Russia's military entered Ukrainian territory in what quickly became the largest ground invasion since World War II exactly one year ago Friday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched what he described as a "special military operation" under false pretenses, claiming that Neo-Nazis within the Ukrainian government threatened ethnic Russians and that NATO, a defensive alliance, was a risk to them as well.
The troops entered Ukraine's borders on axes from the north, south, and east, with the expectation that they'd be able to easily conquer the capital of Kyiv. The troops that entered Ukraine from its northern neighbor of Belarus quickly made it to the outskirts of the capital but were unable to break through the defenses around the city, whereas Russian troops in the south and east had more success in the initial stages of the war.
The Russian convoy traveling from Belarus to the outskirts of Kyiv showed the first signs that Russia's once-vaunted military may not be what experts predicted. The soldiers were unable to resupply, and there was poor morale among troops.
ONE IN 10 UKRAINIAN HOSPITALS 'DIRECTLY DAMAGED' BY RUSSIAN AGGRESSION
March:
In early March, Russia claimed control of the Kherson region and occupied a large portion of the neighboring Zaporizhzhia region, including the nuclear power plant, which is the largest in Europe. In the south, Russian forces overwhelmed Ukrainian troops and civilians with indiscriminate attacks.
Russian troops bombed a maternity hospital and a theater in Mariupol, the latter of which was serving as a shelter. Locals had spelled out the word "children" in Russian on the ground in the front and back of the theater to try and prevent such an attack.
Military leaders announced at the end of March that the Russian troops that remained on the outskirts of Kyiv would pull back and they would refocus their objectives on the Donbas region, which is the eastern region of Ukraine where pro-Russian separatists have sought to join the Russian Federation for years.
April:
As those troops withdrew from the areas surrounding the capitol, Ukrainian officials uncovered horrific scenes in Bucha where Russian forces had committed war crimes against Ukrainian civilians, including the execution, torture, and sexual violence against civilians. This would ultimately become a pattern where Ukrainians would find evidence of disturbing treatment toward civilians only after Russian troops were forced to withdraw from a region.
A Russian missile strike on a train station in the eastern city of Kramatorsk killed 52 civilians and wounded more than 100 others on April 9, while days later, the Russian missile cruiser Moskva, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, was hit by Ukrainian missiles and sunk the next day.
May:
Russian forces were ultimately able to capture Mariupol after a three-month-long siege at the giant Azovstal steel mill on May 16, and the victory provided them with a land corridor to Crimea, the southern peninsula of Ukraine that Russia annexed back in 2014. The city was turned into rubble and is still one of the hardest-hit cities in Ukraine.
Days later, Finland and Sweden submitted their applications to join the NATO alliance, a completely contradictory outcome for Putin, who sought to divide the alliance. Turkey is currently holding up their applications.
June:
More Western weapons flow into Ukraine, including U.S.-supplied HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, while Russia is once again forced to retreat from Snake Island, located off the Black Sea port of Odesa, seized in the opening days of the invasion. In late June, roughly 20 people were killed when Russian strikes hit a mall in Kremenchuk at a time when there were more than 1,000 people inside.
July:
National security adviser Jake Sullivan first informed reporters about declassified U.S. intelligence that indicated a possible drone sale between Iran and Russia on July 11. Over the ensuing months, Iran would provide Russia with hundreds of these kamikaze drones that they ultimately used to target Ukraine's energy infrastructure in a campaign designed to inflict as much suffering among civilians as possible, leaving them vulnerable to the winter conditions, often without heat, electricity, or running water.
Turkish officials brokered a deal on July 22 to restart Ukrainian grain exports, which had been held up in port. The blockage of Ukraine's exports threatened to create a global food crisis.
On July 29, Russian forces attacked the Olenivka Prison, killing more than 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war. Both sides accused the other of being responsible for the strike, though a U.S. official told the Washington Examiner at the time that they expected Russia would “falsify evidence in order to attribute the attack… to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.”
August:
Ukrainian forces, on Aug. 9, struck a Russian air base near the town of Novofedorivka on the western coast of the Crimean Peninsula. A week and a half later, Darya Dugina, the daughter of Russian nationalist ideologist Alexander Dugin, was killed in a car bomb, which Russian officials blamed on Ukraine.
September:
Ukrainian forces launched a surprise counteroffensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region on Sept. 6, which was successful in forcing Russian troops to withdraw from the area it had been occupying for months.
About two weeks later, reeling from the defeat, Putin ordered 300,000 reservist troops to mobilize, which led some Russian men to flee to nearby countries in order to avoid going into combat. Simultaneously, Russian leaders held sham referendums in Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions, which Western officials immediately said were fraudulent. Putin said he annexed the territories on Sept. 30.
October:
There was an explosion on the Kerch Bridge on Oct.8, which is the only bridge that connects Russia to the Crimean peninsula.
November:
Russian forces withdrew from Kherson, the only regional capital that Russian forces had captured and occupied, on Nov. 9. They had held Kherson since the start of the war.
December:
On Dec. 5, the Russian military claimed Ukraine used drones to target two bases deep inside Russian territory, marking a dramatic moment in the war where Ukraine demonstrated its ability to strike within Russia. A third strike in Russia occurred later.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the U.S., where he met with President Joe Biden and addressed Congress days before Christmas. Zelensky pleaded with U.S. leaders to continue and increase military aid.
January:
Ukraine launched a missile strike on Jan. 1 that killed tens if not hundreds of Russian troops at a Russian provisional military base near Makiivka, in the Donetsk region. The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that soldiers' use of personal cellphones against the rules allowed the Ukrainians to track and uncover their location prior to the strike.
After months of intense fighting, Russian leaders declared on Jan. 12 that they captured the salt mining town of Soledar, though Ukrainian officials don’t acknowledge it for a couple of days. Days later, a Russian strike hit a Ukrainian apartment building in Dnipro, killing 45 people.
In late January, Biden agreed to provide Ukraine with tanks, days after Pentagon officials said it didn't make sense. But, by doing so, including agreeing to provide 31 M1A2 Abrams tanks, it unlocked a stalemate with the Germans, who did not want to be the only country to provide Russia with tanks.
February:
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Feb. 19 that China appeared to be "considering" taking a more active role in supporting Russia by providing them with "lethal weapons," though he noted they hadn't crossed that line yet. On the same day, just days before the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion, at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, Vice President Kamala Harris accused Russia of committing "crimes against humanity."
"In the case of Russia's actions in Ukraine, we have examined the evidence. We know the legal standards, and there is no doubt: these are crimes against humanity," Harris said. "The United States has formally determined that Russia has committed crimes against humanity."
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Biden made an undisclosed visit to Kyiv on Feb. 20, where he reaffirmed his unwavering support for Ukraine as its forces fend off Russian aggression. While there, he announced a new roughly $460 million military aid package, though it doesn't include any of the weapons the U.S. had previously been unwilling to provide.
Putin announced a day later that Russia would be suspending its participation in the START Treaty, which is the only agreement that limits its nuclear arsenals. The Kremlin said it would still abide by the requirements of the agreement.