen in Moscow's Red Square addressing the nation as he announces the annexation of four regions of Ukraine—Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia.
Multiple wrecked Russian military vehicles are seen in Lyman, recently liberated from Russian troops in the Donetsk region. At least 32 Ukrainian soldiers' bodies are exhumed from a mass grave in the city.
Black smoke billows from a fire on the Kerch Bridge that links Crimea to Russia after a truck exploded igniting a huge fire and damaging the key structure. Russia accuses Ukraine of sabotage.
Two days after the Kerch Bridge explosion, Russia attacks Ukrainian towns and cities from land, sea, and air in a bid to cripple the country's energy infrastructure.
Russia is accused of using Iranian-made drones to launch missile attacks, with many finding their mark on civilian targets.
The Ukrainian military win a significant victory with the liberation of Kherson. The southern port city was one of the first to fall to Russian forces
Russian military personnel who were captured in Ukrainian territory are taken care of by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
President Zelenskyy meets his US counterpart, Joe Biden, at the White House in Washington, D.C. on his first known trip outside of Ukraine since the Russian invasion began.
A Ukrainian missile strike on a building in Makiivka occupied by members of Russia's armed forces on temporary deployment kills 89 conscripts.
President Zelenskyy makes a surprise visit to the United Kingdom where he meets Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and later addresses parliamentarians in Westminster Hall.
During his time in London, Zelenskyy also has an audience with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace.
President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv, Ukraine, for the first time since the full-scale war began and just days before the anniversary of Russia's invasion. Biden's personal visit is a huge symbolic gesture of American support for Zelenskyy, and he backed it up with an impressive number: the US committed to providing Ukraine with a new military aid package worth US$500 million. The Biden administration then announced additional security assistance for Ukraine totaling $2 billion.
Hundreds of combatants from both sies were reported killed over a 24-hour period as the Battle of Bakhmut intensified. One of the most destructive battles of the war so far was described by some military analysts as the bloodiest since the Second World War.
Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of NATO, announced that "all NATO allies have agreed that Ukraine will become a member," once the war with Russia was over.
Russia launched airstrikes on multiple cities including Kyiv, Dnipro, Kremenchuk, Poltava, Mykolaiv and Uman. The attack on Uman (pictured) left at least 23 dead after two missiles hit an apartment block.
Two explosive drones allegedly targeted the Kremlin in Moscow and were shot down. The incident was caught on CCTV. The Kremlin accused Ukraine of attempting to assassinate Vladimir Putin, although the Russian president was not present in the building at the time. Image: CCTV
Six days after the US Defense Department announced a new security assistance package worth US$1.2 billion, 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks arrived at Grafenwoehr, Germany for use in training of Ukrainian troops. Image: US Army
After 10 months of fighting, Russian forces, spearheaded by Wagner Group mercenaries, claimed victory in Bakhmut. In an interview to AFP, President Zelenskyy lamented: "For today, Bakhmut is only in our hearts," adding that "nothing" was left of the city. Al Jazeera reported two days later that Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group, said that 20,000 of his fighters died in the battle for the city, and acknowledged that the Russian military had killed civilians.
Ukraine accused Russia of blowing up the Kakhovka Dam along the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast. Massive flooding ensued, submerging over 3,000 homes and killing at least 58 people. The environmental costs of the attack were considerable.
Ukraine's long-awaited counteroffensive against Russian forces occupying its territory began. President Putin confirmed as much, but in the same breath said that Russia would begin deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy admitted that the counteroffensive was progressing "slower than desired" while also affirming that Ukraine will "advance on the battlefield the way we deem best." He delivered a speech via videolink on the first day of the Ukraine Recovery Conference on June 21, 2023 in London, England. Leaders and representatives from more than 60 countries were in London for a two-day conference to secure funding to help Ukraine recover from the ravages of war.
Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin announced a mutiny against the Russian military leadership. Wagner soldiers entered Rostov Oblast and threatened to advance on Moscow. In exchange for withdrawing his forces from Rostov, Prigozhin had all charges against him and his followers dropped, and was granted exile in Belarus. He was killed in a plane crash on August 23.
A Russian missile targeted a restaurant in Kramatorsk killing 13 people, including Ukrainian novelist Victoria Amelina, and injuring 60.
NATO member states attending the 2023 Vilnius summit affirmed their support for Ukraine becoming part of the alliance, pending certain conditions. Among the keynote speakers was Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Russia launched a new wave of airstrikes on Odesa. The city had always been one of the Kremlin's key objectives. The historic Orthodox Holy Transfiguration Cathedral was among buildings damaged. The city was targeted for several days
A Russian missile strike on the central market of Kostiantynivka, Donetsk Oblast, killed at least 17 people including a child, and injured 33 others.
Ukrainian forces retook Klishchiivka, a village in Bakhmut Raion, Donetsk Oblast. Klishchiivka was a frontline location during the Battle of Bakhmut.
