- April 21: Residents are currently trying to evacuate Mariupol, however the process has not gone as planned, Ukrainian officials say. Not enough buses were have to reach civilians in the besieged city, and many residents remain as Russian forces close in.
- April 12: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy voiced concerns that Russia forces could use chemical weapons in Ukraine. “Today, the occupiers issued a new statement, which testifies to their preparation for a new stage of terror against Ukraine and our defenders. One of the mouthpieces of the occupiers stated that they could use chemical weapons against the defenders of Mariupol. We take this as seriously as possible.”
- April 11: New Zealand has deployed a NZDF C-130H Hercules transport aircraft to Europe, with 50 support personnel on board. A further $7.5m has been donated go to weapons and ammunition procurement by the UK. Moscow confirmed it will not pause its military operation in Ukraine before the next round of peace talks, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said.
- April 10: More than 4.5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the war began, according to updated figures from the United Nations. The figures show that the majority of refugees from Ukraine — more than 2.5 million — have fled into neighbouring Poland, while others have gone to Romania, Hungary and Moldova.
- April 8: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and government officials travelled to Kyiv to meet with President Zelenskiy and discuss further financial and military aid. On the same day, the US-sponsored resolution at the UN General Assembly to remove Russia from the from the UN Human Rights Council receives 93 votes in favour, 24 against and 58 abstentions.
Ukraine peace negotiations: how far are the two sides from a settlement that could stick?
- March 30: Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey potentially show the first signs of progress since the Russian invasion began on 24 February. The negotiators said they had proposed to Russia that Ukraine adopt a neutral status in exchange for security guarantees – an international mechanism where guarantor countries would act to protect Ukraine in future. In return Kyiv would not join Nato, a key Russian demand. Russia says it will “drastically reduce” military combat operations in two key areas, Kyiv and Chernihiv. Many are sceptical about what Russia’s stance actually means, saying they will judge Russia by its actions not its words.
- March 24: NATO’s Secretary-General has confirmed that they will approve the deployment of four new NATO battle groups to eastern Europe — to Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania.The announcement comes ahead of an emergency summit to be held on Thursday, which US President Joe Biden is set to attend.
- March 23: Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia would only use nuclear weapons if its very existence were threatened, reported Reuters. Putin last month ordered Russia’s nuclear forces to be put on high alert. In February, the Russian President said in a televised statement, “No matter who tries to stand in our way or all the more so create threats for our country and our people, they must know that Russia will respond immediately, and the consequences will be such as you have never seen in your entire history.” Russia possesses the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, with nearly 6,000 warheads, which corresponds to almost half of all existing nuclear weapons globally.
- March 2: Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported “massive shelling and bombing” of the central part of Kharkiv, the country’s second largest city. It’s unclear how many Ukrainian civilians have been killed during the war. The UN on Tuesday reported at least 136 civilian deaths since Russia’s invasion started, but said the toll is likely “much higher.” Ukraine’s State Emergency Service issued a statement claiming more than 2,000 civilians had been killed, before removing it.
- While the NATO allies have aided Ukraine by sharing military equipment and intelligence, as well as imposing severe economic sanctions on Russia, the alliance has no plans to send soldiers into Ukrainian territory.
- The UN said on Wednesday it had recorded the arrival of 835,928 refugees from Ukraine since the invasion began on February 24. Of those, more than 450,000 have entered Poland.”We are looking at what could become Europe’s largest refugee crisis this century,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said.
- Joe Biden will condemn Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in his State of the Union speech today, according to excerpts provided by the White House.“Putin’s war was premeditated and unprovoked. He rejected efforts at diplomacy. He thought the West and NATO wouldn’t respond. And, he thought he could divide us here at home,” Biden is expected to say.
- March 1: Russian state media has sent warning to residents of Kyiv to leave because they are planning to target buildings used by the Ukrainian security agencies. Within hours of sending the message there were air strikes on Kyiv’s main television tower in which at least five people were killed.
- March 1: Russian President Putin has signed a decree that prohibits taking more than $10,000 worth of foreign currency in cash and “monetary instruments” out of Russia.
- February 24: Ukrainian men aged 18-60 are forbidden to leave the country in case they are needed for its defence.
