Timeline: The War in Ukraine
Where to find relevant documents, videos, translations, and procurement statistics for the conflict that began with a Russian incursion in February, 2022
On February 24th, 2022, at 5:30 AM Moscow time, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a televised speech announcing a “special military operation.” Here is that address, with English subtitles:
Minutes later, explosions were recorded in Dnipro, Kharkiv, and other locations across Ukraine. This footage was shot near the Antonov Airport in Kyiv:
Many would call this the beginning of the Ukraine war. Others would say it started weeks, months, years, or even decades earlier. This is why any effort at a “timeline” for this war is controversial.
Academics like Jeffrey Sachs and John Mearsheimer would say a disagreement about NATO expansion dating to the early 1990s, before the Soviet collapse, is necessary context. The United States Department of Defense, meanwhile, marks the same date of February 24th, 2022, and specifically Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s order sending 7,000 troops to Europe, as the first event in its “Ukraine Events” timeline.
Both old and new materials appear below, in a collection that as always favors full primary source materials over links. When possible, we’ll provide brief context, with contemporary critics given voice.
This list is not meant to be comprehensive and will be continually updated. If you think we left out something important, we want to hear from you. More to the point, if you think something relevant has been overlooked for a reason, we want to hear that complaint. Please let us know what we missed and send what you have to library@racket.news.
February 9th, 1990
Memorandum of conversation between Secretary of State James Baker and Mikhail Gorbachev. Prepared by the State Department and public via a FOIA address, the heavily redacted document nonetheless contains an oft-cited passage from Baker: “We understand that not only for the Soviet Union but for other European countries as well it is important to have guarantees that… not an inch of NATO’s present military jurisdiction will spread in an eastern direction.”
February 9th, 1990
Conversation between James Baker and Soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze, which repeats the formulation. “There would, of course, have to be iron-clad guarantees that NATO’s jurisdiction or forces would not move eastward. And this would have to be done in a manner that would satisfy Germany’s neighbors to the east.” This memo was written by former CIA analyst Melvin Goodman, who confirmed the story to Matt Taibbi for Rolling Stone in 2017:
February 12, 1990
Notes of Shevardnadze aide Teimuraz Stepanov-Mamaladze, saying, “If [unified Germany] stays in NATO, we should take care about non-expansion of its jurisdiction to the east.”
July 16, 1990
Ukraine issues a Declaration of Sovereignty, part of which involves an agreement “not to accept, produce, or acquire nuclear weapons.” It’s the first step to becoming a full non-nuclear weapon state in the Non-Proliferation Treaty some years later. Had it not made this move, Ukraine would have been the third most heavily armed nuclear power in the world. It had 176 long-range ballistic missiles and 42 nuclear bombers containing roughly 1,900 nuclear warheads.
December 1, 1991
Ukrainians overwhelmingly vote for independence in a referendum. The lowest votes are in Sevastopol and Crimea, but even those are majority votes in favor of secession from the USSR. Supreme Soviet Chairman Leonid Kravchuk is elected president.
October 19, 1993
White House staff secretary John Podesta and deputy Todd Stern outline a new two-track policy, one that imagines welcoming former Soviet satellites into NATO without a firm timetable, and a second that creates a “Partnership for Peace” that could include “all European states.” National Security Adviser Anthony Lake explains to Bill Clinton, “All your advisors agree that doing anything at this stage to indicate that NATO’s border will move closer to Russia and Ukraine without at the same time including those two states would have major negative consequences within both.”
October 22, 1993
Russian President Boris Yeltsin meets with Secretary of State Warren Christopher and, upon being told about the NATO expansion, reportedly says, “This is genius!” Some reports claim Yeltsin was drunk and misunderstood, believing the “Partnership for Peace” would take place instead of wider NATO growth. Subsequent Russian cables show a different reaction.
January 10, 1994
President Bill Clinton announces a new Partnership for Peace, in which NATO membership is open “to all the former Communist states of the Warsaw Pact, along with other non-NATO states.” Asked who is the enemy, he answers, “Well, there will be different enemies.”
January 14, 1994
Kravchuk, Yeltsin, and Clinton sign the “Trilateral Statement.” Ukraine surrenders warheads and receives financial compensation from the United States and fuel rods for nuclear power plants from Russia. In return, the U.S. and Russia pledge to “reaffirm their commitment to seek immediate UN Security Council action to provide assistance to Ukraine, as a non-nuclear-weapon state party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, if Ukraine should become a victim of an act of aggression or an object of a threat of aggression in which nuclear weapons are used.”
Between the Baker-Gorbachev discussions about NATO and the later Trilateral Agreement, both Ukrainian and Russian politicians will come to believe they were lied to by American diplomats.
June 28, 1996
Ukraine adopts a new constitution, breaking from its Soviet legal legacy. It enshrines Ukrainian as the sole state language and outlaws foreign military bases, leaving the status of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, based in Sevastopol, uncertain.
