Russian invasion of Ukraine – 1 year later

On the morning of February 24, Russia attacks Ukraine with full force from several directions.

Russia’s main target was Kiev, and reports of Russian forces in the capital emerged just hours after Putin’s speech.

Kyiv municipality is about 840 square kilometers.

The city is approximately four times larger than Stockholm municipality.

Before the war, three million people lived here.

By March, about a month into the war, nearly two out of three Kievans would have fled the city.

Most of those who fled were women, children and the elderly.

When Russia invaded on February 24, the goal was to depose the current government in Ukraine. To achieve that, the capital needed to be taken.

In the first day, over 100 cruise robots were fired at various targets in Ukraine. Several air raids were also carried out. Russia wanted to knock out Ukraine’s air defense.

They also wanted to secure the Antonov airport northwest of Kiev.

With the air defenses out and control of the airport, reinforcements could be flown in, as well as carry out more bombing raids on Kiev and force the city into a quick surrender.

To secure the airport, helicopters were used to transport in elite troops.

Kiev lies on both sides of the Dnieper River. To secure the capital, Russia therefore needed reinforcements from several quarters.

Russia advanced from the north, northeast and east along the Ukrainian road network. At the same time, Ukraine still had control over the roads south and southwest of the capital.

The Russian advance was fastest northwest of Kiev. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant was captured here already on February 25.

In the northeast, the Russians first advanced towards the city of Chernihiv. However, after encountering stiff Ukrainian resistance, they instead bypassed the city and continued on the roads south.

In the east, the Sumy region was invaded. But the plan to take the city of Sumy was abandoned after a couple of failed attempts. Instead, they went around it and quickly advanced towards Kiev.

Russia rushed forward with reinforcements towards Kiev. Most likely, the goal was to strike an iron ring around the capital and stop the delivery of Ukrainian supplies.

The rapid advance meant that many of the Russian armored columns lacked infantry or helicopter support.

Also, due to the mild weather, Russian vehicles could not take alternative routes. If you drove on bare ground, you got stuck in the mud.

Russian armored columns were thus without support and locked to the Ukrainian road network.

It was perfect conditions for Ukrainian ambushes.

Despite fierce Ukrainian resistance, Russia still managed to secure a presence around the capital.

But now Russian forces waited. They were probably waiting for reinforcements that could support an attack on Kiev.

But all roads into the city meant trouble.

Although Russian attacks from the east got past Ukrainian ambushes, great difficulties awaited well ahead in Kiev.

The eastern part of the capital would first have to be captured, an obstacle in itself.

But the real obstacle was the Dnieper River.

To access the western half of Kiev, Russia would also have to cross one of the city’s bridges. A passage that would put them squarely in Ukraine’s firing line.

Also, if Russia managed to take over a bridge, Ukraine would always have the option of blowing it up. Without bridges, one would have to cross the river in another way.

Northwest of the city, Russia had pushed back the Ukrainians and pretty much controlled the entire region.

But even here the road to Kiev was a major logistical problem. There was no railroad to rely on. Russia was therefore forced to drive trucks and armored vehicles along the region’s narrow roads to bring supplies and reinforcements to the front. A trip that was constantly hit by Ukrainian ambushes.

The situation was further complicated by the Ukrainian military using the terrain against the Russians.

On February 25, a dam was opened next to the small village of Demydiv, north of Kiev. Satellite images show that a large area was flooded.

The land was previously alluvial land that was dammed up during the Soviet era. The blasting of the dam therefore made an important route for the Russians into impassable wetlands.

The flooding further restricted Russia’s routes to Kiev.

A large column of Russian vehicles rolling in across the border from Belarus had to squeeze onto whatever road was available.

The several-mile queue of Russian reinforcements was initially described as a threat.

At its longest, the column was estimated to stretch over six miles.

Ukraine attacked vehicles at the front and at the rear. The stationary column then became an easy change.

Instead of a threat, it became a symbol of Russia’s failed plans to take Kiev.

Russia got no further than the suburbs of Kiev.

From the beginning of the war and weeks ahead, intense fighting took place in the towns of Butja and Irpin.

On March 12, Russia was declared to have full control in Butja. Intense fighting and artillery shelling also affected the neighboring town of Irpin. But here Russia never gained full control.

Many tried to get away from the fighting.

The fighting was a humanitarian disaster. Thousands fled south across the Irpin River.

In a Russian grenade attack on the escape route on March 6, a woman and her two children were killed, in front of a team of international reporters.

The river crossing was dangerous for civilians, but it was also a natural barrier against Russia.

Ukrainian military had destroyed the bridges over the river Irpin to stop the enemy. Russia never succeeded in advancing across the river.

Meanwhile, Russian forces were plagued by resistance in occupied territories. Here you can see the remains of an ambush in Butja.

At the turn of March–April, Russian forces began to retreat.

At the beginning of April, pictures and testimonies from the previously occupied areas appeared.

Russian forces had left sacked cities in devastation.

But also committed war crimes. In Butja, around twenty civilians were found murdered in the open street.

Over 400 dead were found in Butja alone. Several bodies showed signs of torture.

“A gesture of goodwill” – that’s how the Kremlin described its retreat. But that’s not how the outside world remembers it.