2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine refers to Russia’s unprovoked full-scale military attack on Ukraine and its people that began in February 2022. By 2024, the war remained active, with an unclear number of military casualties. According to the United Nations (UN), by late June of that year the conflict was confirmed to have killed approximately 11,284 civilians (with the real number likely much higher) and displaced millions of Ukrainians, including many forced to cross into other countries. While Russia was nominally a much larger and more powerful military force than Ukraine, fierce fighting from Ukraine’s troops and citizens prevented Russia from taking over most of the country, including Kyiv, the capital.

Nations throughout the world condemned the invasion, with many arguing that Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, should be charged with war crimes. Ukrainians and allies asserted that Russian military missiles intentionally targeted civilian infrastructures such as schools and hospitals, although Putin denied this. Russian soldiers also executed Ukrainian citizens, leaving their bodies in the streets in some cases. The laws of war prohibit such actions.

Because Ukraine was not a member of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), it was not automatically entitled to military protection from Western nations. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, repeatedly asked for his country to join NATO, but his requests were denied, mainly because other nations did not want to engage in a direct military confrontation with Russia, a nuclear power. However, while Western countries avoided sending troops to Ukraine, they provided aid to the country in the form of high-tech weapons and billions of dollars in financial support. Western countries, including the United States, also issued harsh sanctions on Russia and Putin because of the invasion. The conflict had major economic and geopolitical consequences at the global scale.

Background

Located in Eastern Europe, Ukraine has historically been an important crossroads point and an agricultural breadbasket. These factors have also made it of strategic interest to competing powers for centuries. Except for brief periods throughout history, much of Ukraine was long under Russian control, and there are deep cultural ties between ethnic Russians and ethnic Ukrainians. Geographically, Ukraine serves as a buffer between the Russian capital of Moscow and Western Europe, insulating Russia from potential invasion. In the eighteenth century the Russian Empire consolidated its power, suppressing Ukrainian language and identity and encouraging settlement by ethnic Russians. Ukraine was also eventually absorbed into the Russian-dominated Soviet Union. However, a Ukrainian nationalist movement persisted.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine declared its independence along with other former Soviet republics. As an independent country Ukraine declared itself neutral, maintaining ties with both Russia and Western nations. However, tensions grew in the twenty-first century as Russia sought to increase its influence globally and in Ukraine specifically. Politics in Ukraine were increasingly marked by competing pro-Western and pro-Russian views. Under President Viktor Yuschenko from 2005 to 2010, Ukraine sought to join NATO, a military alliance of Western nations. Members of NATO provide one another with security—if one nation is attacked, all members provide military support. For a nation to be admitted to NATO all other member nations must unanimously agree. Not wanting to antagonize Russia, France and Germany voted against Ukraine’s admission at the time. Pro-Russian leader Viktor Yanukovych was then elected president of Ukraine in 2010.

A turning point came in late 2013 and early 2014 when thousands of protesters amassed on Kyiv’s Maiden (Independence Square) after Yanukovych refused to sign an agreement allowing Ukraine to join the European Union (EU). Ukraine’s military responded by opening fire on the protesters, killing dozens and injuring hundreds. However, the demonstrators retaliated and ultimately succeeded, overthrowing Ukraine’s government and ousting Yanukovych. In an effort to counteract Ukraine's apparent shift toward the West, Putin ordered an initial, limited invasion of Ukraine in 2014, which resulted in Russia's annexation of Crimea, a region in the southern part of the country on the Crimean Peninsula in the Black Sea. Russia already operated its navy's Black Sea Fleet from the peninsula. Russia sought to justify the annexation because most Crimeans spoke Russian and were of Russian ancestry, and an unofficial referendum suggested that most Crimeans were in favor of rejoining Russia. This conflict would later be seen as the beginning of the broader Russo-Ukrainian War.

Following the annexation of Crimea, pro-Russian separatist rebels seized towns in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas, declaring the independent Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic. The Ukrainian military launched a campaign to force the rebels out of the country. Russia was widely believed to be providing significant support to the separatists, including supplying them with high tech surface-to-air missiles. In July 2014 one of these missiles accidentally brought down a commercial airliner, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew members. The incident outraged observers throughout the world, who demanded that the fighting end. While the Minsk Accords negotiated in 2014 and 2015 ended the major battles between Russia and Ukraine, skirmishes between pro-Russian rebels and the Ukrainian military continued.