April 24, 1997
Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma and leaders of 19 NATO countries sign a “Distinctive Partnership” agreement. Kuchma had previously declared that Ukraine made a “strategic choice of integrating in European and Transatlantic structures.” Two NATO officers, one civilian and one military, are stationed in Kyiv, and “the NATO Allies have officially designated the Yavoriv defence training area, west of Lviv, as a [Partnership for Peace] training centre.”
May 27, 1997
NATO member states and Russia sign the Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security between NATO and the Russian Federation. It says NATO is undergoing “a historic transformation — a process that will continue,” in which its “political functions” will expand. New member states will not feature any “threatening build-up of conventional forces” and as matters stood, would seek to avoid “additional permanent stationing of substantial combat forces.”
May 29, 1997
Russia and Ukraine sign the Black Sea Accords, under which Russia leases the Sevastopol base from Ukraine for 20 years. The status of Crimea, which was given to Ukraine by Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev in 1954, continues to be a source of tension for some Russians, with nationalist politicians beginning to make demands that it be returned.
June 26, 1997
50 prominent American policymakers, including Democrats like Bill Bradley and Gary Hart, sign a joint letter to Clinton opposing NATO expansion in favor of preserving the START II denuclearization. “NATO expansion will make it much more difficult to establish the atmosphere of trust required for Moscow to agree to additional transparency measures,” they wrote.
July 25, 1998
Vladimir Putin, a former first deputy mayor of St. Petersburg, is hired to be head of the FSB by Boris Yeltsin. Putin, who helped his former boss Anatoly Sobchak escape corruption charges, makes a name for himself by suppressing investigations of Yeltsin. On March 18, 1999, a video of “a person, resembling [General Prosecutor Yuri] Skuratov” is shown on television cavorting with “two girls of easy behavior.” Putin says Skuratov, who was investigating Yeltsin, must resign.
February 23, 1999
NATO officials after meeting at the Château de Rambouillet in France propose an eponymous peace agreement to Serbia, seeking to end hostilities with Albanian neighbors. It declares that the “use of force in Kosovo shall cease immediately” and explains that a NATO-based authority called KFOR will police the territory of the former Yugoslavia to maintain the peace.
March 12, 1999
NATO expands to include Czech Republic, Hungry, and Poland, beginning a series of new admissions. The moment will mark movement “towards a Europe without dividing lines,” says NATO’s Secretary General, Javier Solana.
March 24, 1999 - June 29, 1999
NATO commences an air campaign against Serbia in what it calls “Operation Allied Force.” The United States calls the campaign “Noble Anvil.” Serbia’s longtime allies in Russia react with horror. Footage is shown regularly on Russian television, which focuses on Western media reluctance to cover the bombing of civilian infrastructure while advancing the idea of a “humanitarian war.” Boris Yeltsin’s failure to stand up against NATO contributes to a decline in public support that drifts to his hand-picked replacement, Putin.
September, 1999
Putin says of Chechen separatists: “We’ll whack ‘em in the outhouse.”
June 17, 2001
President George W. Bush and Putin meet in Slovenia. Bush is asked if we can trust Russia and famously says, “I looked the man in the eye, I found him to be very straightforward, and trustworthy… I was able to get a sense of his soul… I wouldn’t have invited him to my ranch if I didn’t trust him.”
Less well remembered: the first “Can we trust Russia?” question is directed to Putin, who says, “I won’t answer that. I can ask you the same question.”
September 11, 2001
United States attacked by al-Qaeda in New York and Washington. NATO officials take the unprecedented step of invoking Article 5 of the original “Washington” or “North Atlantic” treaty, and commit members to assist the United States.
October 21, 2001
Secretary of State Colin Powell announces that the United States plans to withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty. Powell said this came up the night before, when George W. Bush “said repeatedly to President Putin and the Kremlin that we have to get beyond the constraints of the ABM Treaty.” The termination of the ABM treaty will become a major sticking point in U.S.-Russian relations, with Russia eventually coming to believe “defensive” missile sites in Europe are potential offensive threats.
November 10, 2001
In a Moscow press conference before leaving for a meeting with Bush, Putin expresses confusion as to the reason for the termination of the ABM treaty. With regard to the ABM Treaty, Putin asked, “What specifically do they propose to change? What specifically impedes the program the US Administration has conceived?”
November 13, 2001
Putin and Bush meet at the White House. Russia’s cooperation with the U.S. in post-9/11 operations however prompts a statement from Bush: “We also discussed seriously the development of relations between Russia and NATO… We consider that there are opportunities for an entirely new mechanism, joint decision-making and coordinated action in the area of security and stability.”
December 13, 2001
Bush formally announces withdrawal from the ABM treaty.
May 23, 2002
Ukraine’s Kuchma announces a formal bid for Ukraine’s entry into NATO.
