Russian invasion of Ukraine

Russian invasion of Ukraine
	Part of the Russo-Ukrainian War (outline)
	; Military situation as of 29 May 2023; Controlled by Ukraine; Controlled by Russia ; (Detailed map)
Date	24 February 2022 – present; (1 year, 3 months and 6 days)
Location	Ukraine, also Russia
Status	Ongoing (list of engagements · territorial control · timeline of events)
Belligerents
Russia; Donetsk PR; Luhansk PR; Supported by:; Belarus	Ukraine
Commanders and leaders
Vladimir Putin; Aleksandr Dvornikov; Gennady Zhidko; Sergey Surovikin; Valery Gerasimov;	Volodymyr Zelenskyy; Valerii Zaluzhnyi;
Units involved
Order of battle	Order of battle
Strength
Pre-invasion at border:; 169,000–190,000; Pre-invasion total strength:; 900,000 military; 554,000 paramilitary; In February 2023:; + 200,000 newly mobilised soldiers	Pre-invasion total strength:; 196,600 military; 102,000 paramilitary; July 2022 total strength:; up to 700,000
Casualties and losses
	Reports vary widely, see § Casualties for details.
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On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded and occupied parts of Ukraine in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which had begun in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides, and instigated Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. About 8 million Ukrainians were displaced within their country by June, and more than 8.2 million had fled the country by May 2023.

For months before the invasion, Russian troops had been concentrating around Ukraine's borders while Russian officials repeatedly denied plans to attack Ukraine. On 24 February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" to support the Russian-controlled breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, whose military forces had been fighting Ukraine in the Donbas conflict. He said the goal was to "demilitarise" and "denazify" Ukraine. Putin espoused irredentist views, challenged Ukraine's right to exist, and falsely claimed that Ukraine was governed by neo-Nazis who persecuted the ethnic Russian minority. Minutes later, Russian air strikes and a ground invasion were launched along a northern front from Belarus towards Kyiv, a north-eastern front towards Kharkiv, a southern front from Crimea, and a south-eastern front from the Donbas. In response, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy enacted martial law and ordered a general mobilisation.

Russian troops had retreated from the northern front by April. On the southern and south-eastern fronts, Russia captured Kherson in March and then Mariupol in May after a destructive siege. On 18 April, Russia launched a renewed battle of Donbas. Russian forces continued to bomb both military and civilian targets far from the front line, including Ukraine's energy grid throughout the winter. In late 2022, Ukraine launched counteroffensives in the south and in the east. Soon after, Russia announced the illegal annexation of four partly-occupied oblasts. In November, Ukraine retook parts of Kherson Oblast, including the city of Kherson. On 7 February 2023, Russia mobilised nearly 200,000 soldiers for a renewed offensive towards Bakhmut.

The invasion has been met with widespread international condemnation. The United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution ES-11/1 condemning the invasion and demanding a full withdrawal of Russian forces. The International Court of Justice ordered Russia to suspend military operations and the Council of Europe expelled Russia. Many countries imposed sanctions on Russia and Belarus, and provided humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine. Protests occurred around the world; those in Russia were met with mass arrests and increased media censorship. Over 1,000 companies left Russia and Belarus in response to the invasion. The International Criminal Court (ICC) opened an investigation into possible crimes against humanity, war crimes, abduction of children, and genocide during the invasion, issuing an arrest warrant for Putin in March 2023.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

^ Lister, Tim; Kesa, Julia (24 February 2022). "Ukraine says it was attacked through Russian, Belarus and Crimea borders". Kyiv: CNN. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
^ Murphy, Palu (24 February 2022). "Troops and military vehicles have entered Ukraine from Belarus". CNN. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
^ "Missiles launched into Ukraine from Belarus". BBC News. 27 February 2022. Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
^ Bengali, Shashank (18 February 2022). "The U.S. says Russia's troop buildup could be as high as 190,000 in and near Ukraine". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 18 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
^ Hackett, James, ed. (February 2021). The Military Balance 2021 (1st ed.). Abingdon, Oxfordshire: International Institute for Strategic Studies. ISBN 978-1-03-201227-8. OCLC 1292198893. OL 32226712M.
^ ^a ^b The Military Balance 2022. International Institute for Strategic Studies. February 2022. ISBN 9781000620030 – via Google Books.
^ Michael Schwirtz. "Outnumbered and Bracing for a Russian Assault." The New York Times. 7 February 2023. Page 1.
^ ^a ^b The Military Balance 2022. International Institute for Strategic Studies. February 2022. ISBN 9781000620030 – via Google Books.
^ "Ukraine", The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 2023-01-18, retrieved 2023-01-19

[CNN_invasion_routes-2] Lister, Tim; Kesa, Julia (24 February 2022). "Ukraine says it was attacked through Russian, Belarus and Crimea borders". Kyiv: CNN. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.

[3] Murphy, Palu (24 February 2022). "Troops and military vehicles have entered Ukraine from Belarus". CNN. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.

[4] "Missiles launched into Ukraine from Belarus". BBC News. 27 February 2022. Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.

[8] Bengali, Shashank (18 February 2022). "The U.S. says Russia's troop buildup could be as high as 190,000 in and near Ukraine". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 18 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.

[The_Military_Balance2021-9] Hackett, James, ed. (February 2021). The Military Balance 2021 (1st ed.). Abingdon, Oxfordshire: International Institute for Strategic Studies. ISBN 978-1-03-201227-8. OCLC 1292198893. OL 32226712M.

[The_Military_Balance2022_p901-10] The Military Balance 2022. International Institute for Strategic Studies. February 2022. ISBN 9781000620030 – via Google Books.

[11] Michael Schwirtz. "Outnumbered and Bracing for a Russian Assault." The New York Times. 7 February 2023. Page 1.

[The_Military_Balance2022_p945-12] The Military Balance 2022. International Institute for Strategic Studies. February 2022. ISBN 9781000620030 – via Google Books.

[13] "Ukraine", The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 2023-01-18, retrieved 2023-01-19

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Russian invasion of Ukraine

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