Russian troops enter Ukraine

On Feb. 22, Russian president Vladimir Putin recognized two regions in eastern Ukraine, Luhansk and Donetsk, as independent ethnically Russian states. The next day, the Russian military invaded Ukraine on multiple fronts, shelling and bombing major cities, including the capital, Kyiv. At press time, only one major city, Kherson, was confirmed by Ukrainian authorities to have fallen to Russian troops.

Sources for casualty numbers varied wildly, and neither civilian nor military casualty numbers could be confirmed for either nation. More than 1.7 million Ukrainian refugees had left the country since the invasion began.

NATO countries, including the US, imposed economic sanctions on Putin and many Russian banks and businesses in response to the military invasion.