May 24, 2002
The U.S. and Russia sign the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty, also known as the “Moscow Treaty,” which mandates that the United States and Russia reduce nuclear weapons reserves to 1,700-2,200 warheads each by December 31, 2012.
November 22, 2004
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe issues a report claiming issues with the 2004 election of Moscow-supported Viktor Yanukovych to the Ukrainian Presidency, writing, “Despite a series of serious shortcomings identified in the IEOM statement of 1 November, the authorities failed to take corrective measures between the two rounds of elections to address biased coverage in state media, misuse of state resources, and pressure on certain categories of voters to support Mr. Yanukovych.” His opponent Viktor Yushchenko called for a general strike, supported by demonstrators dressed in orange, in an event that came to be known as the Orange Revolution.
December 3, 2004
Ukrainian Supreme Court annuls election result in bitter fight between Moscow-supported Viktor Yanukovych and Western-supported Viktor Yushchenko, who suffers dioxin poisoning during this period. The court ruling terminates a Yanukovych victory and schedules a new vote for December 26th, after weeks of demonstrations by protesters.
December 11, 2004
Yushchenko is again treated by doctors for what appears to be dioxin poisoning, though Austrian physicians are non-committal about how it took place.
December 27, 2004
After a long struggle, Yushchenko declares victory. Opponent Yanukovych promises to contest the results in court. The result is denounced as a coup in Russia, where the so-called “color revolutions” are decried as CIA overthrows.
July 2, 2007
Putin and Bush meet again in Kennebunkport, Maine. In an effort to head off a United States plan to install “defensive” missile systems in Poland and the Czech Republic, Putin proposes a joint system, adding that such an agreement would “qualitatively” improve relations between the countries. Bush, who’d congratulated Putin “for being the only person that caught a fish today,” agreed to disagree, as the U.S. proceeded with its own plan.
February 10, 2007
Vladimir Putin gives a speech at the Munich Security conference saying NATO never changed its mission after the Cold War, adding, “The unipolar world that had been proposed after the Cold War did not take place either.” Spokesperson Sergei Lavrov will echo these comments when civil war breaks out in the Donbas ten years later.
November 5, 2008
The IMF approves $16.4 billion in aid to help stabilize Ukraine after the 2008 financial crisis.
February 7-8, 2010
Russia-friendly Viktor Yanukovych, this time running against Yulia Tymoshenko, regains the Ukrainian presidency. The precedent of not declaring an election valid until the vote is deemed fair by European observers (who weighed such issues as media bias, participation of women, and participation of minorities) was by now established. The OSCE in this case did not find reason to reject the result, in either of the rounds of voting.
April 27, 2010
Yanukovych signs the Kharkiv Pact with Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev. Russia receives an extension on its Sevastopol Black Sea Fleet lease through 2042, and Ukraine gets lower gas prices. “During the next 10 years Ukraine will receive the real investment resource, which according to experts’ estimations will reach US$40 billion dollars,” Yanukovych said. The rapid negotiations and lack of dialogue with opposition parties famously leads to a brawl in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, with eggs thrown at Speaker Volodymyr Litvin:
December 20, 2010
Yulia Tymoshenko, who took part in the Kharkiv Pact parliamentary brawl, is charged with “misspending money Ukraine received from the selling of its carbon emission rights under the Kyoto protocol,” according to the BBC. Allies denounce many criminal cases against Tymoshenko as politically motivated.
June 24, 2011
Tymoshenko is accused of embezzlement, under Part 3 of Article 365 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine "Excess of Power or Official Authority, Causing Serious Consequences.” Of the many cases against Tymoshenko, this one is based on 2009 actions and is known as “The Gas Case.” The complicated charges involve the responsibility for a $194 million loss to Ukraine through mispriced gas deals with Russia. You can find them summarized, along with the Ukrainian court processes, below.
The EU issued a resolution on June 9th, 2011, stressing the need to avoid “the danger of giving rise to any perception that judicial measures are being used selectively,” especially for “a country which aspires to enter into a deeper contractual relationship” with the European Union. The Tymoshenko case contributed to Ukraine’s ill-fated effort to sign a sweeping “Association Agreement” later that year. Tymoshenko had support of European officials and the status of her criminal case would impact the West’s assessment of Ukraine as a functional democracy. Demonstrations on her behalf are shown internationally.
August 17, 2011
Former Tymoshenko ally Yushchenko testifies against her in court. Yushchenko had criticized Tymoshenko for “selling out” Ukraine to Russia for years, and believed she executed disadvantageous deals in exchange for Russian electoral support.
October 11, 2011
Tymoshenko is convicted of corruption charges and sentenced to seven years in prison. Western consensus is that the prosecution was political (see “Taking Out Tymoshenko,” New Yorker). American outlets like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty do not describe the charges in detail except to quote Amnesty International, which says she was punished for “not internationally recognizable offenses.”
