A balance of global diplomacy in 2022 during the war in Ukraine 5:12
(CNN Spanish) --
In February 2022, after months of warnings from Western intelligence, Russia invaded Ukraine through what it called a "special military operation," which by all accounts was a war whose goal was to annex Ukrainian territories.
Since then, several Western countries have mobilized economic aid and military support for Ukraine, with the latent danger of a larger war that could involve more countries, while missile attacks and bombings continue in Ukraine.
Ukrainian forces have held out and even recaptured some territory, but the war remains unequal, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in December first used the word "war" to refer to the conflict in Ukraine, the first time he has publicly backed away from his carefully crafted description of the invasion as a "special military operation" in 10 months. after it started.
This is the most important thing that has happened in the war between Russia and Ukraine.
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Russia's war in Ukraine continues with the Ukrainian resistance responding on several fronts in the country.
There are dead, wounded and thousands of hundreds of Ukrainian refugees.
And the devastation of the Ukrainian infrastructure has left chaos and destruction.
Smoke and flames are seen in this photo near Kyiv on February 26.
Explosions rocked various parts of the capital as the Ukrainians fought to stem the advance of Russian troops.
(Credit: Gleb Garanich/Reuters)
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The building of the Department of Economics of the Karazin Kharkiv National University and the complex of buildings housing the Kharkiv regional SBU security service and regional police were reportedly hit during the recent Russian shelling on March 2, 2022. ( Credit: SERGEY BOBOK/AFP via Getty Images)
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An apartment building in Kyiv was hit by shelling on February 26.
(Credit: GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images)
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A man clears rubble from a damaged residential building on Koshytsa Street, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where a military shell fell, on February 25, 2022, after Russian troops invaded Ukraine.
That day explosions could be heard in the besieged capital.
The pre-dawn explosions in Kyiv sparked a second day of violence after Russian President Vladimir Putin defied Western warnings to unleash a large-scale ground invasion and air strike.
(Credit: DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images)
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A Ukrainian serviceman looks in the window of a destroyed residential building where a Russian military shell fell, destroying the building.
The air attack displaced in the first days alienated some 100,000 people.
(Credit: DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images)
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A local serviceman helps an elderly woman cross a bridge that was destroyed by artillery on the outskirts of Kyiv on March 2.
(Credit: Emilio Morenatti/AP)
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Pictured in this photo is an explosion at a TV tower in Kyiv on March 1.
Russian forces fired rockets near the tower, hitting a Holocaust memorial site in Kyiv hours after warning of "high-precision" attacks on other facilities linked to Ukrainian security agencies.
(Credit: Carlos Barria/Reuters)
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Fire burns at a sports complex across the street from the Kyiv TV Tower on March 2, 2022 in the Ukrainian capital.
The country's President Volodymyr Zelensky said at least five people were killed when a shell hit the area yesterday, which is next to the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center.
(Credit: Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
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A mannequin hangs from the broken window of a shop after shelling by Russian forces on Constitution Square in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, on March 2, 2022. (Credit: SERGEY BOBOK/AFP via Getty Images)
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A firefighter walks through the rubble at the entrance of a building after the shelling by Russian forces of Constitution Square in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Russia seized control of the southern port city of Kherson, while street battles raged in Kharkiv.
Meanwhile, Kyiv prepares for a feared Russian assault.
(Credit: SERGEY BOBOK/AFP via Getty Images)
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In the Constitution Square of Kharkiv, Ukraine, a destroyed car and a sea of debris are seen after the Russian bombing.
(Credit: SERGEY BOBOK/AFP via Getty Images)
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This image shows damage to Kharkiv's Constitution Square on the seventh day of fighting between Russia and Ukraine on March 2.
(Credit: SERGEY BOBOK/AFP via Getty Images)
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Doors and windows of this building in Kharkiv were destroyed after the Russian bombardment on March 2, 2022. (Credit: SERGEY BOBOK/AFP via Getty Images)
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A gym was bombed next to the TV Tower in Kyiv on March 2, 2022 as Russian forces continued their advance to take the Ukrainian capital.
(Credit: Anastasia Vlasova/Getty Images)
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Police officers remove the body of a bystander who was killed in the airstrike that hit Kyiv's main TV tower on March 2, 2022. Behind is the devastation of nearby buildings in the aftermath of the strike.
(Credit: ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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A Ukrainian serviceman helps a child cross the destroyed bridge on March 1, 2022 in Irpin, Ukraine, as Russian forces continued to advance on the Ukrainian capital.
