This article's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. The reason given is: In a highly fluid situation like this, almost all the information available in this article is from 2022 and early 2023.. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(December 2023)
An ongoing refugee crisis began in Europe in late February 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Over 6 million refugees fleeing Ukraine are recorded across Europe,[1] while an estimated 8 million others had been displaced within the country by late May 2022.[2][3][4] Approximately one-quarter of the country's total population had left their homes in Ukraine by 20 March.[5] 90% of Ukrainian refugees are women and children, while most Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 are banned from leaving the country.[6] By 24 March, more than half of all children in Ukraine had left their homes, of whom a quarter had left the country.[7][8] The invasion caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II and its aftermath,[9] is the first of its kind in Europe since the Yugoslav Wars in the 1990s, as well as the fourth largest refugee crisis in history,[10][11] and is the largest refugee crisis of the 21st century, with the highest refugee flight rate globally.[12][13]
The vast majority of refugees initially entered neighbouring countries to the west of Ukraine (Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova).[14] Around 3 million people then moved further west to other European countries.[1][15] As of 18 July 2023, according to UNHCR data, the countries in which the largest numbers of Ukrainians had applied for asylum, or other temporary protection, were Poland (1.6 million), Germany (1 million) and the Czech Republic (0.54 million),[1] As of September 2022, Human Rights Watch documented that Ukrainian civilians were being forcibly transferred to Russia.[16] The UN Human Rights Office stated "There have been credible allegations of forced transfers of unaccompanied children to Russian occupied territory, or to the Russian Federation itself."[17][18] The United States Department of State estimated that at least 900,000 Ukrainian citizens have been forcibly relocated to Russia.[19] More than 4.5 million Ukrainians have returned to Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion.[1][20]
European Union (EU) countries bordering Ukraine have allowed entry to all Ukrainian refugees,[21] and the EU has invoked the Temporary Protection Directive which grants Ukrainians the right to stay, work, and study in any European Union member state for an initial period of one year.[22] Some non-European and Romani people have reported ethnic discrimination at the border.
The European Union has extended the Temporary Protection Directive until March 2025, showing continued support for Ukrainian refugees across Europe. However, according to the report, older people, those with disabilities, and individuals with serious medical conditions are facing increasing challenges, that will possibly cause them to return to Ukraine sooner.[23]
Putin met with the President of the African Union, Macky Sall, to discuss grain deliveries from Russia and Ukraine to Africa, on 3 June 2022
Ukraine has been among the world's top agricultural producers and exporters and is often described as the "breadbasket of Europe".[24] During the 2020/21 international wheat marketing season (July–June), it ranked as the sixth-largest wheat exporter, accounting for nine per cent of world wheat trade.[25] The country is also a major global exporter of maize, barley and rapeseed. In 2020/21, it accounted for 12 per cent of global trade in maize and barley and for 14 per cent of world rapeseed exports. Its trade share is even greater in the sunflower oil sector, with the country accounting for about 50 per cent of world exports in 2020/2021.[25]
Disruptions to the grain and oilseed sectors of Ukraine were thought inevitable. On the eve of the invasion, an estimated 6 million tons of wheat and 15million tons of corn had been readied for export.[26] According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), this would cause further loss of life and increase humanitarian needs.[27] In addition, potential food and fertiliser export difficulties encountered by the Russian Federation, which is a major exporter of potash, ammonia, urea and other soil nutrients,[28] as a result of economic sanctions could jeopardise the food security of many countries.[27][29] Rising natural gas prices are pushing agricultural fertiliser prices higher, contributing to increasing food prices globally.[30] Particularly vulnerable are those that are highly dependent on Ukraine and the Russian Federation for their food and fertiliser imports.[27] Several of these countries fall into the Least Developed Country (LDC) group, while many others belong to the group of Low-Income Food-Deficit Countries (LIFDCs).[31][32] For example, Eritrea sourced 47% of its wheat imports in 2021 from Ukraine. The other 53% came from the Russian Federation. Overall, more than 30 nations depend on Ukraine and Russia for over 30% of their wheat import needs, with many of them located in North Africa, and in Western and Central Asia.[25]
From the start of the invasion, Russian forces already occupied Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, and quickly overran the remainder of its Azov Sea coast, the Black Sea coast east of the city of Kherson. The Russian navy imposed a blockade of Ukraine's ports, threatening to launch an amphibious assault against the port city of Odesa, and preventing the export of the 2021 harvest by sea. Ukraine and partner countries made efforts to step up exports by land, but sea shipping capacity was needed to ship significant volumes and empty storage facilities for the 2022 harvest. The defeat of Russian forces on Snake Island on 30 June offered some relief, with Ukraine opening four ports on and near the Danube River.
