1000 days of full-scale war: the experiences and struggles of Ukrainians during this challenging period.
611000 days of full-scale war: what Ukrainians have endured during this time
On the key events of the Russian-Ukrainian war over 1000 days of confrontation, as well as the people and weapons affecting the front and the course of the conflict – in this article by RBK-Ukraine.
1000 days ago, Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The events that have transpired over these nearly three years would be enough for several nations across multiple eras. And it's not just about the front lines.
Mass migration and millions of refugees, war crimes by Russians, missile strikes on residential areas, destruction of energy infrastructure, closed borders, prisoner exchanges, life under martial law, mobilization, ecological disasters, and devastated cities. This is far from a complete list of the events, trials, and hellish pressures that Ukrainians have faced.
The editorial team at RBK-Ukraine recalls the most significant events that caused public resonance, influenced the course of the war, made the world open its eyes, and forever left scars on the Ukrainian nation.
The tragic events of the last 1000 days have long been engulfed in a stream of information and have become routine for the world. A routine that Ukrainians have to confront every day and to which they seem unable to grow accustomed. The world was horrified by the atrocities of the Bucha massacre and the bombardment of Mariupol, but over time it has ceased to notice almost daily deaths of children and women from Russian missiles and drones in Odesa, Lviv, Kryvyi Rih, and other cities.
Despite the ongoing war, which continues to claim the lives of civilians in rear cities and soldiers on the front lines, the world has begun to tire of the Ukrainian agenda. Western media have found it increasingly difficult to "sell" our "story" to their audiences, pushing news from Ukraine as far as possible from the front pages and replacing it with more "relevant" content.
After the elections in the US, many believed in an imminent peace. Donald Trump's victory perhaps hastily stripped world leaders of the words "negotiations" and "end of war." Now these expectations contrast sharply with the latest actions of the Russians, who continue to exert pressure at the front, turning entire cities in the East into ruins, and destroying energy infrastructure and residential buildings in the rear. The events of the last 1000 days serve as the best reminder of the evil Ukrainians are facing and the danger that the rest of the world is gradually forgetting. Somewhere in thought, and somewhere openly dreaming of subduing the aggressor at any cost.
62 63 64 65 66 67 68 The Russian invasion of Ukraine
Approximately at 4 AM on February 24, 2022, after Vladimir Putin announced the so-called "special military operation," several large groups of Russians launched an offensive.
The enemy forces invaded Kyiv and Chernihiv regions from the territory of its satellite – Belarus, and into Sumy and Kharkiv regions – from Russia. Simultaneously, several groups advanced from the occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk regions, and Crimea.
The offensive actions of the enemy troops were accompanied by regular massive missile strikes on airfields, Ukrainian air defense positions, military units, and civilian infrastructure across all regions of our country.
69Negotiations in Belarus
Just a few days after the full-scale invasion, at the end of February 2022, Ukrainian and Russian delegations met for the first round of negotiations. The venue was Belarus, initially near the border with Ukraine, and then in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha, close to Poland. As reported by the participants of the negotiations, representatives of the aggressor country essentially suggested that Ukraine agree to capitulate – and were very surprised that our delegates had no intention of doing so. These negotiations had no impact on the course of the war.
"Bayraktars" and other UAVs
Ukraine began using Turkish drones "Bayraktar" even before the onset of the major war, during combat actions in Donbas in the fall of 2021. However, in the first few weeks of the full-scale war, they proved to be maximally effective, becoming one of the most well-known types of weapons used by Ukraine, a symbol of Ukrainian resistance, and support from allies.
Gradually, with the advent of various types of weapons, "Bayraktar" began to be used more on the front lines as a spotter and relay for smaller drones.
The use of "Bayraktar" and the results showcased by Turkish UAVs essentially demonstrated that drones are an effective tool in modern warfare. Ukraine launched the production of its own UAVs of various types – from reconnaissance and strike drones to kamikaze drones. Today, drones are widely used across the entire front line, as well as beyond it – in Russian territories, attacking oil refineries, arms manufacturing plants, and airfields.
At the same time, Russia also focused on UAVs but did not limit itself to its developments. In 2022, Moscow purchased the first "Shahed-136" drones from Iran. On September 12, 2022, Ukrainian military forces shot down an Iranian drone for the first time in Kharkiv region. Since then, Russia has regularly attacked Ukraine with "Shaheds."
Sanctions against the Russian Federation
From the first days of the major war, Western countries began to elevate anti-Russian sanctions, which had been in limited effect since 2014, to a new level. Among the most significant measures were the freezing of the Russian central bank's assets and other financial restrictions, such as disconnecting systemic Russian banks from the SWIFT system, various trade restrictions, a refusal to use Russian energy resources, a ban on supplying technologies to the Russian Federation, and so forth.
A total of 14 packages of sanctions were imposed on Russia, but they did not manage to inflict irreparable harm on the aggressors. Mainly due to the slow and phased introduction of sanctions, which gave Moscow the opportunity to prepare and find loopholes. The closure of sanctions loopholes and the search for new ones has been actively ongoing throughout the entire major war.
70Breakthrough in the South and semi-siege of Kyiv
The most rapid advance of the enemy occurred in the South. In just a couple of weeks, the occupiers essentially carved out a land corridor from Russia to Crimea. They captured most of the Zaporizhzhia region, almost the entire Kherson region, including the city of Kherson, encircled Mariupol, and approached Mykolaiv.
In the North, the area of the captured territory was not as extensive, but the enemy was close to its goal in the first weeks of the invasion – entering Kyiv.
They managed to reach the outskirts of the capital from the north and west, while taking control of two important highways to the West – the Warsaw and Zhytomyr highways. Another group of troops infiltrated Kyiv from the northeast, near Velyka Dymerka – from the territory of the neighboring Chernihiv region.
71 72 73 74 75 The occupiers retreat from Northern Ukraine
The turning point in the battle for the northern regions, particularly for the capital, occurred around March 15-20. By that time, the advance of the Russians in Chernihiv and Sumy regions, from where they aimed to break through to Brovary and Boryspil, had stalled.
Another group of occupiers was also stalled on the northern and western outskirts of the capital – in Dymer, Irpin, Hostomel, Borodyanka, and Bucha. During the time of Russian control over these settlements, they committed numerous brutal crimes against the local population – murders, torture, beatings, and violence.
The last attempt by the occupiers to break into Kyiv was the village of Moschun, from where the Armed Forces of Ukraine pushed the enemy out from March 19 to 21. After that, the Defense Forces managed to expel the enemy from Makariv, Irpin, and other surrounding settlements. Suffering huge losses and lacking proper supplies, the enemy began to hastily retreat from all northern regions, which the Kremlin later presented as a "gesture of goodwill" against the backdrop of negotiations in Istanbul. The last of the occupiers' troops left Kyiv region on April 2. In the following days, they left Chernihiv and Sumy regions.
76Negotiations in Istanbul
From the first days of the major war, Turkey actively offered its mediation. As a result, at the end of March, the most substantial negotiations between Ukraine and the Russian Federation took place