(Credit: Anastasia Vlasova/Getty Images)
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A view of the military facility that was destroyed by recent shelling in the city of Brovary, on the outskirts of Kyiv, on March 1, 2022. (Credit: GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images)
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A gunman walks past a burnt-out military vehicle at a checkpoint in the city of Brovary, on the outskirts of Kyiv, on March 1, 2022, following an attack by Russian troops on Ukrainian soil.
(Credit: GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images)
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An administrative building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, after Russian bombing on March 1.
Russian forces intensified their shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city.
(Credit: Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
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A bridge was destroyed near the city of Bucha, Ukraine, on February 28.
(Credit: Maxim Levin/Reuters)
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Russian infantry mobility vehicles were destroyed after fighting in Kharkiv on February 28.
A residential neighborhood in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, was hit by a rocket attack, according to Ukrainian officials and multiple social media videos geotagged by CNN.
One civilian was killed and 31 people injured at the time, the city council said.
(Credit: Erguéi Bobok/AFP/Getty Images)
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A Russian armored vehicle catches fire after fighting in Kharkiv on February 27.
Street clashes broke out as Russian troops entered Ukraine's second-largest city, and residents were urged to stay in shelters and not travel.
(Credit: Marienko Andrew/AP)
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A damaged residential building in Kyiv on February 26.
(Credit: Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images)
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A firefighter walks through the wreckage of a downed plane in Kyiv on February 25.
(Credit: Oleksandr Ratushniak/AP)
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In this Ukrainian government photo, firefighters respond to the scene of a burning residential building in Kyiv on February 25.
Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the head of Ukraine's Interior Ministry, said the city had been hit by "cruise or ballistic missiles."
(Credit: Ukrainian State Emergency Service/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
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Photos among the rubble of a house in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 23.
(Credit: Serhii Nuzhnenko/Reuters)
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Svetlana Ilyuhina looks at the remains of her home in Kyiv after a Russian rocket attack on March 23.
"First there was smoke. Then everything went black," she said.
(Credit: Ivor Prickett/The New York Times/Redux)
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A group of people hide in an underground shelter in Lviv, Ukraine, on March 22.
(Credit: Mykola Tys/Sopa/LightRocket/Getty Images)
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Medical staff attend to children in a room protected by sandbags at a children's hospital in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on March 22.
(Credit: Emre Caylak/AFP/Getty Images)
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Civilian volunteers attend a training camp for the Territorial Defense Forces in Brovary, Ukraine, on March 21.
(Credit: Felipe Dana/AP)
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A woman cleans a room on March 21 in a building destroyed by shelling in Kyiv.
(Credit: Vadim Ghirda/AP)
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This is how the Retroville shopping center in Kyiv looked after the Russian bombing on March 21.
(Credit: Emin Sansar/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
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People share dinner and sing "Happy Birthday" during a celebration in Kyiv on March 20.
This studio space has been converted into a bomb shelter for approximately 25 artists volunteering to help in the war.
(Credit: Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
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A group of people gather in a basement during an airstrike in Lviv on March 19.
(Credit: Bernat Armangue/AP)
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A Ukrainian serviceman walks through the rubble after a shelling in a residential area of Kyiv on March 19.
(Credit: Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images)
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US President Joe Biden holds a virtual meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in this photo released by the White House on March 18.
Biden tried to use the 110-minute call to dissuade Xi from helping Russia in its war against Ukraine.
(Credit: White House Photo)
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Medical staff members treat a child at a children's hospital in Zaporizhzhia on March 18.
(Credit: Dmytro Smolyenko/ Ukrinform/ NurPhoto/ Reuters)
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Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a rally at a stadium in Moscow on March 18.
Speaking from a stage in front of a banner reading "for a world without Nazism," Putin said Russia "will definitely implement all our plans" in Ukraine.
He insisted that national unity was the strongest in a long time, even as many people are fleeing Russia or protesting the war on the streets.
Authorities told state workers to attend the celebration, which marked the eighth year of Russia's annexation of Crimea.
(Credit: ALEXANDER VILF/POOL/AFP/Getty Images).
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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky receives a standing ovation as he virtually addresses the US Congress on Wednesday, March 16.
The historic speech came as the United States is under pressure to provide more military assistance to the embattled country.
(Credit: Drew Angerer/Pool/AFP/Getty Images)
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Police officers help an elderly woman after she was rescued from a shelled apartment in Kyiv on March 15.