The Ukrainian Defence Ministry accused Russia of stealing "hundreds of thousands of tonnes of grain" from grain elevators and other storage facilities throughout occupied Ukraine, and transporting the grain to occupied ports for export.[35][36] Substantial quantities of farm equipment, combine harvesters and tractors have also been looted from farms and dealerships and transported to Russia, as far away as Chechnya in some cases.[26][37] Theft of grain from occupied regions of Ukraine has the potential to intensify food crises, with both the Ukrainian Minister of Agriculture and the U.N. World Food Programme warning that this could worsen the Ukrainian food crisis, and even exacerbate global hunger.[38] On 30 May, Russia claimed that it had started exporting last year's grain from Kherson to Russia, and were working on exporting sunflower seeds.[39] Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said: "If Kyiv solves the problem of demining ports, the Russian Navy will ensure the unimpeded passage of ships with grain to the Mediterranean Sea."[40] According to locals, Russian soldiers were picking strawberries in Kherson Oblast.[41]
The head of the African Union, Senegalese President Macky Sall, met with President Putin on 3 June to discuss the "liberation of the stocks of grain and fertilizers," President Sall's office said, and discuss efforts "to contribute to the lull of the war in Ukraine."[42] He also blamed EU sanctions on Russian banks and products for worsening the situation.[43]
Ukrainian grain harvest in 2022, according to the UK MoD, will be 35% of its 2021 harvest.[44]
Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement with Turkey, under United Nations supervision, for the safe export of Ukrainian grain from blockaded ports
Ukrainian, Russian and UN negotiators met in Turkey in mid-July to consider a plan to ship grain out of Ukrainian Black Sea ports.[45] UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the talks a "ray of hope to ease human suffering and alleviate hunger around the world", but said a plan was "not yet fully done". The Turkish Defence Minister, Hulusi Akar released a statement: "At this meeting, which we will hold next week, all the details will be reviewed once again and the work we have done will be signed,"[46] On 22 July, two Russia–Ukraine grain export deals were signed, a UN–Turkey–Russia agreement and a UN–Turkey–Ukraine agreement to allow the export of grain from Ukrainian ports.[47] Within 24 hours, Russia attacked the Port of Odesa with cruise missiles.[48]
On 1 August, the first vessel with grain left Odesa under the deal between Ukraine and Russia for the export of food from Ukraine. According to Turkey, the ship will be headed for Lebanon and carries 26,000 tonnes of corn.[49]
As of 12 August 14 ships, carrying various grains and corn, have successfully left Ukrainian ports. With the first two under a UN-sponsored deal.[50]
As of 26 August, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, some 1 million tonnes of grain has been exported by Ukraine. Some 44 ships have gone to 15 countries. Another 70 ships had been applied to be loaded with grain. The stated aim, according to the Ukrainian President, is 3 million tonnes a month.[51]
Effects on Russian forces
Several Russian soldiers, captured by Ukrainian forces, claimed that Russian officers killed their wounded.[52] There were also claims that Russian soldiers have killed their commanding officers,[53] and sometimes themselves.[54] For example, Ukrainian intelligence released a phone intercept that it claims is between a soldier and his mother: "I had a commander who shot himself in the leg just to get out of here. And that was in the very beginning [of the war]." In another call, the wife of a soldier tells him to "fall off a tank or something – I don't fucking know! Because you'd be able to go home straight from the hospital."[54] A Russian court revealed that it had dismissed 115 National Guard members for refusing to fight in the invasion.[55]
In March 2022 it was revealed that Russian conscripts had taken part in the war despite it having been denied earlier.[56] Some mothers of conscripted Russian soldiers have tried to get them out of Ukraine and returned to Russia.[57] A number of mothers have approached the Soldiers' Mothers Committee for advice.[58] Human rights lawyers and activists are claiming that Russian professional soldiers, also known as contract soldiers, are seeking legal advice so that they do not have to fight in Ukraine.[59] Russian soldiers continue to complain of an extended tour of duty. Some have sought legal advice to get out of the army however they have been told that they are in for the length of their contracts. The pro-Russia militias raised in Donetsk and Luhansk have videos showing that they lack even basic protective armour and have old equipment. Russian forces have made up for the shortages of troops by recruiting from non-Russian sources including mercenaries such as the Wagner Group, and recruiting from Russian controlled areas of Ukraine.[60]
