2022-3: Russian Invasion of Ukraine

In 2021 and early 2022, there was a major Russian military build-up around Ukraine's borders. NATO accused Russia of planning an invasion, which it denied. Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized the enlargement of NATO as a threat to his country and demanded Ukraine be barred from ever joining the military alliance.

He also expressed Russian irredentist views, questioned Ukraine's right to exist, and stated wrongfully that Ukraine was created by Soviet Russia. On 21 February 2022, Russia officially recognized the two self-proclaimed separatist states in the Donbas, and openly sent troops into the territories. Three days later, **Russia invaded Ukraine,** the war lasted into 2023, much to the worlds-surprise, and ended with the surrender of Ukraine. Much of the international community has condemned Russia for its actions in post-revolutionary Ukraine, accusing it of breaking international law and violating Ukrainian sovereignty. Many countries implemented economic sanctions against Russia, Russian individuals, or companies, especially after the 2022 invasion.

## The Invasion, War and Resistance

The invasion began on 24 February after Putin declared his intended military intervention. The full military operation consisted of infantry divisions supported by armored units and air support in Eastern Ukraine, along with dozens of missile attacks across both Eastern Ukraine and Western Ukraine. Ostensibly, the main infantry and tank division attacks were launched at four spearhead incursions.

### First Phase: Invasion of Ukraine (24 Feb - April 7, 2022)

At the start of the invasion on 24 February, the northern front was launched out of Belarus and targeted Kyiv with a northeastern front launched at the city of Kharkov; the southeastern front was conducted as two separate spearhead fronts including a southern front (originating in Crimea) and a separate probative southeastern front (launched at the cities of Luhansk and Donbas).

A significant probative spearhead front pushing south from Belarus along the west bank of the Dnipro River on 24 February, with the apparent goal of encircling the city from the west, was largely retreated by 7 April for resupply and redeployment for the active southeastern fronts of the Russian assault. The spearhead assault launched on February 24th towards Kyiv was backed up by two other Russian attack axes on the Dnipro's east bank: the western at Chernihiv and the eastern at Sumy. The attack axes in the east were most likely meant to envelop Kyiv from the northeast and east.

### Second Phase: South Eastern-Offensive (April 8 - N/A, 2022)

On 8 April, the Russian ministry had announced that all its troops and divisions deployed in southeastern Ukraine would unite under the command and control of General Aleksandr Dvornikov, who was placed in charge of combined military operations, including the redeployed probative fronts originally assigned to the northern front and the north-eastern front which were subsequently withdrawn and reassigned to the southeastern front. By 17 April, progress on the southeastern front appeared to be impeded by troops continuing to hold out in abandoned factories in Mariupol and refusing surrender ultimatums from surrounding Russian troops.