In 2019 Volodymyr Zelensky was elected president of Ukraine. He campaigned on a platform of bringing peace to the country and reestablishing control in Donbas. Meanwhile, Russia continued its efforts to maintain influence. In 2021 Putin sought assurance from Ukraine that it would remain neutral and refrain from joining NATO.

Overview

In March 2021 Russia began amassing troops along its border with Ukraine. It insisted that these troops were there only for training exercises and would not be used to invade Ukraine. However, Russia was known for censoring information and misinforming its people. Pro-Russian media falsely reported that NATO was sending troops to the area to reclaim Crimea and train the Ukrainian military to fight Russia. In April 2021 Russia began withdrawing troops because of intense pressure from the West. Still, while the soldiers were gone, their infrastructure remained near the border.

In October 2021 Russia once again moved troops and military equipment near its border with Ukraine. More than one hundred thousand troops were deployed with additional forces sent to Crimea and nearby Belarus. In November, satellite imagery showed armor, missiles, and heavy weaponry being moved toward Ukraine. US intelligence officials warned that Russia might soon invade Ukraine and might use a “false flag,” an erroneous report of the Ukrainian army doing something that would justify a Russian attack. According to intelligence officers, Putin planned to remove Zelensky and install a new pro-Russian president in his place.

In December Putin issued a series of demands. If met, he would refrain from invading Ukraine. Putin sought de facto veto power over NATO expansions, particularly those close to Russia. He wanted NATO to take away its security promise from countries in Eastern and Southern Europe and only deploy forces to countries that had been members of NATO prior to 1997, which would allow him to invade former Soviet nations that had declared independence. These demands were quickly dismissed.

Nations throughout the world advised Putin against invading Ukraine. Among them was British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who warned Putin that invading Ukraine would be a grave mistake for which he and his country would face harsh repercussions. After Russia sent snipers and tanks to the border in early 2022, US President Joe Biden met virtually with Putin and threatened to issue extremely harsh economic sanctions should his troops invade Ukraine.

Despite these warnings, however, by February 2022, nearly two hundred thousand troops were assembled along the Russian-Ukrainian border, and Russia began removing its diplomats from Ukraine. Intelligence officials believed that an invasion was imminent.

On February 21, Putin recognized the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk in Southeastern Ukraine. The regions, who called themselves “People’s Republics” had been controlled by Russian-backed separatists for eight years. Putin quickly installed troops in these regions, readying them to invade the rest of the country. Satellite imagery showed a massive deployment of Russian troops on its border with Belarus, an ally and a former Soviet state.

On February 24, Russian forces formally invaded Ukraine. Putin announced the start of a full-scale land, sea, and air war against Ukraine that would target Ukrainian military facilities and cities throughout the country. On the first day of the invasion, the Russian navy attacked Snake Island, a small Ukrainian territory in the Black Sea. Russian warships and aircraft bombarded the island before sending soldiers ashore. The thirteen Ukrainian soldiers stationed there were given a chance to surrender but defiantly refused and were killed.

In an emergency United Nations (UN) meeting, 141 of 193 member states voted to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the UN demanded that Russia immediately withdraw its forces. President Biden declared Russia’s invasion as “unprovoked and unjustified.” The day after the invasion, President Zelensky announced martial law and banned Ukrainian men between the ages of eighteen and sixty from leaving the country. Russian forces attacked Ukraine from three sides, managing to take control of some areas outside Kyiv, including the Chernobyl exclusion zone.

In response to the invasion, countries throughout the world issued heavy sanctions on Russia, including banning all Russian imports of oil and gas, freezing the assets of Russian banks, and banning Russian flights from airspaces. The number and severity of the economic sanctions were unprecedented.