The UK Ministry of Defence claimed, on 19 June, that: "The Russian authorities likely struggle to bring legal pressure to bear on military dissenters, hampered by the invasion's official status as a 'special military operation' rather than as a war." It has also been reported that Russian soldiers and whole units have refused to obey their commanders' orders and have engaged in armed stand-offs with them.[61] By June 2022, the militia of the Donetsk People's Republic had suffered 55% attrition during the fighting in the Donbas, according to the UK MoD, who also claimed Russia was very likely to deploy a large number of reserve units to the Donbas. Russia has stopped sending conscripts to the Donbas, forcing Russian forces to rely on local proxies due to what UK intelligence calls "extraordinary attrition".[62]
Ukraine claims that Russia is trying to mobilize Crimean residents to fight in the Russian army.[65] The Russian State Duma is considering a new federal law that would force private companies to support the "special military and counterterrorist operations". Giving the government powers to force private businesses to accept government contracts, denying them the right to refuse such work, and unilaterally changing employees' working conditions. So to allow the government to "concentrate efforts in certain sectors of the economy." The bill also raises the issue of repairing Russian military equipment.[66]
The proposed bill would put the Russian economy on a "war footing". It passed the first vote unanimously in the lower house of the State Duma. Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov said: "The load on the defence industry has increased significantly. In order to guarantee the supply of weapons and ammunition, it is necessary to optimize the work of the military-industrial complex and enterprises that are part of cooperation chains." One of the proposed laws allows the government to force workers to work overtime. The second forces private businesses to supply the government.[67]
On 4 July President Putin also commented on Russian forces fighting in Luhansk, saying they "should rest, increase their combat capabilities."[68]
On 7 July, a report by IStories indicated that the brigades hardest hit by the war in Ukraine have started advertising vacancies online to recruit unemployed people as soldiers, sometimes without training.[69]
In July, Russia started a "volunteer mobilisation": 85 federal areas of Russia, including "Crimea and Sevastopol", are expected to raise 400 men per region by the end of the month. Russian media has reported: "Kursk, Primorskyi Krai, Republic of Bashkortostan, Chuvashia Republic, Chechnya, Republic of Tatarstan, Moscow City, Perm, Nizhny Novgorod, and Orenburg Oblasts" have already created such units. Russian state TV have shown men who appear to be in their 50s and 60s.[70][71] The new recruits who sign a six-month contract get "3,750 to 6,000 US dollars per month". Some regions are offering a signing bonus of $3,400.[72] According to Russian opposition sources such as Gulagu.net, the Wagner Group has also started recruiting prisoners with the promise of removing their criminal history and a signing-up bonus of 200,000 roubles.[citation needed]
On 29 July a Pentagon media release stated: "We continue to see increased signs of discipline and morale problems in the Russian army. When it comes to Russian morale, the official said there are many reports that detail soldiers at all levels deserting posts or refusing to fight."[73] The Wagner Group has recruited some 1,000 prisoners from 17 prisons around Russia. Those usually selected are murderers or thieves. They must pass a physical test and not be suffering from any serious illness. After a series of interviews they are then given basic training by the Wagner Group before being sent to Ukraine to fight. They offer a salary of 200,000 roubles per month and a death payment to their next of kin. If, after six months of fighting, they survive they are given a Presidential Pardon.[74]
A study by the Royal United Services Institute shows that Russian weapons found in Ukraine contain many components from foreign countries. Some 450 foreign made components, in 27 weapons examined, have been found in advanced weapons such as cruise missiles, air defences, drones, encrypted radios etc. How these components have reached Russia is not clear; some suggest they have been removed from domestic appliances or third party brokers in Asia.[75] On 11 May Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told Congress: "We have reports from Ukrainians that when they find Russian military equipment on the ground, it's filled with semiconductors that they took out of dishwashers and refrigerators."[76]
7 Council members, from Smolninsky District Council, in St. Petersburg pass a resolution called on the State Duma to impeach President Putin for "high treason". Due to his handling of the war in Ukraine. Subsequently these council members have been arrested by police for "due to actions aimed at discrediting the current Russian government." Likewise a similar resolution was debated and passed by Moscow’s Lomonosovsky district council.[77]