October 31, 2013
With Ukraine expected to sign the aforementioned historic trade agreement with the EU, the International Monetary Fund sent inspectors on a 12-day mission to Ukraine, after which they concluded the country needed to end energy subsidies by the state firm NaftoGaz, effect a roughly 40% increase in individual gas prices, and end “unaffordable tax cuts”:
November 21, 2013
Yanukovych throws international relations into chaos when he orders the suspension of preparations for the trade agreement between Kyiv and Brussels. In Vilnius, Lithuania a few days later, withdrawal becomes final, causing Ukrainskaya Pravda to comment, “Viktor Yanukovych departed from history.” Western officials believe Yanukovych has either been intimidated by Putin or won over by inducements to break his deal with Europe. Swedish economist and Atlantic Council fellow Anders Aslund writes for the Center for European Policy Analysis a few weeks later:
Earlier in November, Yanukovych traveled to Russia for two long meetings with Putin. While no agreement resulting from these meetings has been made public, guesses are that abolition of the trade sanctions, a lower gas price worth four billion dollars a year, a few billion dollars of Russian bank loans and Russian purchases of some Ukrainian companies could be part of a deal.
Aslund added, “Putin appears to have won a geopolitical victory, but it may be a Pyrrhic one.”
November 21, 2013
Yanukovch’s rejection of the deal leads to the first “Maidan” protests, with small demonstrations in Kyiv and five other cities. They quickly grow in intensity.
November 26, 2013
Tymoshenko, from jail, announces a hunger strike.
November 29-December 1, 2013
A Saturday night demonstration on November 30th is broken up by police, setting the stage for a Sunday protest reportedly involving 300,000 Ukrainians that devolves into violence. Consistent details include an effort to “besiege the President’s office” and police use of truncheons and flash grenades.
Ukrainian opposition leaders evoke the “Orange Revolution” and make revolutionary pronouncements. “We will conduct massive protest actions in all of Ukraine. They must witness our strength,” said Tymoshenko ally Arseniy Yatsenyuk. Boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko: “Today they stole our dream, our dream of living in a normal country.” Crowds chant, “Revolution!”
December 1, 2013
Ukrainian, European, and American politicians demand the resignation of Yanukovych in the wake of mass arrests of protesters. “I want the authorities to know that this is not a protest; this is a revolution!” former Interior Minister Yuri Lutsenko shouts.
December 8, 2013
After more mass protests and clashes with police, activists set up barricades on roads to prevent officials like Yanukovych from getting to work.
December 12, 2013
The EU reiterates its offer to bring Ukraine into the Association Agreement. Europeans clearly do not believe Ukraine’s withdrawal from the agreement is a final decision.
December 13, 2013
Protesters topple a statue of Lenin in Kyiv.
CNN: “The West — the EU, together with the US – has been working on its relations with former Soviet Bloc countries for over two decades, with the aim of restoring democratic rule and improving quality of life for Ukrainians… It views the decision by Ukraine, the largest of the former republics, not to partner up with the EU as bowing to Russian pressure.”
December 22, 2013
Senator John McCain arrives in Kyiv to support the Maidan protesters. “These people love the United States of America, they love freedom,” he said, “and I don't think you could view this as anything other than our traditional support for people who want free and democratic society.”
January 28, 2014
Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov resigns amid international and internal pressure.
February 4, 2014
A phone call between Victoria Nuland, the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, and Geoffrey Pyatt, Ambassador to Ukraine, is leaked to the news. The American officials talk about coming up with a way to make Yanukovych’s exit from office “stick,” with Nuland saying, “We've got to do something to make it stick together, because you can be pretty sure that if it does start to gain altitude the Russians will be working behind the scenes to try to torpedo it.” As to the best choice to replace Yanukovych, Nuland says she doesn’t like boxer Vitali Klitschko, “I don't think it's a good idea,” preferring Arsenity Yatsenuk: “‘I think Yats is the guy who's got the economic experience.’”
February 20, 2014
Russia invades Crimea and quickly takes control. Russia calls it a “temporary annexation.” Putin declares the movement to be in reaction to the Maidan events, which he calls illegitimate and a coup (Western leaders say the same about his move into Crimea). Putin says of Western involvement in Maidan: “They sit there across the pond as if in a lab running all kinds of experiments on the rats.”
February 21, 2014
Yanukovych signs a peace deal brokered by European officials like German Foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Polish Foreign Minister Radislaw Sikorski, husband of American writer Anne Applebaum. Opposition figures Arseniy Yatsenuk and Vitali Klitschko are also signatories. The deal envisions a new Unity Government taking power, with new elections to be held the following December. The 2004 Constitution also has to be restored within 24 hours.
February 28, 2014
Yanukovych flees Kyiv, explains from an interview in Kharkiv that he’s been the victim of a “coup d'état,” adding, “My car was shot at. I am not afraid. I feel sorrow for my country.” The Ukrainian parliament votes to call Yanukovych’s exit a resignation. Tymoshenko is freed.