More than twenty-five countries quickly provided aid to Ukraine to help its soldiers resist Russian forces. The United States sent billions of dollars in missiles and ammunition. The EU sent $550 million in weapons and ammunition to help arm Ukraine. Both Finland and Germany changed their long-standing policies against exporting weapons into war zones. The many weapons sent to Ukraine included machine guns, anti-tank weapons, rocket launchers, rocket-propelled grenades, anti-air defense systems, and armed drones.

By March 2022, the invasion of Ukraine had proven to be more difficult than Putin and his military had envisioned. Ukrainians fought fiercely, preventing Russian forces from taking over Kyiv, the country’s capital. Intelligence officials feared that Putin might turn to chemical weapons, which are banned under international law. The United States and other NATO countries vowed to respond if Russia took such action.

By late March and early April, Ukraine had begun launching counterattacks against Russian forces in addition to defending its territory. Experts soon suggested that the two countries were at a stalemate—Ukraine would not submit to Russian control and Putin would not withdraw his troops from the country. Peace negotiations between the two nations began taking place but no immediate resolution was reached. Of issue was Ukraine’s willingness to remain neutral. President Zelensky agreed to consider such a stance, but only if the West provided binding security. However, decisions such as neutrality cannot be made during times of war.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine severely damaged relations between the United States and Russia. It also stoked fears of additional Russian invasions, as many believed that Putin sought to remake the Soviet Union. However, some of the countries that were once part of the Soviet Union had since joined NATO, which meant that if Russia should attack them, the US and other allies would be bound to respond. The result of such a conflict could be a third world war.

The United States formally determined that Russia, including Putin, had committed war crimes during the invasion of Ukraine by intentionally targeting civilians and infrastructures such as hospitals, schools, and residential complexes. Human Rights Watch stated that Russia displayed unspeakable cruelty against Ukrainian citizens and urged that reports of rape, murder, and violence against people in the custody of Russian forces should be investigated. In addition to violence, Russian troops were accused of taking food and firewood along with other items from Ukrainian citizens. The laws of war prohibit murder, rape, torture, and inhumane treatment of captured combatants and civilians as well as pillaging and looting. Anyone who orders or commits such acts is responsible for war crimes. In May 2022, the International Criminal Court sent an unprecedentedly large team of experts and investigators to Ukraine as part of an organized probe into potential war crimes. However, legal experts cautioned that prosecuting Putin and other Russian leaders could take years.

In June 2022 Ukraine's defense effort seemed reinvigorated to an extent by the arrival of long-range weapon systems sent by the United States. However, Russia refocused its strategy on gaining ground in eastern Ukraine, and by early July it was reported that Russian troops, though still experiencing severe casualties, had claimed control of the entire Luhansk region. Still, signs of successful Ukrainian counteroffensives soon emerged. In August commentators and strategists took note of attacks by Ukrainian forces in Crimea, which had been seen as solidly under Russian control and served as a major military operations base for Russian forces. In September a Ukrainian offensive in the northeast progressed more rapidly than many observers expected, liberating large swaths of territory from Russian control and in many cases forcing Russian forces into disorganized retreat. Again, Western military aid was considered crucial in enabling these operations.

Facing setbacks in the war, Russia imposed a military draft in late September. Western media reported that this, along with mounting Russian casualties, contributed to growing anti-war sentiment within Russia. In occupied portions of Ukraine, Russian forces also held a referendum that claimed to show a public vote in favor of joining Russia but was condemned as a sham by international observers. In October 2022 the Russian military launched another heavy bombing campaign, which was sharply criticized for striking civilian targets. Nevertheless, Ukraine continued to report territorial gains and called for further international support. Russia faced another significant reversal in early November, announcing that its forces would withdraw from the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine, considered an important strategic location. Only weeks later, Russian missile bombardments of the city were reported, and Ukrainian citizens faced water service disruptions and loss of electricity, among other issues, resulting from prolonged Russian attacks targeting their energy grid and infrastructure.

It was reported in January 2023 that a Ukrainian attack on mobilized members of Russia's forces stationed at a base in the eastern Ukrainian city of Makiivka had resulted in the deaths of at least eighty Russian troops, making it one of the single deadliest losses experienced by Russia since the start of the war. That same month it was announced that several Western nations, including the US, the UK, and Germany, would provide Ukraine with tanks, which many observers considered a notable escalation of military aid. Russia responded with fresh missile attacks and signs of a broader new offensive.