Collaboration with Russian forces in Crimea is a concern for the Ukrainian government. Some of Russia's greatest gains have been in the south, from Crimea into Kherson region. That bridges across the Dnieper river were not demolished, allowing Russian forces to cross to the right bank and capture the city of Kherson, has been blamed in part on collaboration with Russian forces.[78] According to Kyiv analyst Volodymyr Fesenko: "It was obvious there was treason in Kherson region."[79] Currently 60 former members of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) are working for Russian forces. There are 651 active investigations involving allegations of collaboration and treason in Ukraine. On 31 March, President Zelenskyy sacked the head of the SBU's Kherson office saying: "now I don't have time to deal with all the traitors but gradually they will all be punished." Former SBU commander in Crimea Oleh Kulinych is suspected of treason.[78] President Zelenskyy has said of him: "sufficient evidence has been collected to report this person on suspicion of treason. All his criminal activities are documented."[80] Former head of the SBU Ivan Bakanov has been blamed for the infiltration of the SBU by the FSB. However others point out that his background as a TV producer, political campaign manager and childhood friend of President Zelenskyy has made him a poor choice to begin with.[78] US State Department Officials have confirmed that they will continue sharing intelligence with Ukraine, saying that they invest in institutions and not personalities.[81]
As of 5 June, some 1,400 private citizens face cases of collaboration and treason, facing up to 15 years in prison if convicted.[82] This is in the face of numerous assassination attempts on Ukrainians accused of collaborating with Russia will increase, according to the UK Ministry of Defence. Especially those officials installed by Russia: "the targeting of officials is likely to escalate, exacerbating the already significant challenges facing the Russian occupiers and potentially increasing the pressure on already reduced military and security formations."[83]
Other impacts
Ukraine had a significant fertility tourism service industry which was severely impacted.[84] At the start of the invasion, surrogate mothers were displaced and distressed, requiring evacuation to safe areas.[85] One IVF clinic struggled to obtain enough liquid nitrogen to keep 19,000 embryos and eggs viable.[86]
According to researchers, Black Sea bottlenose dolphins are dying or being injured by the war. Powerful military sonar is being blamed, as are underwater explosions. Exact numbers are thought to be high, with many showing up on the coast near Odesa and in other countries.[87]
According to local officials, on 11 June 2022, the first Russian passports were issued to residents of Kherson and Melitopol in the Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine.[88]
On 21 July 2022, Ukraine devalued its currency by 25% against the U.S. dollar due to the economic impact of the war, to eliminate currency speculation and to improve the international competitiveness of businesses. The previous day it requested a two-year payment freeze on international bonds; in 2020 it had $130 billion of external debt.[89]
Turkey and Ukraine have a long chronology of historical, geographic, and cultural contact. Diplomatic relations between both countries were established in early 1990s when Turkey became one of the first states in the world to announce officially about recognition of sovereign Ukraine. Turkey has an embassy in Kyiv and a consulate general in Odesa. Ukraine has an embassy in Ankara and a consulate general in Istanbul. Turkey is a full member of NATO and Ukraine is a candidate. Also both countries are BLACKSEAFOR and BSEC members.
Indonesia and Ukraine established diplomatic relations in 1992. Indonesia has an embassy in Kyiv that is also accredited for Georgia and Armenia, while Ukraine has an embassy in Jakarta. Both nations have agreed to expand cooperation in heavy industries, military, space technology and exploration, tourism, sports, economy and trade sectors, as well as cooperation within international organizations.
The Russo-Ukrainian War is an ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, which began in February 2014. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia occupied and annexed Crimea from Ukraine and supported pro-Russian separatists fighting the Ukrainian military in the Donbas war. The first eight years of conflict also included naval incidents, cyberwarfare, and heightened political tensions. In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and began occupying more of the country.
Russian war crimes are the violations of the international criminal law including war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide which the official armed and paramilitary forces of Russia are accused of committing since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. These accusations also extend to the aiding and abetting of crimes which have been committed by proto-statelets or puppet statelets which are armed and financed by Russia, including the Luhansk People's Republic and the Donetsk People's Republic. These war crimes have included murder, torture, terrorism, deportation or forced transfer, abduction, rape, looting, unlawful confinement, unlawful airstrikes or attacks against civilian objects, and wanton destruction.
Beginning with the onset of the Tigray War in November 2020, acute food shortages leading to death and starvation became widespread in northern Ethiopia, and the Tigray, Afar and Amhara Regions in particular. As of August 2022, there are 13 million people facing acute food insecurity, and an estimated 150,000–200,000 had died of starvation by March 2022. In the Tigray Region alone, 89% of people are in need of food aid, with those facing severe hunger reaching up to 47%. In a report published in June 2021, over 350,000 people were already experiencing catastrophic famine conditions. It is the worst famine to happen in East Africa since 2011–2012.
The following is a list of events from the year 2022 in Ukraine.