March 18, 2014
Russia annexes the Crimean peninsula, with Vladimir Putin signing a “Treaty of Accession” with Chairman of the State Council of the Republic of Crimea Vladimir Konstantinov, and Prime Minister of the Republic, Sergei Aksyonov.
The UN passes a resolution March 27 that urges the world not to recognize Crimea as part of Russia. The annexation triggers the Donbas war as pro-Russian separatists, with support from the Kremlin, battle Ukraine’s military.
March 20, 2014
President Barack Obama announces sanctions against Russian officials over the Crimea annexation. There will be calls for him to respond militarily, but he declines.
February 2-3, 2016
Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, Commander of the U.S. Army Europe, joins U.S. Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt on a visit to Dnipropetrovsk Oblast to watch as U.S. military advisors instruct Ukrainian soldiers from the Dnipro-1 unit.
June 2016
The EU releases “Shared Vision, Common Action: A Stronger Europe: A Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign And Security Policy.” It lays out basic principles of relations to its Eastern neighbors, including, “The EU will stand united in upholding… each country’s right to choose its future freely,” and, “We will not recognise Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea nor accept the destabilisation of eastern Ukraine. We will strengthen the EU, enhance the resilience of our eastern neighbours, and uphold their right to determine freely their approach towards the EU.”
January 18, 2017
Outgoing Vice President Joe Biden, speaking at Davos, links illiberalism in the United States to similar tendencies abroad. He defines the United States as the builder of an “international liberal order,” and Russia as the leader of a world built around “spheres” of influence. Ironically, Russian officials will say something similar a few weeks later, but will cast the situation as negative.
We hear these voices in the West — but the greatest threats on this front spring from the distinct illiberalism of external actors who equate their success with a fracturing of the liberal international order. We see this in Asia and the Middle East — where China and Iran would clearly prefer a world in which they hold sway in their regions.
But I will not mince words. This movement is principally led by Russia. Under President Putin, Russia is working with every tool available to them to whittle away at the edges of the European project, test for fault lines among western nations, and return to a politics defined by spheres of influence.
February 24, 2017
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denounces NATO, which he said “remained a Cold War institution,” and also criticizes the post-Cold-War “liberal world order,” which he calls “an instrument for ensuring the growth of an elite club of countries and its domination over everyone else.”
May 15, 2018
Russia opens a nearly 12-mile bridge over the Kerch strait that connects Crimea to mainland Russia. The $3.7 billion bridge is the longest in Europe, carrying rail and vehicle traffic.
Apri 22, 2019
Vologymyr Zelensky, a comic who starred as the president of Ukraine in a television series, is elected president of Ukraine. He won 73% of the vote in a runoff election. Zelensky promises to restart peace talks with Russian-backed separitists in the Dombas.
September 24, 2019
The White House releases a transcript of a July 25 phone conversation between Trump and Zelensky. After the release, Trump is accused of pressuring Zelensky to investigate Biden and his son, Hunter. From the transcript:
“There’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it… It sounds horrible to me.”
Background: Before the release of the transcript, Trump had accused Biden as vice president of pressuring Ukraine to fire its top prosecutor so that it wouldn’t investigate Burisma, the gas company for which Hunter Biden was a board member.
Trump had also withheld nearly $400 million in military aid to Urkraine to fight Russian separatists sometime before the phone call, although Zelensky said he didn’t realize at the time of the call that the money had been withheld.
Articles of impeachment against Trump in December 2019 accused him of conditioning that aid on Ukraine’s announcement of an investigation of Joe Biden, at the time a potential re-election opponent in 2020. The aid went forward in September 2019 after Zelensky met with Vice President Mike Pence. Zelensky denied that Trump pressured him during the July 25 phone call, saying “there was no blackmail.”
April 23, 2021
Russia orders troops back to their bases after a massive buildup of service members along the Ukrainian border and in Crimea. The European Union puts the number at 100,000; Russia says it’s 10,000.
September 1, 2021
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets with President Biden at the White House. Zelensky tells reporters in the Oval House, “I would like to discuss with President Biden here his vision, his government’s vision of Ukraine’s chances to join NATO and the timeframe for this accession, if it is possible.” The White House announced $60 million in military aid to Ukraine shortly before Zelensky’s visit.
Nov. 17, 2021
Putin demands that NATO remove all troops or weapons it has in countries that became part of the alliance after 1997. Putin also wants a guarantee that Ukraine won’t become part of NATO. “We're not sure exactly what Mr. Putin is up to. But these movements certainly have our attention,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says in a press conference (above).
Dec. 7, 2021
Biden and Putin have a two-hour video call. A White House statement about the call says Biden “voiced the deep concerns of the United States and our European Allies about Russia’s escalation of forces surrounding Ukraine and made clear that the U.S. and our Allies would respond with strong economic and other measures in the event of military escalation.”
