Posted at 5:00 a.m.
February 24: Beginning of the Russian invasion
Three days after his recognition of the pro-Russian separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in the Donbass region, the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, announces the start of the Russian invasion and his intention to “denazify” Ukraine.
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The main Ukrainian cities wake up under the fire of the bombardments: Kyiv, Mariupol, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Odessa. The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, then calls on the Ukrainians to take up arms and establishes martial law.
March 2: UN resolution
The UN General Assembly denounces the Russian invasion and adopts a resolution which “demands that Russia immediately cease the use of force against Ukraine”, a historic vote: 141 member countries of the organization approved the text, 5 – Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea and Syria – opposed and 35 abstained.
March 18: Lviv attacked
PHOTO ALEKSEY FILIPPOV, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
A thick cloud of black smoke rises over Lviv as the western Ukrainian city is hit by Russian bombardment on March 26.
On March 18, the outskirts of the city of Lviv, in western Ukraine, largely spared until then, were targeted by missile fire. More than 200,000 people had taken refuge there, in addition to some 720,000 inhabitants of the city, located 70 kilometers from the Polish border.
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March 25: Change in Kremlin strategy
PHOTO ALEXANDER NEMENOV, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
A Russian soldier in the ruins of the Mariupol theater, a strategic port in Donbass, on April 12. The bombardment by the Russian army, on March 16, of the theater where a thousand civilians had taken refuge would have caused more than 600 deaths.
The Russian army is retreating more than 30 km in Kyiv and says it is concentrating on the “liberation” of the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine. The Russian general staff assures that its strategy has been to distribute the Ukrainian defenses on different fronts to prevent them from massively defending the Donbass.
April 4: possible “genocide” in Boutcha
PHOTO RONALDO SCHEMIDT, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Bodies of civilians litter Yablounska Street in Boutcha on April 2.
A few days after regaining control of the entire Kyiv region, Volodymyr Zelensky is calling for Moscow’s exclusion from the Security Council. Supported by the Spanish and Polish Prime Ministers, he denounced a ” genocide”. Hundreds of dead civilians were reportedly found in the streets of the city, northwest of Kyiv, after the departure of Russian forces.
April 28: António Guterres in Kyiv
PHOTO ARCHIVES AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
UN Secretary General António Guterres speaks with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on April 28.
Five missiles fall on Kyiv, the same day that the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, visits Ukraine for the first time since the beginning of the conflict. During his visit, he castigated the inaction of the UN Security Council, which “failed to do what was in its power” to prevent this war and put an end to it.
May 19: first trial for war crimes
PHOTO ROMAN HRYTSYNA, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Russian soldier Vadim Chichimarine, on the first day of his trial, in Kyiv, May 19
May 19 marks the start of the first war crimes trial in Ukraine. Russian soldier Vadim Chichimarine, 21, was sentenced to life in prison four days later for the murder of a 62-year-old unarmed civilian. His lawyer says he will appeal.
May 20: Fall of the Azovstal Metallurgical Plant
PHOTO ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO, REUTERS ARCHIVES
The last Ukrainian soldiers who were besieged at the Azovstal steelworks were taken away by pro-Russian forces after surrendering in Mariupol on May 20.
On May 20, Moscow announces that it has completed the conquest of Mariupol, 90% destroyed according to the local authorities, after three months of siege.
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Local authorities estimate that 20,000 people lost their lives in the fighting and another 100,000 fled the city.
May 23: arrival of the first Ukrainians in Canada
PHOTO PHILIPPE BOIVIN, THE PRESS
Ukrainian refugees are welcomed at Montreal-Trudeau airport on May 29.
The first of three charter flights carrying Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion to Canada lands May 23 in Manitoba. A second chartered flight from Poland arrived in Montreal on May 29, carrying 306 Ukrainian refugees.
Some 6 million Ukrainians have fled to neighboring countries, according to the most recent data from the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), dating from May 22.
May 30: official embargo on Russian oil
PHOTO OLIVIER MATTHYS, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Pro-Ukrainian demonstrators demand an embargo on Russian oil outside the Europa building, headquarters of the Council of the European Union, in Brussels on May 30.
Volodymyr Zelensky calls on EU leaders to adopt a sixth package of sanctions against Moscow, including the exclusion of three Russian banks from the SWIFT international financial system.
A progressive embargo confined to oil transported by boat (i.e. two thirds of European purchases of Russian oil) could also be formally ratified in the coming days, after the green light was given by the Twenty-Seven. Negotiations will notably take place to stop imports via Druzhba, a third of European supplies.
June 2: 20% of Ukrainian territory controlled by Russia
PHOTO OLGA MALTSEVA, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
The city of Kherson, in southern Ukraine, has been occupied by the Russians since the beginning of March.
At 99e day of the invasion, Russian forces would control “about 20%” of Ukrainian territory, or nearly 125,000 km2, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He estimates that 50 to 100 Ukrainian soldiers would be killed and 500 injured every day in the Donbass.