On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in an escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War that started in 2014. The invasion became the largest attack on a European country since World War II. It is estimated to have caused tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties and hundreds of thousands of military casualties. By June 2022, Russian troops occupied about 20% of Ukrainian territory. From a population of 41 million in January 2022, about 8 million Ukrainians had been internally displaced and more than 8.2 million had fled the country by April 2023, creating Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. Extensive environmental damage caused by the war, widely described as an ecocide, contributed to food crises worldwide.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Russian military and authorities have committed war crimes, such as deliberate attacks against civilian targets ; indiscriminate attacks on densely-populated areas ; abduction, torture and murder of civilians; forced deportations; sexual violence; destruction of cultural heritage; and mistreatment, torture and murder of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
The economic impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in late February 2022, in the days after Russia recognized two breakaway Ukrainian republics and launched an invasion of Ukraine. The subsequent economic sanctions have targeted large parts of the Russian economy, Russian oligarchs, and members of the Russian government. Russia responded in kind. A wave of protests and strikes occurred across Europe against the rising cost of living.
There have been several rounds of peace talks to halt the Russian invasion of Ukraine (2022–present) and end the Russo-Ukrainian War (2014–present) in an armistice. The first meeting was held four days after the start of the invasion, on 28 February 2022, in Belarus. It concluded without result, with delegations from both sides returning to their capitals for consultations. A second and third round of talks took place on 3 and 7 March 2022, on the Belarus–Ukraine border, in an undisclosed location in the Gomel region of Belarus. A fourth and fifth round of talks were respectively held on 10 and 14 March in Antalya, Turkey.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine beginning on 24 February 2022, the United States, the European Union, and other Western countries introduced or significantly expanded sanctions covering Russian President Vladimir Putin, other government members and Russian citizens in general. Some Russian banks were banned from using the SWIFT international payments system. The sanctions and the boycotts of Russia and Belarus impacted the Russian economy.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine, that began on 24 February 2022, has had a significant impact on women across Ukraine and Russia, both as combatants and as civilians. In Ukraine, the invasion has seen a significant increase in women serving in the military as well as a significant number of women leaving the country as refugees. In Russia, women have led the anti-war movement.
The Russian occupation of Kherson Oblast is an ongoing military occupation of Ukraine's Kherson Oblast by Russian forces that began on 2March 2022 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine as part of the southern Ukraine campaign. It was administrated under a Russian-controlled military-civilian regime until 30 September 2022, when it was illegally annexed to become an unrecognized federal subject of Russia.
During 2022 and 2023 there were food crises in several regions as indicated by rising food prices. In 2022, the world experienced significant food price inflation along with major food shortages in several regions. Sub-Saharan Africa, Iran, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Iraq were most affected. Prices of wheat, maize, oil seeds, bread, pasta, flour, cooking oil, sugar, egg, chickpea and meat increased. Causes included disruption of supply chains due to the COVID–19 pandemic, an energy crisis, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and significant floods and heatwaves in 2021 which destroyed key crops in the Americas and Europe. Droughts were also a factor; in early 2022, some areas of Spain and Portugal lost 60-80% of their crops due to widespread drought.
The battle of Davydiv Brid was a Ukrainian counter-offensive operation during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. In reaction to Russia's southern Ukraine offensive, Ukrainian forces attempted to recapture part of Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast and tie up Russian resources. The counteroffensive began on 27 May 2022 and was centered near the village of Davydiv Brid, which was initially recaptured by Ukraine; however, they were pushed back over the Inhulets River by 16 June 2022. However, another bridgehead near Lozove was retained by Ukrainian forces. In a subsequent Ukrainian southern counteroffensive that was launched two and a half months later, Davydiv Brid was reported as captured by Ukrainian forces on 4 October.
A military counteroffensive was launched by Ukraine on 29 August 2022 to expel Russian forces occupying the southern regions of Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative was an agreement among Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations (UN) during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
This timeline of the Russian invasion of Ukraine covers the period from 8 April 2022, when the area of heavy fighting shifted to the south and east of Ukraine, to 28 August 2022, the day before Ukraine announced the start of its Kherson counteroffensive.
Grain From Ukraine is a humanitarian food program that was launched on November 26, 2022, on the 90th anniversary of the beginning of the Holodomor of 1932–1933, by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to supply grain to the poorest countries in Africa.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Russo-Ukrainian War:
1 2 3 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2022). Food Outlook – Biannual Report on Global Food Markets: November 2021. [S.l.]: Food & Agriculture Org. ISBN978-92-5-135248-9. OCLC1291390883.
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