In April 2023, a high-profile leak of documents containing classified US intelligence and security information heightened debate over the war in Ukraine. The leaked information indicated that US officials believed the war would likely not end soon and that negotiations for peace were far off, raising questions about strategies and the cost of the conflict. That May, fears of escalation grew following reports that two drone aircraft exploded near the fortified Russian government complex in Moscow known as the Kremlin. Russian officials accused Ukraine of carrying out an attempt to assassinate Putin with US aid; both Ukraine and the US denied any involvement and suggested the incident might have been a Russian false flag operation. Also in May, Russian forces claimed control of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut after a long and costly assault, while there were reports of attacks within Russia's borders that were linked to anti-Putin paramilitary groups, including some with far-right extremist ties.

Ukraine's humanitarian crisis was further exacerbated in early June 2023, when part of a large dam in a southern area of the country occupied by Russian forces collapsed, causing extreme flooding and forcing widespread evacuations amid increased concerns over food and clean water supply disruptions. Ukraine and Russia each blamed the other for the disaster, and a Ukrainian investigation into the cause of the dam breach was launched. Meanwhile, that month also saw the beginning of a major counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces. Although Ukrainian officials reported winning back some occupied territory, initial progress of the counteroffensive was slow.

Another development that made global headlines was a brief mutiny by the Russian mercenary force known as the Wagner Group, which had played a key role in Russia's campaign in Ukraine to that point. Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin had long been considered a close associate of Putin, but was increasingly been at odds with top Russian military officials over the strategy of the invasion. On June 23 his troops suddenly took control of the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, including a key military base, and began a march toward Moscow with the declared goal of overthrowing corrupt leaders. However, the following day Prigozhin ended the revolt in return for amnesty in Belarus. Some Ukrainian leaders and other observers suggested the incident was a sign of major turmoil in the Russian war effort, but many international analysts debated the true cause and implications of the mutiny, with some even warning of possible disinformation designed to confuse Ukraine's counteroffensive plans. Two months later Prigozhin was reportedly killed in a plane crash that some Western officials suspected may have been orchestrated by Putin.

In late July 2023, Russia announced that it was backing out of a previously held agreement that allowed Ukraine to continue exporting grain across the Black Sea despite Russia's blockade. Following the announcement, Russia warned that ships sailing near Ukrainian ports would now be treated as a military target and launched several aerial attacks on Ukrainian ports that destroyed over 60,000 ton of grain. Russia's actions drew international condemnation for threatening the global food supply.

The Ukrainian counteroffensive in the southeast part of the country continued through late 2023. By September, US observers noted that Ukrainian forces had made some progress against Russia's front defensive lines, but that the advance was slow. Meanwhile, there was ongoing controversy over Ukraine's use of cluster munitions (including some provided by the United States), due to human rights concerns about such weapons. As the war dragged on, responses to the conflict continued to evolve both among the combatants and international observers. For example, in October 2023, there were reports of mutinies among some Russian troops, driven by heavy casualties, lack of supplies, and poor command. Although Ukrainians at large remained committed to defending their country, by early December there were signs of growing political tensions among Ukrainian leadership. Internationally, support for ongoing military aid to Ukraine waned in certain circles, notably among some Republican US legislators. Some commentators also suggested that the outbreak of a full-fledged war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in October 2023 generally distracted the international community from the war in Ukraine.

In February 2024 President Zelensky replaced Ukraine's popular top general, Valery Zaluzhnyy, with Oleksandr Syrsky, a controversial move that many observers reflected declining morale amid the stalled counteroffensive. Later that month it was reported that the Ukrainian city of Avdiivka had been captured by Russian forces, the first major advance for Russia in nearly a year. This was considered a significant strategic and moral setback for Ukraine, which saw substantial numbers of troops killed or captured as the city's defenders were forced to retreat. Meanwhile, Western aid to Ukraine remained limited by political opposition in the US, although many European countries continued to provide support.

