On 24 February 2022, as part of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian military crossed the Russia–Ukraine and Belarus–Ukraine borders into northern Ukraine, entering the oblasts (regions) of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, and Zhytomyr.
Start Feb 25, 2022Last edited Oct 15, 2026, 4:29 PM
Details
Start
Feb 25, 2022
Date
24 February – 8 April 2022, (1 month, 2 weeks and 1 day)
Russian forces initially captured several towns and cities,23 but logistical and supply failures, stiff Ukrainian resistance, and poor morale caused their advance to stall. With heavy losses and the inability to make further progress, Russia withdrew its forces from Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv and Sumy oblasts in late March and early April 2022, and Ukrainian forces retook control.4567
Campaign
Three-day war plan
Russia had reportedly hoped to take Kyiv rapidly and to remove the Ukrainian Government, allowing the installation of a pro-Russian government.89 Russia , which crossed the border and invaded the north of Ukraine, while other forces attacked from the east of Ukraine (occupied territories of the ) and from in the south.
This page is based on “Battle of Ivankiv” from English Wikipedia, (r1378818763) CC BY-SA 4.0 used under the license. The original authors are listed in its page history.
After the start of the invasion, Ukrainian and Western analysts tentatively assessed that Putin seemed to have assumed that the Russian Armed Forces would be capable of capturing the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv within several days. This assessment eventually led to the commonly reached conclusion that "taking Kyiv in three days" had been the original objective or expectation of the invasion.81112
Putin himself asserted back in 2014 that Russian forces "could take Ukraine in two weeks".1314Aleksandr Lukashenko had already stated that, in case of war, Kyiv would be taken in "3–4 days".1516Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the Russian state-controlled broadcaster RT, had made similar remarks about Russia being able to "defeat Ukraine in two days".17 The narrative of the planned "three day" capture of Kyiv was further reinforced on 2 March, when the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) repeated the claim following its release of a video showing a captured Russian soldier claiming that his unit was sent into Ukraine with food supplies for only three days.1819 Documents found inside Russian tanks mention how the "special military operation" would conclude in ten days.20 Ukraine also captured "flagship" tanks – as used in parades – along with military parade uniforms, suggesting that Russia expected to stage a victory parade in Kyiv after a quick conquest.2122 Three days after the invasion began, RIA Novosti, a Russian state news agency, mistakenly published an article entitled "Russia's Coming and the New World," which was prepared in advance in anticipation of a Russian victory. It announced that Russia had won the Russo-Ukrainian war and that "Ukraine had returned to Russia".2324 Zelenskyy also said that he had received an ultimatum to be replaced with Viktor Medvedchuk.2526
Russian advance on Kyiv
On the morning of 24 February 2022, Russia initiated attacks on Kyiv Oblast with artillery and missile strikes on several primary targets, including Boryspil International Airport, Kyiv's primary airport.272829 Russia apparently intended to rapidly seize Kyiv, with Spetsnaz infiltrating the city, supported by airborne operations and a rapid mechanised advance from the north. Russian Airborne Forces attempted to seize two key airfields near Kyiv, launching an airborne assault on Antonov Airport,3031 followed by a similar landing at Vasylkiv, near Vasylkiv Air Base south of Kyiv, on 26 February.3233
The attacks were unsuccessful34 due to several factors, including the disparity in morale and performance between Ukrainian and Russian forces, the Ukrainian use of sophisticated man-portable weapons provided by Western allies, poor Russian logistics and equipment performance, the failure of the Russian Air Force to achieve air superiority, and Russian military attrition during their siege of major cities.353637 As Russian forces advanced towards Kyiv, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that "subversive groups" were approaching the city.3839 The Ukrainians also claimed that at the beginning of the invasion, just 30 SOF soldiers managed to halt the Russian attack. The Ukrainians ambushed the Russian convoy, guarded by some 2,000 troops, and destroyed three lead vehicles, attacked the rest of the convoy, destroying the bridges in the process. This engagement ended up temporarily stalling the entire Russian advance from Belarus, which consisted of 70,000 soldiers and 7,000 vehicles.40