(Credit: Felipe Dana/AP)
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Firefighters work to extinguish flames at an apartment building in Kyiv on March 15.
(Credit: Felipe Dana/AP)
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Military cadets attend a funeral ceremony at a church in Lviv on March 15.
The funeral was for four of the Ukrainian servicemen who were killed during an airstrike on the Yavoriv military base near the border with Poland.
Local authorities say 35 people were killed in that attack.
(Credit: Bernat Armangue/AP)
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Ukrainian soldiers take cover from incoming artillery fire in Irpin, Ukraine, on March 13.
(Credit: Felipe Dana/AP)
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A Ukrainian soldier inspects a destroyed government building in Kharkiv on March 13.
(Credit: Alex Lourie/Redux)
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov holds a news conference after meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Antalya, Turkey, on March 10.
Two weeks after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Lavrov falsely claimed that his country "did not attack" his neighbor.
(Credit: Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images)
The genesis of the conflict: a war with nostalgia for the Soviet Union
To understand how we got here, it is necessary to go back years in history, to the era of the Soviet Union, or better, to its dissolution, when Ukraine, being a cornerstone of the USSR, voted en masse for its independence in 1991, something that turned out to be the death knell of the superpower.
So after Ukraine's declaration of independence, NATO—the US-led military alliance that had clashed with the Warsaw Pact during the Cold War—precisely to ensure that independence, pushed east, incorporating most of Ukraine. the Eastern European nations that had been in the communist orbit.
And while the addition of the former Soviet Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—Russia's neighbors—didn't come until 2004, years later NATO announced its intentions to offer Ukraine entry at some point.
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That is when NATO begins to cross Putin's red line, who has declared that the international organization is an existential threat and the Russian leader says that the union of Ukraine, its neighbor, is a "hostile" act.
In 2013 a trade agreement between Ukraine and the European Union strained relations with Russia.
And in 2014, the Ukrainian parliament ended up removing the president, which has been described as a Revolution in Ukraine and a "coup" by Viktor Yanukovych.
That escalation marked a key milestone in the conflict: Russia annexed Crimea saying it was defending its interests and those of Russian-speaking citizens in Crimea, a region with strong loyalties to Russia.
Months later, pro-Russian rebels rose up in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, sparking a civil war in the region that continues to this day, pitting the Ukrainian government against the Russian-backed self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics. —which is considered its protector—, and in February it recognized its independence, eight years later.
This has been, month by month, the war in Ukraine: data and chronology on the Russian invasion
These are some key facts of the war
The invasion
On February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a speech in which he said that he had decided to "carry out a special military operation... to protect people who have been subjected to abuse and genocide by the regime of Kyiv for eight years," repeating an unsubstantiated claim about Russia's separatist policy of Ukraine, backed by the Donbas region.
That day, Russia began shelling all major Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv and Kharkiv, and the Chernobyl nuclear plant was seized by the Russians.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ordered a general military mobilization "in order to ensure the defense of the state, maintain combat readiness and mobilization of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and other military formations."
Since then, Russian troops have advanced from the north, east, and south on major cities, and Ukrainian resistance has hardened.
Meanwhile, the European Union and the United States, among others, have imposed sanctions against Russia targeting the country's financial, energy and transportation sectors, and visa policy.
The attack on the Mariupol hospital
CNN investigation into Mariupol bombing denies Russian allegation 3:40
In March, the image of a pregnant, wounded woman being carried on a stretcher past the smoking remains of the Mariupol Maternity and Children's Hospital marked one of Russia's most high-profile early war atrocities, as she was carried with her face pale, a hand holding her belly in a gesture of protection, while all the windows in the building had been blown out.
The image was taken after what Mariupol authorities say was a Russian airstrike on the hospital in early March, which injured at least 17 people, including children, women and doctors.
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Russian forces shelled a mother and child hospital on March 9 in Mariupol, Ukraine.
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At least 17 people were injured, including mothers and staff, as a result of the Russian attack on the Mariupol maternity hospital, according to preliminary reports from the Donetsk police.
The image shows a vehicle on fire in the hospital area.
(Twitter)
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An injured pregnant woman leaves the damaged maternity hospital with her belongings.
(Evgeny Maloletka/AP)
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A woman leaves the hospital holding her head with her hand.
(Evgeny Maloletka/AP)
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People are assisted as they leave a building in the area of the bombing to a hospital.