Amid ongoing tensions, when an attack occurred on a Moscow concert venue in March 2024, leaving more than 130 people dead, Putin and other Russian officials accused Ukraine and Western allies of responsibility. Even as an affiliate of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed that the attackers belonged to their group, Putin acknowledged that they may have committed the attack but argued that Ukraine had likely taken part in its orchestration. Meanwhile, it was reported that some Ukrainian troops, frustrated with the country's drafting system, had employed various and sometimes controversial means of recruitment, including running their own marketing campaigns in an attempt to increase their numbers with passionate and qualified soldiers. At the beginning of April, President Zelensky signed a bill bringing the age of conscription down from twenty-seven to twenty-five.

In what was internationally deemed a crucial development in Ukraine's ongoing war effort, in April the United States passed and signed into law an aid package that allocated funds to support Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. With a total of around $61 billion earmarked for Ukraine, much of this amount consisted of military aid, including weaponry, meant to bolster Ukraine's forces. By the summer, as reports continued of unprecedented, systematic use on both sides of drone warfare, Ukraine welcomed the first deliveries of F-16 fighter jets from Western countries.

Bibliography

Arhirova, Hanna. "Occupied Ukraine Holds Kremlin-Staged Vote on Joining Russia." AP News, 23 Sept. 2022, apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-donetsk-government-and-politics-4ad18c2400a1cc04276f8ef5902a3e85. Accessed 13 Oct. 2022.

Bigg, Matthew Mpoke. “A History of the Tensions Between Ukraine and Russia.” The New York Times, 22 Mar. 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/03/26/world/europe/ukraine-russia-tensions-timeline.html. Accessed 28 Mar. 2022.

Bigg, Matthew Mpoke. "What Russia’s Grain Deal Actions Mean for Ukraine." The New York Times, 20 July 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/07/20/world/europe/russia-ukraine-grain-deal-black-sea.html. Accessed 20 July 2023.

Bursztynsky, Jessica, and Sam Meredith. “Ukraine Claims Full Control of Kyiv as Chances of Peace Talks Advance, Says Nearly 18,000 Russian Military Dead.” CNBC, 3 Apr. 2022, www.cnbc.com/2022/04/02/russia-ukraine-live-updates.html. Accessed 3 April 2022.

Clinch, Matt. “How Russia Invaded Ukraine in 2014. And How the Markets Tanked.” CNBC, 27 Jan. 2022, www.cnbc.com/2022/01/27/how-russia-invaded-ukraine-in-2014-and-how-the-markets-tanked.html. Accessed 28 Mar. 2022.

Englebrecht, Cora. “Russia Has Committed ‘Apparent War Crimes,’ Human Rights Watch Says.” The New York Times, 3 Apr. 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/04/03/world/europe/russia-war-crimes-ukraine.html. Accessed 31 March 2022.

Englebrecht, Cora. "What We Know about the Explosions Over the Kremlin." The New York Times, 4 May 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/05/04/world/europe/kremlin-drone-attack-explained.html. Accessed 4 May 2023.

Faulconbridge, Guy, and Tom Blamforth. "Russia Takes Avdiivka from Ukraine, Biggest Gain in Nine Months." Reuters, 18 Feb. 2024, www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukrainian-troops-withdraw-avdiivka-ammunition-shortage-bites-2024-02-17/. Accessed 20 Feb. 2024.

Francis, Ellen, et al. "Who's Sending What to Ukraine: A New Wave of Western Weapons Explained." The Washington Post, 2 Feb. 2023, www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/02/02/ukraine-weapons-tanks-leopard-abrams/. Accessed 2 Feb. 2023.

Gessen, Keith. “Was It Inevitable? A Short History of Russia’s War on Ukraine.” The Guardian, 11 Mar. 2022, commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9476/. Accessed 28 Mar. 2022.

Gozzi, Laura. "Ukraine War: Russia Executing Own Retreating Soldiers, US Says." BBC News, 27 Oct. 2023, www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67234144. Accessed 2 Nov. 2023.

Hall, Ben, and Roman Olearchyk. "Ukraine: Can Russia Still Win the War?" Financial Times, 14 July 2022, www.ft.com/content/d60ef086-a252-4d6d-8534-e39ccd541926. Accessed 21 July 2022.

