The six-month Ukraine conflict period shook the world

Six months ago this week, Vladimir Putin ordered tens of thousands of Russian troops into Ukraine on a “special military operation” – a mass invasion on a scale unseen in Europe since World War Two.

Since then, tens of thousands of people have been killed, millions have fled and cities have been reduced to rubble by Russia’s relentless bombardment.

Here are some milestones from the conflict:

Chiling speech
Russia repeatedly denied it would invade Ukraine and once it did, said it sought to “disarm” Kyiv, purge it of “nationalists” and halt the expansion of NATO, not seize territory. But Ukrainians say an address by Russian President Vladimir Putin three days before the February 24 invasion left no doubt he aimed to conquer their country and wipe out their 1,000-year national identity.

“Ukraine is not just a neighbouring country for us. It is an inalienable part of our own history, culture and spiritual space,” Putin said. “Since time immemorial, the people living in the southwest of what has historically been Russian land have called themselves Russians and Orthodox Christians.”

An early defeat
Within hours of the invasion, Russia landed commandos at Antonov airfield, a cargo base just north of Kyiv, to secure an air bridge for a lightning assault on the capital.

Within a day, Ukrainians had wiped out the elite Russian paratroops and destroyed the landing strip. While Russia’s armoured columns would eventually reach the northern outskirts of Kyiv, the failure to secure a working air field on day one helped wreck Moscow’s plan to swiftly seize the capital.

‘I’m here’
As Russian bombs fell on Kyiv and its residents huddled in metro stations for shelter or crammed train stations to flee, President Volodymyr Zelensky made clear he would go nowhere.

“Good morning Ukrainians,” the former sitcom actor said, with the hint of a smile, in a mobile phone selfie video taken in the early light of the war’s third morning. Behind him was a landmark building in central Kyiv. “Ya tut.” I’m here.

Zelensky went on to rally his country in nightly addresses, his combat fatigues, sparse stubble and casual but firm speaking style becoming symbols of Ukraine’s resistance.

Since then, he has used video links to invoke Martin Luther King to the US Congress and the Berlin Wall to the Bundestag. He has been beamed into the streets of Prague, the Grammy awards and the Glastonbury music festival, where he told cheering fans to “prove that freedom always wins”.

Carrying a stranger’s children
As Russia pounded Ukrainian cities, millions took flight in what the United Nations said was the fastest-growing refugee crisis in generations. More than 6.6 million refugees have been recorded across Europe, most in neighbouring countries, which opened their arms. Kyiv banned men of fighting age from leaving.

“Their father simply handed over the two kids to me, and trusted me, giving me their passports to bring them over,” Natalya Ableyeva, 58, said on the border with Hungary two days after the invasion, the arms of the young boy she had known for just a few hours around her neck.

On the Hungarian side of the border, the children were later reunited with their mother, who wept as she hugged them tightly.

Glimpses of hell
Mariupol, a once-prosperous southern port, was destroyed by Russian forces over three months of what the Red Cross called “hell”. Ukraine says tens of thousands of civilians died, with food, water and medical supplies cut and continuous bombing trapping many in basements. The United Nations says the toll is unknown.

On March 9, Russia bombed a Mariupol maternity hospital, killing three people, including a child. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe called it a war crime. Moscow said the building was disused and occupied by fighters.

A week later, a theatre where Ukraine said families were sheltering in the basement was destroyed. The word “children” could be seen in satellite photos painted on the ground outside. Kyiv says Russia bombed it deliberately to break the city’s will and that hundreds of bodies are still believed buried; Russia said, without giving any evidence, that the incident was staged.

Bodies in streets
By the end of March, Russia’s assault on Kyiv had failed. Its armoured columns, vulnerable to mobile units of Ukrainian defenders with anti-tank missiles and drones, had become bogged down and sustained heavy losses. Moscow announced its withdrawal from northern Ukraine as a “goodwill gesture”. But as its troops pulled out, they left evidence of their occupation in ruined towns and villages where bodies lay in the streets.

Scores of victims were found in the once prosperous suburb of Bucha, some with hands tied. Russia denied blame and claimed, with no evidence, that the killings were staged.