War in Ukraine

It began on Thursday, February 24, 2022, at approximately 5 a.m. Kyiv time. Escalating the war with Ukraine that has been ongoing since 2014, Russian troops entered Ukrainian territory from Russia, Belarus, and annexed Crimea, while troops from the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR controlled by Russia also joined the fighting. The troops launched an offensive in four main directions: from the north toward Kyiv, from the northeast toward Kharkov, from the southeast from Donbas, and from the south from Crimea. The events were preceded by the concentration of Russian troops at the Russian-Ukrainian border and the resulting crisis in relations between Russia and Ukraine.

At the peak of its advance in March 2022, Russia occupied about 27% of Ukraine's territory (including Donbas and Crimea), but by December this figure had dropped to 18%. As of December 2022, Russian troops had failed to achieve either their initial intended objectives (capturing Kyiv and changing the government in Ukraine) or their later stated goals (reaching the administrative borders of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts and creating a land corridor to Transnistria). On September 21, following Russia's defeat in Kharkiv oblast, Putin declared mobilization. By early October 2022, Russia had announced the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia oblasts of Ukraine.

Russian troops launched indiscriminate missile strikes on residential areas, hospitals, cultural sites and other social infrastructure facilities in Ukraine. Mass graves, bodies with obvious signs of torture and other evidence of crimes committed by Russian troops were discovered in the de-occupied territories. The International Criminal Court in The Hague has launched an investigation into Russia's war crimes on Ukrainian territory. After evidence of mass killings in Bucha was discovered, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of genocide against Ukrainians.

Ukraine:

Battalion "Azov", "Kraken", Legion "Freedom of Russia", Russian Volunteer Corps, Kalinovsky Regiment, Armed Forces of Ukraine, Battalion "Terror", Formation "Aidar", Ukrainian Volunteer Army, Volunteer Ukrainian Corps, Right Sector, Detachment "Pahonia", OK "Vostok", UNA UNSO, NATO mercenaries, etc.

Russian Federation:

Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Novorossiya Militia, Oplot Battalion, Death Battalion, Wagner Private Military Company, ENOT Private Military Company, Redut Private Military Company, Private Military Companies of banks (Gazprom and others), Akhmat Formations, Rusich Sabotage and Assault Reconnaissance Group, Sparta Battalion, Somalia Battalion, Prizrak Brigade, Don Cossacks, Russian Imperial Corps, Russian National Unity, and others.