The Russia–Ukraine War (2022–)

The Russia–Ukraine war of 2022 began on 24 February 2022, when Russian forces launched a large-scale, multi-front invasion of Ukrainian territory, entering from the north (Belarus and the Russian border), the east and the south (Crimea). The invasion was a major escalation of a conflict that had existed since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and fighting broke out in the Donbas region. Moscow's initial objective — the rapid replacement of the government in Kyiv — was not achieved; Russian forces withdrew from the area around Kyiv in April 2022, after which the war turned into a prolonged front-line conflict.

In the following years, the war came to be dominated by artillery, unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) and missiles, with repeated strikes on energy infrastructure and cities. As of early 2026, Russia controls roughly 20% of Ukrainian territory, while changes along the front line remain small relative to the losses involved [aljazeera-map]. There have been various peace efforts, including short ceasefires in 2026, but no formal agreement ending the war has been reached to date [wiki-truce-apr26][abc-kyiv-2026].

Origins and the start of the invasion

Tensions had been building long before 2022. Russia wanted Ukraine kept out of NATO (the Western military alliance) and invoked security concerns. Ukraine and many other states, for their part, described the invasion as a violation of international law and of the country's sovereignty. On 2 March 2022 the UN General Assembly adopted resolution ES-11/1, strongly condemning the "aggression against Ukraine"; the vote was 141 in favour, 5 against and 35 abstentions [unga-es111].

The military situation and territory

After the rapid advances of 2022 and Ukraine's recapture of Kharkiv and Kherson, the front line began to shift only slowly. In 2025 Russian forces concentrated on Donetsk region; the city of Pokrovsk most likely fell to Russia in late 2025, with Ukraine holding only about 22% of Donetsk region as of 3 December 2025 [russiamatters-dec25]. In February 2026 Ukrainian forces retook ground in Zaporizhzhia — reportedly the first month since 2023 in which Ukraine regained more territory than it lost [cfr-tracker].

Civilian casualties and displacement

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) confirmed that 2025 was the most dangerous year for civilians since 2022: at least 2,514 people killed and 12,142 injured, 31% more than in 2024 [ohchr-dec25]. These are confirmed figures only; the mission notes that the real total may be higher. As of July 2025, more than 49,400 civilian casualties had been verified, including close to 13,900 deaths [unhcr-ukr].

The displacement is among the largest in Europe since the Second World War. At the end of 2025 some 3.7 million people were internally displaced within Ukraine, while 5.9 million were refugees abroad, more than 5 million of them in Europe; about 12.7 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance [unhcr-gr2025].

Legal proceedings and the courts

On 17 March 2023 the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the children's rights commissioner in the Russian presidential office, on charges of war crimes relating to the unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children from occupied areas [unnews-icc][congress-hres304]. Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute and has rejected the warrants, making their enforcement difficult.

The economy, sanctions and frozen assets

Western countries have imposed successive packages of sanctions, and more than €200 billion in Russian central bank assets have been immobilised, most of it held at Euroclear, a financial institution based in Brussels. In December 2025 EU leaders agreed on a loan of close to €90 billion (2026–2027) to support Ukraine, but funded through borrowing by the EU on the markets rather than by using the frozen assets, after Belgium warned of legal risks [npr-euloan][mpg-frozen]. Debate over a "reparations loan" continued into 2026.

Peace efforts

Since late 2025, US-led mediation has produced talks on a peace plan that includes international security guarantees, among them a proposal for Britain and France to establish "military bases" in Ukraine — a proposal Moscow rejected [npr-paris]. There have been short ceasefires, such as a 32-hour truce for Orthodox Easter on 11 April 2026 and another on 9–11 May 2026 [wiki-truce-apr26][wiki-truce-may26]. In September 2026 a US delegation opened talks in Kyiv, with both sides agreeing to halt strikes on each other's capitals while the talks continued [abc-kyiv-2026].