The Russia-Ukraine war, an unexpected conflict that has engulfed almost the entire world, is set to complete 500 days later this week. Thousands of military troops and civilians have lost their lives to intense fighting and countless bombings and missile strikes since Russian forces invaded Ukraine last year.
The war started as a result of simmering tensions following Ukraine's membership bid in the North-Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), threatening Russia's territorial reach. The Russian invasion did not go as smooth as President Vladimir Putin had planned, as they met with stiff resistance from Ukrainian troops and a bouyant response from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
As of now, Ukraine is struggling to launch a massive counteroffensive to repel Russian forces in major cities, including Bakhmut, while Russia continues to launch a barrage of military and drone strikes to cripple the Ukrainian military. Ukraine has received assistance from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan and other NATO member states.
Here's a brief timeline of the war after 16 months since the Russian invasion.
February 24, 2022: Putin announced a special military operation in Ukraine aimed towards 'demilitarisation' and 'denazification' of the country to protect ethnic Russians, effectively beginning the invasion. Western countries and Ukraine declared it as an illegal invasion, and the attempts of Russian forces to capture key cities and the capital Kyiv were met with strong resistance.
March 2, 2022: Russian forces managed to capture the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine and occupied a significant territory of the neighboring Zaporizhzhia area. Their efforts to capture Kyiv were repelled.
March 16, 2022: In one of the deadliest attacks of the war, Russian forces bombed the Donetsk Academic Regional Drama Theater in Mariupol, killing more than 600 people. Many groups labelled the strike as a war crime.
April 9, 2022: Russia initiated a missile strike on a railway station in Kramatorsk, resulting in the deaths of 52 people and wounding over 100 others.
April 13, 2022: A big breakthrough emerged for Ukraine when its military claimed to strike the 500-crew missile cruiser Moskva, the flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet. However, Russia said that the ship sank after an explosion.
May 16, 2022: The area of Mariupol was captured by Russian forces as the last remaining Ukrainian soldiers surrendered, securing a land corridor for Moscow.
June 30, 2022: Russian forces withdrew from Snake Island in the Black Sea post a 'successful operation'. The island was captured in the early days of the war. The move was claimed by Russia as a gesture of goodwill and facilitation of grain exports.
July 29, 2022: A prison housing Ukrainian prisoners of war in the town of Olenivka in the Donetsk region was destroyed in a missile strike, killing more than 50 prisoners. Russia and Ukraine blamed each other for the attack.
August 20, 2022: Russian nationalist ideologist and President Vladimir Putin's close aide Alexander Dugin's daughter Daria Dugina was killed in a car blast that was originally planned to kill Alexander. Also known as 'Putin's brain', Alexander Dugin is a prominent proponent of the “Russian world” concept ideology and a vehement supporter of Russia’s sending of troops into Ukraine.
September 6, 2022: Ukrainian forces launched a counteroffensive that took Russians by surprise and recaptured several areas of the Kharkiv region.
November 9, 2022: Russian forces were order to pull back from the Ukrainian city of Kherson, the only regional capital they had captured back then, dealing a major blow to the Russian offensive.
December 21, 2022: Ukrainian President Zelenskyy visited the US for the first time since the war and met US President Joe Biden to secure advanced air defense missile systems, among other weapons. The US also announced economic aid to Ukraine.
January 1, 2023: Ukrainian forces launched a missile strike on the Makiivka city, where Russia claimed that 89 of its soldiers were killed. However, Ukrainian forces claimed that around 400 Russian soldiers were killed in the strike.
January 12, 2023: Russia captured the salt-mining of Soledar, marking its first win after a series of setbacks in the war. Yet, Ukrainian authorities insisted that the fight for the hotly contested town continued.
February 20, 2023: US President Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv and met Zelenskyy to reiterate solidarity with the Ukrainian forces. He also announced $500 million in aid to Ukraine, comprising of javelins, howitzers, and artillery ammunition.
February 24, 2023: On the anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) suspended Russia's membership for its "illegal, unprovoked and unjustified" invasion.
March 25, 2023: Putin threatened to deply tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus as Western support for Ukraine continued to rise, especially the UK's decision to provide armor-piercing rounds to Kyiv.
May 14, 2023: Two military helicopters and two Russian fighter jets were shot down near the Ukrainian border.
May 20, 2023: Russia's private military group Wagner claimed that their forces have taken control of the eastern city of Bakhmut. Ukrainian officials had refuted Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's claims.
May 28, 2023: Russia launched its largest drone attack on Ukrainian capital Kyiv as the latter marked the anniversary of its founding. Scores of drones were shot down, and one person was killed in the attack.
June 4, 2023: The Russian defense ministry claimed to kill 250 Ukrainian troops and destroying several combat vehicles in its counteroffensive to a 'large-scale' assault in the Donetsk province.
June 6, 2023: Ukraine accused Russia of blowing up the Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power station on the Dnieper River in an area controlled by Moscow, while the latter blamed Ukrainian bombardment. The bombing triggered massive floods and threatened drinking water supplies for both sides.
June 18, 2023: Ukraine takes control of the village of Piatykhatky on the Zaporizhzhia battlefront, according to a statement from Vladimir Rogov, an official with the Moscow-appointed administration in the region.
June 24, 2023: In a big blow for Putin, the head of the Wagner Group staged an armed mutiny and warned the government to topple the country's Defence Ministry. Wagner troops marched in the city of Rostov-on-Don and took control of key military facilities before marching into Voronezh. The Russian President described it as "stab in the back" and warned of 'brutal' action against the rebel soldiers.
June 25, 2023: Less than 24 hours after the mutiny, Wagner chief Prigozhin halted his operation after striking a deal with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. He asserted that the decision was made to avoid 'bloodshed' in Russia and he would move to Belarus along with his soldiers.
June 27, 2023: Two Russian missiles struck a popular pizza restaurant in Kramatorsk city in one of the most deadliest Russian attacks recently, killing 11 people, including four children. As many as 56 people were injured in the attack.
July 6, 2023: Another Russian missile strike in Ukraine's western city of Lviv resulted in the deaths of 10 people, and 42 others were injured.
Scores of missile attacks and bombings have reduced a large portion of the Ukrainian territory to smoky ruins, severely affecting security and normal lives for citizens.
As of now, Iran is the only country to openly provide support to Russia, reportedly supplying combat drones to Moscow. There are rumours that China is secretly providing assistance to Moscow amid its own confrontations with the US. The Putin administration has also named China as one of their major allies.
India has remained neutral in the conflict, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly called for peace between the two regions in his meetings with Putin.
(with inputs from agencies)