Putin, according to this statement from the Kemlin, “warned against shifting the responsibility on Russia, since it was NATO that was undertaking dangerous attempts to gain a foothold on Ukrainian territory, and building up its military capabilities along the Russian border.”
Dec. 30, 2021
President Biden and Putin talk by phone for 50 minutes. The conversation was at Putin’s request. A White House statement on the call says Biden urged Putin to de-escalate tensions with Ukraine. A Kremlin statement on the call says that Putin warned it “would be a grave error, de facto fraught with the danger of a complete breakdown in Russia-US relations” if Biden imposes “large-scale” sanctions.
January 23, 2022
The State Department orders families of U.S. embassy employee in Kyiv to leave the country.
January 24, 2022
As escalations continue, about 8,500 American troops are put on heightened alert to deploy to eastern Europe. Meanwhile, NATO announces it put troops on standby as well. NATO-affiliated ships and jets are sent to eastern Europe.
January 26, 2022
The U.S. and NATO deliver written responses to Putin’s demands, which include that NATO leave eastern Europe and guarantees that Ukraine would never become part of the alliance. The answers: No and no. The Biden administration did not release its written response because “we think that diplomacy has the best chance to succeed if we provide space for confidential talks,” said then-Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
Feb. 10, 2022
Russia and Belarus begin joint military exercises. Russia has 30,000 troops in Belarus.
Feb. 11, 2022
Both the U.S. and UK tell their citizens in Ukraine that they should leave the country. The U.S. sends another 3,000 troops to Poland, bringing the number to nearly 5,000.
February 24, 2022
As noted above, Putin delivers a speech announcing a “special operation” in Ukraine to stop a “genocide,” which is followed by explosions in Ukrainian cities minutes later.
March 2, 2022
Kherson, a port city of about 280,000 in southern Ukraine, falls to Russian forces. It’s the first major city taken by Russia.
March 16, 2022
Russia bombs the Donetsk Academic Regional Drama Theatre in Mariupol, where several hundred people had been sheltering. The estimates of how many people died vary wildly. For example, this NPR report nearly four months later says “at least a dozen” died. The Associated Press in the video above says close to 600 died. The difficulty in reconciling reported statistics becomes apparent early in the war. Amnesty International calls the bombing “a clear war crime” in a report released June 30, 2022.
March 29, 2022
Russia begins full withdrawal from Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, to redirect troops to the Donbas region.
April 8, 2022
Two Russian missiles strike a train station in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk. Early reports say about 100 people were injured. The city’s mayor says about 4,000 people were at the train station when the strikes occurred. A report by Human Rights Watch nearly a year later said several hundred were there. Russia denies responsibility.
May 16, 2022
Ukrainians defending the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works surrender to Russian forces. The plant was Ukraine’s last remaining stronghold in Mariupol. As a result, Ukraine is cut off from the Sea of Azov, and Russia has a land route to Crimea.
May 18, 2022
Finland and Sweden submit a joint application to join NATO. The application was met with enthusiasm by NATO countries, with Turkey briefly opposing. President Biden welcomes the two countries’ leaders to the White House the following day, saying “I am proud to welcome and offer the strong support of the United States for the applications of two great democracies and two close, highly capable partners to join the strongest, most powerful defensive alliance in the history of the world.”
Putin warned that if military contingents and military infrastructure were deployed in either country, “we would be obliged to respond symmetrically and raise the same threats for those territories where threats have arisen for us.”
June 30, 2022
Ukraine takes back Snake Island, the small island in the Black Sea where 13 Ukrainian soldiers reportedly died as heroes by choosing death over surrender on the first day of the war, a story that turned out to be false.
July 22, 2022
Ukraine and Russia reach a deal to allow grain exports from Black Sea ports. The war caused grain prices to spike worldwide since Ukraine is among the world’s largest exporters of wheat, barley, and sunflower seeds.
July 29, 2022
A missile strikes a Russian-controlled prison near Olenivka, killing more than 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war. Ukraine and Russia blame each other. An October 2023 report from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights rejected Russia’s claim that the prison was struck by a US-made HIMARS rocket fired by Ukraine. The report says damage from a HIMARS rocket would have been much worse. In addition, the report implies Russia was responsible. “The pattern of structural damage appeared consistent with a projected ordnance having travelled with an east-to-west trajectory,” the report states.
Sept. 6, 2022
In a surprise counteroffensive, Ukraine reclaims the cities of Kupiansk, Izyum, and Balakliya. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky says the operation, now known as the Kharkiv Counteroffensive, recaptured 700 square miles. The humiliating defeat prompts Vladimir Putin to mobilize up to 300,000 reservists.