According to a statement delivered by Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, Ukraine sustained its most extensive Russian artillery bombardment of 2023 over the last 24 hours. At least 118 settlements in 10 regions were shelled, with children and their parents or guardians from 66 settlements in Kupiansk Raion, Kharkiv Oblast alone evacuated.
In an interview with the Associated Press in Kharkiv, Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged that the Ukrainian counteroffensive "did not achieve the desired results," and said the war had entered a new phase with the winter season.
The Biden administration warned that funding for Ukrainian military aid would run out by the end of the year and requested more funding from Congress. On December 6, the Senate blocked a funding bill that included aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, with every Republican senator voting against it. On the same day, Ukraine requested more weapons from the United States.
The Biden administration did, however, push through a new aid package to Ukraine valued at US$200 million. This was announced during President Zelenskyy's meeting with Joe Biden at the White House.
The Ukrainian military acknowledged that Russian forces had advanced by nearly 1.2 miles (2 km) in parts of the Avdiivka sector in the past two months.
In the early morning hours of December 29, Russia launched what was seen to be the largest wave of missiles and drones yet seen in the conflict. Hundreds of missiles and drones hit the capital Kyiv and other cities across the country.
During a visit to Kyiv, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced £2.5 billion (nearly US$3.1 billion) in military support for Ukraine in the next financial year. The aid package was earmarked for the manufacture and purchase of drones, munitions, maritime security, and humanitarian aid.
A Russian IL-76 military transport plane carrying 74 people, including 65 Ukrainian POWs according to Russian officials, crashed in Yablonovo, Belgorod Oblast, killing everyone on board. It's likely that a Ukraine missile downed the aircraft in the belief that it was transporting S-300 missiles. Pictured is a church service for those who lost their lives in the incident.
The US Senate finally passed a U$95.3 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
President Zelenskyy arrived in Germany to sign a bilateral security deal and aid package with the German government worth €8.14 billion. Later in the day, Zelenskyy signed a 10-year bilateral security deal with President Macron in France that would provide Ukraine with €3 billion of aid in 2024.
After launching an offensive aimed at capturing Avdiivka in October 2023, Russian forces finally took the Ukrainian town on February 17. The conquest of Avdiivka represented a strategic and symbolic victory for Russia, strengthening its defense of the regional capital, Donetsk.
Two years after Russia invaded Ukraine, the war has broadly reached a stalemate, despite Russian attempts to advance in the eastern Donbas region and Ukrainian attacks in the south. Pictured is an elderly woman walking among the graves along the Alley of Heroes where Ukrainian soldiers who died in the Russian-Ukrainian war are buried, in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region.
Donald Trump met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine. The meeting, which was described as tense and heated, centered around the future of US military aid to Ukraine. Following the exchange, Trump decided to suspend shipments of aid until Zelenskyy made a clear commitment to pursuing peace talks. This move marked a significant shift in US policy, as Trump applied pressure on Ukraine to enter negotiations with Russia, leveraging the threat of further losses on the battlefield.
Ukraine carried out its largest drone attack on Moscow overnight on March 11, with at least 91 drones targeting the Russian capital. The assault killed at least three people, ignited fires, and disrupted air travel, forcing airport closures and dozens of flight diversions, according to Russian officials
Russia’s defense ministry reported that a total of 337 Ukrainian drones were shot down across the country, including 91 over the Moscow region and 126 over Kursk, the latter where Ukrainian forces have been retreating.
At least 13 people were killed and more than 80 injured after a wave of Russian missiles and drones struck Kyiv early on April 24 in one of the heaviest attacks on the Ukrainian capital in recent months. The overnight assault triggered explosions across several districts, with residents woken abruptly by air raid sirens and the sound of anti-aircraft fire.
Kyiv’s mayor said emergency crews were still pulling survivors from the rubble, as homes, vehicles, and buildings burned or collapsed due to falling debris. Among the injured were reportedly six children and a pregnant woman. The attack also targeted Kharkiv and other cities.
Sources: (Euronews) (The New York Times) (Voice of America) (Council of Europe) (Al Jazeera) (US Department of Defense) (Wilson Center) (Time) (Reuters) (BBC) (AP) (CNN)
Putin announces 72-hour ceasefire in Ukraine
Ceasefire will take place from May 8 to May 10
LIFESTYLE Current affairs
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a three-day unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine, the Kremlin announced on April 28. The decision came shortly after US President Donald Trump again expressed frustration over Russia’s ongoing refusal to end the war.
According to the Kremlin, Russian troops will halt combat operations beginning May 8 for a 72-hour period, in observance of Victory Day on May 9—a key national holiday commemorating the Soviet Union’s triumph in World War II. This marks the second ceasefire announcement by Russia in the past two weeks.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, both sides have suffered staggering troop losses. According to the most recent data provided by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Ukraine's civilian casualties alone exceed 12,910, and the damage to the country's housing, transportation, and industrial infrastructure is significant.
As the world reflects on the past 38 months of hostilities, it's time to pause and assess some of the key events that have shaped the conflict since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Click through and review the war in Ukraine so far.