Hatton, Barry, and Andrew Meldrum. "F-16s Have Arrived to Help Ukraine Fight Russia. Here's What to Know about Their Possible Impact." AP, 1 Aug. 2024, apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-f16s-what-to-know-224d96ff2ad4f416d3969676a55876e2. Accessed 2 Aug. 2024.

Ivan, Nechepurenko. "Putin Acknowledges 'Radical Islamists' Committed Moscow Attack." The New York Times, 26 Mar. 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/03/25/world/europe/russia-moscow-concert-attack.html. Accessed 2 Apr. 2024.

Khurshudyan, Isabelle, and Serhiy Morgunov. "Zelensky Replaces Military Chief, Naming Syrsky Top Commander." The Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2024, www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/02/08/valery-zaluzhny-commander-ukraine-removed/. Accessed 20 Feb. 2024.

Kirby, Max. “Why Has Russia Invaded Ukraine and What Does Putin Want?” BBC News, 28 Mar. 2022, www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56720589. Accessed 29 Mar. 2022.

Lister, Tim, and Katharina Krebs. "As Dust Settles after Wagner Mutiny, Russia's Military Leaders Face Tough Questions." CNN, 28 June 2023, www.cnn.com/2023/06/28/europe/russia-military-wagner-mutiny-analysis-intl/index.html. Accessed 29 June 2023.

Madhani, Aamer, and Seung Min Kim. "Biden Says the US Is Rushing Weaponry to Ukraine as He Signs a $95 Billion War Aid Measure into Law." AP, 24 Apr. 2024, apnews.com/article/joe-biden-mike-johnson-ukraine-israel-b72aed9b195818735d24363f2bc34ea4. Accessed 2 May 2024.

"Makiivka Strike: What We Know about the Deadliest Attack on Russian Troops since Ukraine War Began." The Guardian, 3 Jan. 2023, www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/04/makiivka-strike-what-we-know-about-the-deadliest-attack-on-russian-troops-since-ukraine-war-began. Accessed 5 Jan. 2023.

Méheut, Constant, and Daria Mitiuk. "Troop-Starved Ukrainian Brigades Turn to Marketing to Attract Recruits." The New York Times, 30 Mar. 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/03/30/world/europe/ukraine-military-recruits.html. Accessed 2 Apr. 2024.

Pennington, Josh, et al. "Collapse of Ukraine’s Nova Kakhovka Dam an 'Ecological Catastrophe.'" CNN, 7 June 2023, www.cnn.com/2023/06/07/europe/ukraine-nova-kakhovka-dam-environment-damage-intl-hnk/index.html. Accessed 8 June 2023.

Santora, Marc, et al. "Russia Orders Retreat From Kherson, a Serious Reversal in the Ukraine War." The New York Times, 9 Nov. 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/11/09/world/europe/ukraine-russia-kherson-retreat.html. Accessed 10 Nov. 2022.

Scwirtz, Michael, et al. "Putin Unleashes Barrage of Missiles on Ukrainian Civilian Areas." The New York Times, 10 Oct. 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/10/10/world/europe/russia-missiles-ukraine-civilians.html. Accessed 13 Oct. 2022.

Stern, David L., et al. "Ukrainian Energy Systems on Brink of Collapse after Weeks of Russian Bombing." The Washington Post, 23 Nov. 2022, www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/11/23/ukraine-infrastructure-damage-electricity-water-russia/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2022.

Troianovski, Anton. "Ukraine Defies Russia with Attacks on Crimea, a 'Holy Land' to Putin." The New York Times, 16 Aug. 2022, www.nytimes.com/live/2022/08/16/world/ukraine-russia-news-war. Accessed 18 Aug. 2022.

"The UN and the War in Ukraine: Key Information." United Nations, unric.org/en/the-un-and-the-war-in-ukraine-key-information/. Accessed 2 Aug. 2024.

"War in Ukraine." Council on Foreign Relations, 20 May 2024, www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/conflict-ukraine. Accessed 2 Aug. 2024.