Russian forces attempt to take major Ukrainian cities amid Western backlash

By Sophie Boulter, World News Editor

Thursday, Feb. 24

• Russian President Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine, pledging to promote the “demilitarization and de-Nazification of Ukraine” through a land, sea and air invasion.
• Troops rushed into Ukraine along its borders with Russia and Belarus and on the coast of the Black Sea and Azov Sea. 
• Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of ignoring Ukraine’s overtures for peace. 

Friday, Feb. 25

• Zelensky began to draft individuals between the ages of 18 and 60 from the Ukrainian military reserves. 
• Russian troops took the Chernobyl nuclear plant staff hostage. 
• The United States followed the European Union (EU) and the U.K. in leveling sanctions against Putin personally.

Saturday, Feb. 26

• Ukrainian forces held back Russian troops in what U.S. defense officials have described as a “very determined resistance.”
• Pres. Joe Biden authorized $350 billion in aid for Ukraine. This will provide “anti-armor, small arms and various munitions, body armor and related equipment in support of Ukraine’s front-line defenders facing down Russia’s unprovoked attack,” Pentagon officials said. 

Sunday, Feb. 27

• Putin ordered Russian military leaders to place his nuclear forces on high alert and agreed to peace talks “without preconditions” with Ukraine. 
• The EU, U.S. and Japan banned certain Russian banks from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) platform. SWIFT is the world’s principal international payments system.

Monday, Feb. 28

• Russian and Ukrainian officials planned to meet for peace talks hosted by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. 
• Dozens were killed in Russian rocket strikes in Kharkiv.
• Switzerland, a traditionally neutral country, has joined U.S. allies in freezing Russian assets.

Tuesday, March 1

• A missile strike in front of Kharkiv’s city administrative building left seven people dead and 24 injured. 
• In Kyiv, a projectile struck the city’s most important radio and television tower. 
• A 40-mile long convoy of Russian forces approached Kyiv.

Wednesday, March 2

• Russian forces took Kherson and surrounded Mariupol.
• The United Nations General Assembly voted to condemn the Russian invasion, with 141 of its 193 member states supporting the resolution. China and India abstained from the resolution.
• More than 870,000 refugees have fled Ukraine, with estimates predicting that this number will soon reach one million.