- Ukrainian and Russian officials were due to hold talks at a venue on the Belarusian border with Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office said on Sunday
- February 27: President Vladimir Putin put Russia’s nuclear deterrent on high alert on Sunday in the face of a barrage of Western reprisals for his war on Ukraine, which said it had repelled Russian ground forces attacking its biggest cities.
- People fleeing Ukraine poured into central Europe, with queues at border crossings stretching for kilometres after the invasion pushed nearly 400,000 people to seek safety abroad.
- February 28: Russian artillery bombarded residential districts of Ukraine’s second largest city Kharkiv on Monday, killing at least 11 people, the city’s mayor said, as Moscow’s invading forces met stiff resistance on a fifth day of conflict.
- February 28: Talks on a ceasefire ended without a breakthrough. A member of the Ukrainian delegation said the discussions were difficult and the Russian side was biased.
- February 28: Russian President Vladimir Putin told France’s Emmanuel Macron that a Ukraine settlement was only possible if Kyiv was neutral, “denazified” and “demilitarised” and Russian control over annexed Crimea was formally recognised, the Kremlin said.
Pink Floyd release first new song in 28 years to support Ukraine
Local resident Tamara, 71, cries in front of an apartment building destroyed during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 19, 2022.
The Ukrainian government has shared a shocking video urging global leaders to close the skies over Ukraine (warning: graphic content).
Every day Russia bombs Ukrainian cities, destroys them, hits residential areas, killing civilians.
Help us to stop it! Close the sky over Ukraine!#closeUAskyNow pic.twitter.com/pV675N0V0U
— MFA of Ukraine 🇺🇦 (@MFA_Ukraine) March 16, 2022
In Kyiv, an elderly man is seen rummaging through his belongings in a building destroyed by a Russian missile.
#Kyiv A man collects his ownings in a house destroyed by a Russian missile.
Russia continues attacking civilians in various Ukrainian cities.#StopRussia #StandWithUkraine #StopRussianAggression#RuSSiaKills#StopPutin pic.twitter.com/OtYvi4AXJB— UCMC (@uacrisis) March 21, 2022
A woman cries next to her children after fleeing from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, at the border crossing in Siret, Romania, February 28, 2022. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov
In Kharkiv, shells of Russian missiles lie on the street.
Kharkiv, Europe, now.#StopRussia #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/IWuMbig9c9
— Stratcom Centre UA (@StratcomCentre) March 22, 2022
A Ukrainian soldier plays the state anthem on a violin.
State Anthem of Ukraine played the violin by a Ukrainian defender. #UkraineWillWin pic.twitter.com/7Gxcd9SLHE
— UkraineWorld (@ukraine_world) March 18, 2022
Medics walk outside the regional administration building, which city officials said was hit by a missile attack, in central Kharkiv, Ukraine, March 1, 2022. REUTERS/Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy
75-year-old Larysa Oleksandrivna stands in front of the ruined facade of her building in the #Kharkiv residential area. Oleksandrivna now lives next door, but there is no heating.
Photo: Andrii Bashtovyi (@nomoreanry) for The Guardian. #StopRussia pic.twitter.com/rnQShrG0GZ
— Stratcom Centre UA (@StratcomCentre) March 18, 2022
Servicemen of the Ukrainian National Guard take positions in central Kyiv, after Russia launched a massive military operation against Ukraine, February 25, 2022. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
A child sits on a swing in front of a damaged residential building, after Russia launched a massive military operation against Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 25, 2022. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
A typical night for millions of Ukrainian kids after #Russia's Army came to #Ukraine to “liberate” them.#stoprussia #StandWithUkraine #ClosetheSkyoverUkraine pic.twitter.com/uaDSJzxJ40
— Stratcom Centre UA (@StratcomCentre) March 19, 2022
A wounded woman is seen as airstrike damages an apartment complex outside of Kharkiv, Ukraine on February 24, 2022. (Photo by Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
A woman walks around the wreckage of an unidentified aircraft that crashed into a house in a residential area, after Russia launched a massive military operation against Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 25, 2022. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
“I just want to live in our country, and that’s all.” Julia, a teacher and Ukrainian volunteer, wept as she waited to be deployed to fight Russian troops around Kyiv on Saturday. “It’s awful,” she said. https://t.co/SbwaUeefty pic.twitter.com/cBwz7Tsvlh
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 28, 2022
