100 days of Ukraine war: A look back at fighting that killed thousands and destroyed the nation

Russia invaded Ukraine in the early hours of 24 February, setting off the worst conflict in Europe in decades. As Russia extends its grip over the east, we look back on 100 days of fighting that has killed tens of thousands of civilians and reduced entire cities to rubble. 24 February: Russia invades Russian president Vladimir Putin announces a “special military operation” to “demilitarise” and “de-Nazify” the former Soviet state and protect Russian speakers there. A full-scale invasion starts with air and missile strikes on several cities. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy pledges to stay in Kyiv to lead the resistance. 26 February: Massive sanctions The West adopts unprecedented sanctions against Russia and offers Ukraine military aid. Air spaces are closed to Russian aircraft and Russia is kicked out of sporting and cultural events. 27 February: Nuclear threat Putin puts Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert, in what is seen as a warning to the West not to intervene in Ukraine. 28 February: First talks During the first peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow, Russia demands recognition of its sovereignty over Crimea, the “demilitarisation” and “de-Nazification” of Ukraine and a guarantee Ukraine will never join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Ukraine demands a complete Russian withdrawal. [caption id=“attachment_10752681” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  A priest comforts the relative of a deceased civilian man who was exhumed after initially being buried in his yard, in Gostomel village, Kyiv region. AFP[/caption] 3 March: Kherson, the first city to fall Russian troops attack Ukraine’s south coast to try to link up territory held by pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine with the Russian-annexed Crimea peninsula. On 3 March, Kherson in the south becomes the first city to fall. Russian forces relentlessly shell the port of Mariupol. 4 March: Media crackdown Russia passes a law punishing what it calls “fake news” about its offensive – such as referring to its “special military operation” as an invasion – with up to 15 years in prison. 16 March: Mariupol theatre razed Russian air strikes raze a Mariupol theatre killing an estimated 300 people sheltering inside. Moscow blames the attack on Ukraine’s nationalist Azov battalion. 16 March: Zelensky lobbies Congress Zelensky tells the United States Congress to “remember Pearl Harbour” and lobbies Western parliaments for more help. [caption id=“attachment_10752711” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  A Russian soldier patrols the Mariupol drama theatre, bombed last 16 March. AFP[/caption] 2 and 3 April: Horror in Bucha After a month of fighting, Russia withdraws from northern Ukraine, announcing it will focus its efforts on conquering the eastern Donbas region. On 2 and 3 April, Ukrainians find dozens of corpses of civilians scattered on the street or buried in shallow graves in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, which Russian forces had occupied. Moscow dismisses accusations of Russian war crimes, saying the images of the bodies are fakes. 8 April: Train station carnage A rocket attack on a train station in the eastern city of Kramatorsk kills at least 57 civilians being evacuated from Donbas. 12 April: Biden speaks of ‘genocide’ Biden accuses Russia of “genocide”, saying Putin appears intent on “trying to wipe out the idea of even being able to be a Ukrainian”. 14 April: Russian flagship sinks Ukrainian missiles hit and sink Russia’s missile cruiser Moskva in the Black Sea, a major setback for Moscow. 11 May: $40 billion in US aid US lawmakers back a huge $40-billion package of military, economic and humanitarian aid for Ukraine. 16 May: Kharkiv retreat Ukraine says its troops have driven Russian forces back from the outskirts of the country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, to the Russian border. 18 May: Sweden, Finland apply to NATO Finland and Sweden apply to join NATO, reversing decades of military non-alignment because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. [caption id=“attachment_10752761” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  More than 1.2 million people have fled Ukraine into neighbouring countries since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on 24 February. AFP[/caption] 23 May: First war crimes conviction A Ukrainian court finds a 21-year-old Russian soldier guilty of war crimes and hands down a life sentence for shooting dead a 62-year-old civilian in northeastern Ukraine in the opening days of the war. He has appealed. 21 May: Battle for Mariupol ends Russia declares it is in full control of Mariupol after Ukraine ordered troops holding out for weeks in the Azovstal steelworks to lay down their arms to save their lives. Nearly 2,500 soldiers surrender and are taken prisoner by Russia. [caption id=“attachment_10752781” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Helena, a 53-year-old teacher, leaves a hospital after the bombing of the eastern Ukraine town of Chuguiv on 24 February, the first day of the invasion. AFP[/caption] 30 May: European Union bans most Russian oil EU leaders overcome resistance from Hungary to agree a partial ban on most Russian oil imports, as part of a sixth wave of sanctions. The deal bans oil imports delivered by tanker but allows landlocked countries such as Hungary to continue receiving Russian oil by pipeline. 31 May: Russia seizes part of the eastern city of Severodonetsk Russian troops seize part of the key eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk, its governor says. Taking the city would give Russia de-facto control over Lugansk, one of two regions that make up the Donbas, Ukraine’s industrial heartland.