Russia-Ukraine war enters fifth year

KYIV(AFP) — The war in Ukraine, triggered by Russia’s invasion in February 2022, has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions, and left cities in ruins as both sides continue to battle across shifting frontlines and international diplomacy struggles to secure a resolution.

The conflict began 24 February 2022, after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where pro-Russian separatists had been fighting Kyiv since 2014. Three days later, Russian forces launched a “special military operation” to “de-Nazify” and “demilitarize” Ukraine. The army quickly advanced in the south and northeast but failed to capture the capital, Kyiv.

Mariupol, a strategic southeastern port city, fell after a months-long siege. Early negotiations in Belarus and Turkey collapsed.

In spring 2022, after Russian troops withdrew from Kyiv’s suburbs, Ukrainian authorities found hundreds of executed civilians in Bucha and surrounding areas. The killings provoked international outrage and led to war crimes investigations. On 17 March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin, accusing him of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children.

From summer 2022, Ukrainian forces launched counteroffensives with Western-supplied weapons, regaining parts of the Kharkiv region and the southern city of Kherson. The eastern city of Bakhmut was reduced to ruins after months of fighting. In June 2023, the Wagner mercenary group staged a brief mutiny toward Moscow; its chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, died in a plane crash two months later.

By 2024, Russia slowly regained momentum, seizing eastern strongholds. Ukrainian troops briefly crossed into Russia’s Kursk region in August 2024 but were pushed back by March 2025, with North Korean forces assisting Russia. Russia launched drone and missile strikes, including Oreshnik nuclear-capable missiles hitting Ukrainian military targets in November 2024 and January 2026. US-supplied Patriot missiles and F-16s provided limited defense.

Diplomacy continued under US President Donald Trump, who in 2025 proposed direct talks with Putin. He threatened to cut US aid to Ukraine and later unveiled a plan that met key Russian demands, including territorial concessions, in exchange for Kyiv’s security guarantees. Russia responded with strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, leaving hundreds of thousands without power, while Ukraine targeted Russian oil refineries in retaliation.

Negotiations continued in Abu Dhabi and Geneva in early 2026, but Moscow insisted Ukraine withdraw from the eastern Donbas region, a major sticking point.