Sept. 26, 2022
Two Nord Stream natural gas pipelines explode in the Baltic Sea. The pipelines carried natural gas from Russia to Germany. Ukraine and Russia blamed each other, but evidence has mounted that Ukraine was responsible. Both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal have reported that Ukraine, or a group affiliated with Ukraine, was responsible. The WSJ reported that Zelensky approved a plan to blow up the pipelines, but called it off after the CIA found out. The general in charge of the mission carried it out anyway. In August 2024, Germany issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian citizen named Volodymyr Zhuravlev who was living in Poland at the time. He evaded arrest, according to this report, by returning to Ukraine.
Sept. 30, 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin annexes the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. The move comes just a few days after quickly-organized referendums were held in those areas already taken by Russian forces. The referendums were ridiculed by most world leaders as a sham. The UN passes a resolution condemning these moves, calling them illegal. Five countries voted against the resolution: Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Syria, and Nicaragua.
Oct. 8, 2022
Using a truck with explosives, Ukraine destroys a portion of the 11-mile Kerch Strait Bridge, which connects Crimea to Russia’s mainland. The bridge is an important supply route for Russia. Putin calls it a “terrorist act,” and responds with massive airstrikes on Ukrainian cities.
Nov. 9, 2022
Russia withdraws from Kherson, the first major city taken by its army after the war began nearly nine month earlier.
Dec. 21, 2022
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visits the White House for the first time since the war began. Zelensky also addressed a joint session of Congress. He goes home with a State Department-approved $1.85 billion military aid package, including a Patriot missile battery, and a mobile air defense system.
Jan. 1, 2023
A Ukrainian missile strikes a building in the eastern Ukraine (Donbas) city of Makiivka, filled with recently-mobilized Russian soldiers. Ukraine claimed up to 400 were killed; Russia said 89 died. Either way, it was Ukraine’s deadliest attack.
Jan. 12, 2023
Russian forces capture the salt mining town of Soledar. This capture was significant in part because it was led by the private Wagner Group. The victory was also a morale boost for Russia after suffering a series of setbacks.
Jan. 14, 2023
A Russian missile strikes an apartment building in Dnipro that was home to about 1,700 people, killing several dozen. The bombing was widely condemned for its targeting of civilians. Russian media counters with references to “Shock and Awe” and the NATO bombing of Serbia.
Feb. 20, 2023
President Biden makes a surprise visit to Kyiv to show his support for Ukraine, and announces $500 million in additional aid. He also says news sanctions against Russia would soon be implemented. Because of security concerns, his traveling plans were kept secret.
April 28, 2023
Russia kills 25 civilians during nighttime air attacks in cities throughout Ukraine.
June 23, 2023
Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian oligarch in charge of the Wagner Group, leads an insurrection against the Kremlin by sending tanks toward Moscow, and says he took control of military sites in Rostov-on-Don. Prigozhin had been feuding with Russian military leaders. He criticized their decision-making and complained his soldiers didn’t have enough ammunition. Tensions escalated when Russia made plans to put Wagners 25,000 troops under the country’s military command. Prigozhin called off the convoy, which he called a “march for justice,” after one day. Putin called it treason during a brief televised address.
July 17, 2023
The Kerch Bridge is struck again. Ukraine’s navy and SBU (Ukraine’s secret service) used drones to knock out a portion of bridge. Putin promises retaliation.
August 23, 2023
Prigozhin, just two months after staging a rebellion, dies in a suspicious plane crash. U.S. officials believe a bomb exploded on the plane. Russia denies any involvement. What Prigozhin’s death means for Wagner’s forces in Ukraine and elsewhere is unclear.
Nov. 2, 2023
Russia carries out a deluge of bombing attacks within 24 hours, striking at least 100 settlements. Ukraines interior minister calls it “the highest number of cities and villages that have come under attack since the start of the year.”
Nov. 25-26, 2023
On Nov. 25, Russia launches 75 explosives-laden drones on Kyiv. All but one are shot down. The following day, Ukraine launches its own drone attack inside Russia, mostly in the Moscow region. Russia manages to shoot down nearly all of the more than two-dozen drones.
Dec. 26, 2023
Ukraine fires cruise missiles to destroy the Russian warship Novocherkassk while it was docked at a Black Sea port in Crimea. Ukraine military officials say they suspected the ship was carrying attack drones. Zelensky jokes “I am grateful to our Air Force for the impressive replenishment of the Russian underwater Black Sea fleet with another vessel.”
January 18, 2024
Ukrainian drones strike an oil depot in St. Petersburg, one of which flew over a Putin mansion while en route. Attacks also took place in other parts of Russia, including Klintsy, where four oil tanks caught fire.
Jan. 25, 2024
A Russian plane carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war and nine crew members is shot down, apparently by Ukraine. The plane crashed near the Russia-Ukraine border. Russia was transporting POWs as part of a prisoner swap with Ukraine. However, Ukraine said it was never made aware that the plane was carrying POWs. Ukraine has not admitted to shooting down the plane, but has said it was a legitimate target because of where its was flying and that it had been used to transport weapons. A New York Times story two weeks later reported American officials confirmed the the plane was shot down by a Ukrainian-fired Patriot missile.