(Photo from Twitter)
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A medical worker walks inside the damaged hospital after the Russian attack.
(Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)
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Ukrainian soldiers and emergency personnel work in the area of the bombing of the maternity hospital in Mariupol.
(Evgeny Maloletka/AP)
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An injured man leaves the building.
Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
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A man takes his son from the hospital.
Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
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Ukrainian servicemen work inside the damaged hospital.
Evgeny Maloletka/AP
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The Ukrainian government accused Russia on Wednesday of having committed "the atrocity" of bombing a mother and child hospital in the besieged port city of Mariupol.
(Evgeniy Maloletka/AP) →
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People take shelter on the floor of a hospital during shelling in Mariupol on March 4.
(Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)
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Smoke rises from an air defense base after an apparent Russian attack in Mariupol on February 24.
A CNN crew in Mariupol reported hearing an artillery barrage.
(Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)
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Ukrainian emergency workers work at the site of the bombing.
“People, the children are under the rubble,” Russian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram.
"Atrocious! How long will the world be an accomplice by ignoring the terror?"
Evgeny Maloletka/AP
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A volunteer surveys the damage.
Evgeny Maloletka/AP
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Smoke rises after the shelling in Mariupol on March 9.
(Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)
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In a residential area in the center of Mariupol, several houses were damaged and at least two were completely destroyed by Russian attacks.
The satellite image was taken on March 9, 2022. (Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies)
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North of Mariupol the Portcity shopping center also appears to have sustained significant fire damage.
The image was taken on March 9, 2022. (Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies)
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Marina Yatsko runs after her boyfriend, Fedor, as they arrive at the hospital with her 18-month-old son, Kirill, who was injured in shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine, on Friday, March 4.
Medical workers desperately tried to save the boy's life, but he did not survive.
(Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)
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Paramedics treat an elderly woman injured by shelling before taking her to a hospital in Mariupol on March 2.
(Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)
Bucha's crimes
They dig up hundreds of bodies in Bucha to identify them 3:47
In mid-April, the atrocities of the conflict were exposed when in Bucha, northwest of the Ukrainian capital, footage showed civilian bodies strewn across a street, and CNN reporters observed a mass grave in the city.
Zelensky called for an end to Russian "war crimes".
By this time the withdrawal of Russian forces around Kyiv revealed the atrocities of the war.
Zelenzky told the UN Security Council on April 5 that the Russians killed civilians in Bucha for "pleasure."
The Ukrainian counteroffensive
Ukraine launched a counteroffensive at the end of August in territories occupied by Russia since the start of its invasion in February.
First in the south, in the Kherson Oblast, and then in the northeast, around the city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian troops temporarily broke the inertia of the war of attrition into which both sides had descended, and began maneuvering from two directions achieving important successes especially in the northeast.
According to Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine, by September some 8,000 square kilometers of territory had been liberated, equivalent to more than 10% of the total occupied by Russia.
Zelensky even traveled to Izium, the largest city among the recently liberated, and was seen among the streets.
the nuclear threat
Putin was advancing with his war and in the midst of a shortage of military personnel after months of war without reaching the objective, in September he made an announcement that led thousands of Russians to leave the country: the "partial mobilization" of its citizens to go to the battle in Ukraine.
On September 21, Putin issued a more severe warning: he threatened to use all means at his disposal "to defend Russia and the people" and made a clear reference in September to the possible use of its nuclear arsenal.
What is a tactical nuclear weapon?
Hear what an expert has to say 2:48
The nuclear threat has not ceased.
What's more, Putin has recently warned that after ten months of war it could "take a while" longer and reiterated his "growing" threat of nuclear war.
"Regarding the protracted nature of the special military operation and its results, of course, it will take a while, perhaps," Putin said in early December.
And without categorically ruling out the first use of nuclear weapons, Putin said he viewed Russia's nuclear arsenal as a deterrent rather than a provocation.
illegal annexation
On September 30, Putin announced that Russia seized four Ukrainian regions, in an illegal annexation process under international law.
The announcement followed referendums held in those regions that Ukraine and Western nations regarded as "a sham."
Las regiones son Luhansk y Donetsk —dos repúblicas separatistas respaldadas por Rusia donde ha habido combates desde 2014—, así como Jarsón y Zaporiyia, dos áreas en el sur de Ucrania ocupadas por las fuerzas rusas desde poco después de que comenzara la invasión.