Feb. 7, 2024
Russia launches an offensive on Kyiv and other cities throughout Ukraine during the morning rush hour. Five people were killed and 50 injured. The casualties included four people who died when missile debris struck an 18-story apartment building in Kyiv.
Feb. 23, 2024
On the second anniversary of the war, the U.S. and European Union announce additional sanctions against Russia and more than two dozen Russian citizens (list of who and why is in the EU document below). The Biden administration also imposed sanctions on three Russians it says were connected to the Feb. 16 death of activist Alexei Navalny. Here is a Fact Sheet on the sanctions.
March 12-13, 2024
Ukraine carries out drone strikes inside Russia over two days, with an emphasis on oil refineries. Russia says it shot down 65 drones. It also carries out drone strikes against Ukraine, with some hitting residential buildings One strike hit an apartment building in Zelensky’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih, killing five people.
March 22, 2024
Russian launches a massive attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, knocking out power to more than 1 million people. A hydroelectric dam along the Dnipro River was among the targets hit.
April 5, 2024
A Ukraine drone attack strikes an air base in western Russia’s Rostov region. At least 20 Russians are reported to be killed, and six jets destroyed.
May 10, 2024
Russia captures significant territory as it attacks from the north of Kharkiv. A shortage of weapons, troops and munitions is taking its toll on Ukraine. Zelensky requests that the U.S. provide two Patriot batteries to defend the region.
August 14, 2024
Ukraine’s army advances 22 miles through Russian defenses and captures the border town of Sudzha, forcing reportedly tens of thousands of Russians from their homes.
Nov. 5, 2024
Donald Trump is elected President, marking a looming shift in America’s policy toward the war. The Biden administration rushes to announce smaller aid packages before Trump takes office.
Feb. 19, 2025
President Trump posts on Truth Social that Zelensky is a “Dictator without Elections.”
February 28, 2025
President Trump calls off a minerals deal with Ukraine after he and Vice President JD Vance get into a heated exchange with Zelensky in the Oval Office on live television. Later that day he posted on social media that Zelensky “disrespected the United States of America in its Oval Office.”
March 11, 2025
Ukraine attacks Russia with more than 300 drones, including a reported 91 that were shot down in Moscow. The city’s mayor said it was the largest attack on Moscow since the war began. At least three people were killed, and 17 injured.
March 11, 2025
Ukraine agrees to a 30-day ceasefire just a few hours after launching massive drone strike inside Russia. In return, the U.S. resumes military aid and agrees to again share intelligence with Ukraine. The agreement still needs Russia’s approval. From a joint statement by the U.S. and Ukraine:
Ukraine expressed readiness to accept the U.S. proposal to enact an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire, which can be extended by mutual agreement of the parties, and which is subject to acceptance and concurrent implementation by the Russian Federation.
The statement (see Racket-created PDF below) also says that Trump and Zelensky “agreed to conclude as soon as possible a comprehensive agreement for developing Ukraine’s critical mineral resources to expand Ukraine’s economy and guarantee Ukraine’s long-term prosperity and security.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz led the ceasefire talks with Ukrainian officials in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. You can watch them discuss the meeting in the video above.
March 13, 2025
Putin says several conditions must be met before he agrees to a ceasefire. They include:
Ukraine gives up trying to join NATO.
Russia keeps the Ukrainian territory it now controls (Click here for time-lapse map of territory gained and lost as of Dec. 31, 2024)
Limits placed on the size of Ukraine’s army.
Easing of sanctions on Russia.
Putin said the ceasefire “idea itself is correct,” but that “we proceed from the fact that this cessation should be such that it would lead to long-term peace and would eliminate the original causes of this crisis.”
Zelensky said in a post on X that Putin’s response was “highly predictable and manipulative”
“We are not setting conditions that complicate the process—Russia is. As we have always said, the only one stalling, the only one being unconstructive, is Russia. They need this war. Putin has stolen years of peace and continues this war day after day,” Zelensky said.
He also rejected the idea of easing sanctions on Russia, saying, “Now is the time to increase pressure on him (Putin).”
Trump, meanwhile, called Putin’s remarks “a very promising statement, but it was incomplete. I would love to meet with him or talk to him, but we have to get it over with fast.”
March 16, 2025
Russia is driving out the remnants of Ukrainian troops who remain in the Kursk region in the western part of the country. Reuters reports that Ukraine now only controls 42 square miles. of the region. Ukraine had controlled 528 square miles after invading the region in August 2024.
Thanks so much to everyone for your fantastic support and suggestions. A lot of good ones. You will be seeing some updates.
I miss the “peace negotiations in Istanbul” under the mediation of Bennet in spring 2022, which were stopped by B. Johnson under pressure from the USA.