La liberación de Jersón
El 9 de noviembre, las fuerzas de Ucrania liberaron Jersón tras el retiro de las tropas rusas en la ciudad. Las fuerzas rusas se retiraron a la orilla oriental del río Dnipro, que atraviesa la amplia región, también llamada Jersón, que fue anexionada por Rusia en septiembre en violación de las leyes internacionales.
La retirada es otro revés humillante para el presidente de Rusia, Vladimir Putin, y el momento militar más importante en la guerra desde que las fuerzas ucranianas arrasaron la región norteña de Járkiv en septiembre.
Jersón, no obstante, ha sido objeto de graves ataques, como el de diciembre que dejó 10 muertos.
La crisis de energía
Rusia se encuentra en un conflicto energético con Europa desde que invadió Ucrania a finales de febrero y ha profundizado esta crisis tomando represalias en las exportaciones de petróleo a los países que apliquen un tope de precios, una medida para limitar la capacidad de Moscú para financiar su guerra.
Para septiembre, la crisis energética de Europa se estaba profundizando mientras Rusia limitaba aún más las exportaciones de gas natural, lo que ha obligado a los Gobiernos a gastar miles de millones de euros para proteger a las empresas y los consumidores de las facturas vertiginosas a medida que la región se desliza hacia la recesión.
However, after warnings about reduced supplies from Russia, by the end of October Europe had so much natural gas that prices briefly plunged below zero due to oversupply.
This represented a hugely surprising turnaround for Europe, as homes and businesses had hitherto suffered drastic increases in the cost of one of their main sources of energy.
What measures does Europe intend to take to combat the energy crisis?
2:56
The energy situation across Ukraine remains "really difficult" due to the constant risk of Russian bombing, Ukraine's Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said in December, warning that "maximum damage to the energy system" could occur on New Year's Eve ".
Zelensky visits Washington
Trescientos días después de que Rusia invadiera su país, el presidente de Ucrania, Volodymyr Zelensky, viajó a Washington para conversar sobre lo que podrían traer los próximos 300 días.
Envuelta en secreto hasta el último minuto, la histórica visita estuvo cargada de simbolismo, desde la sudadera verde monótona de Zelensky hasta la corbata a rayas azules y amarillas del presidente Joe Biden y la bandera de guerra ucraniana desplegada en el interior del Congreso.
Al salir de sus conversaciones, los gobernantes de ambos países dejaron en claro que ven que la guerra entra en una nueva fase. A medida que Rusia envía más tropas al frente y emprende una campaña aérea brutal contra objetivos civiles, aumentan los temores de llegar a un punto muerto.
Justo antes de la llegada de Zelensky, la administración Biden anunció que enviará casi US$ 2.000 millones en asistencia de seguridad adicional a Ucrania, incluido un nuevo y sofisticado sistema de defensa aérea Patriot que Zelensky ha estado solicitando durante meses.
Lo que ha dejado la guerra hasta ahora
La guerra de Rusia en Ucrania ha dejado devastación a su paso cada día que avanza, y no hay, hasta el momento, de un desescalamiento del conflicto, mientras sí avanzan las atrocidades propias de la guerra.
La guerra ha dejado:
7,8 millones de refugiados Ucrania en toda Europa, según el Alto Comisionado de las Naciones Unidas para los Refugiados, ACNUR.
5,9 desplazados internos, según cifras de la Organización Internacional para las Migraciones, además, 5,2 millones de personas han retornado a sus hogares desde el inicio de la guerra.
La guerra deja hasta ahora 6.884 civiles ucranianos muertos, unos 17.800 civiles damnificados y más de 10.900 heridos, según la Oficina del Alto Comisionado para los Derechos Humanos de la ONU, OHCHR.
Además, se han perdido, hasta noviembre, unos 4,8 millones de empleos según la Organización Mundial del Trabajo, y las pérdidas económicas por la guerra se estiman en entre 500.000 y 600.000 millones de dólares, de acuerdo con cifras del Kyiv School of Economics.
Ucrania afirma que Rusia debe ser expulsada de la ONU por los crímenes de guerra. La Oficina del Alto Comisionado para Derechos Humanos de las Naciones Unidas reveló que desde el inicio del conflicto en Ucrania ha habido un promedio de más de 20 muertos por día.
With information from Melissa Velásquez, Sebastián Jiménez, Germán Padinger, Radina Gigova, Rhea Mogul, Anna Chernova, Anna Chernova and Tim Lister
war in ukraine