Russian forces trying to capture Kyiv advanced south towards the city from Belarus on 24 February, reportedly in an attempt encircle the city from the west. Two supporting axes of attack from Russia through Chernihiv Oblast and Sumy Oblast were intended to encircle Kyiv from the northeast and east, respectively.42
The attack force reached the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and captured the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and the ghost city of Pripyat.4344 Russian vehicles had also broke through the border checkpoint at Vilcha by noon.45 Following their breakthrough at Chernobyl, Russian forces were held at Ivankiv, a key town between the border and Kyiv. United States Secretary of DefenseLloyd Austin revealed that some Russian mechanized infantry units had advanced to within 20 miles (32 km) of Kyiv on the first day of the offensive.38 In the morning of 25 February, Ukraine's military said its airborne forces were fighting near the settlements of Dymer and Ivankiv, where a large amount of Russian armored vehicles had advanced.4647 The Ukrainian forces destroyed a bridge over the Teteriv River at Ivankiv, claiming to have halted the Russian columns, though it was soon reported that 80 Russian vehicles were moving through Dymer and the neighboring village of Katiuzhanka.474844
On the morning of 27 February, a large convoy of Russian vehicles more than 4.8 kilometres (3 miles) long was seen on satellite images on a road near Ivankiv heading towards Kyiv.4950 By 28 February, the convoy had grown to around 64 kilometres (40 miles) long.10
The Russian advance was greatly hindered by logistical difficulties, partially caused by the Belarusian opposition, as dissident railway workers, hackers and security forces disrupted railway lines in Belarus. This operation, known as the 2022 rail war in Belarus, was mainly organized by individuals and three larger networks known as "Bypol", the "Community of Railway Workers", and the "Cyber Partisans".51
The assault was an attempt to secure the site as an airbridge for Russian transport troops and heavy equipment (such as artillery and tanks) for an invasion on Kyiv proper.30 The helicopter group was met by attacks from Ukrainian small arms and MANPADS. The attack eventually downed one to three helicopters, with their pilots ejecting.5352 Despite the attacks, the airport was ultimately captured on 25 February as the significantly outnumbered and outgunned members of the Ukrainian National Guard withdrew.545556
After the capture of the airport, Russian troops began to prepare for the arrival of 18 Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft with reinforcements for the assault. However, local militias and troops from the 3rd Special Purpose Regiment attacked the airport, hampering Russian efforts.57 The Ukrainian 4th Rapid Reaction Brigade, in a decisive counterattack, prevented the transport aircraft from landing at the airport, forcing it to return to Russia, and preventing further reinforcements.58 With air support from the Ukrainian Air Force, Ukrainian units managed to repel the airborne assault.5259 Russian forces also attempted landings at the Kyiv Cistern.60
A renewed airborne assault was launched a day after the initial attack. Russian forces were able to advance and capture the airport after a combined ground-based assault.31 Despite their success, the airport was deemed inoperable,58 ending chances for a swift Ukrainian capitulation via the capture of Kyiv.61 During the clash at Antonov Airport, the only existing Antonov An-225 Mriya (the world's largest operational aircraft) was destroyed in its storage hangar.62 The Russian government claimed nearly 200 Ukrainian deaths in the assault with no losses of its own. However, according to both Western and Ukrainian sources, an estimated 300 Russian paratroopers were killed during the battle.63
On 26 February, according to Ukrainian sources, Ukrainian strikes near the Hostomel airport resulted in the death of 141st Motorized Regiment commander Magomed Tushayev and the "destruction" of a "strike group" which had been ordered to assassinate Zelenskyy.6566
In late February 2022, Russian forces attempted to set up checkpoints within the city of Hostomel, but were forced to move back towards the airport by Ukrainian forces.67
On 3 March, the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) claimed that its forces were engaged in battles for the city of Hostomel, and claimed to have destroyed twenty Russian military vehicles, including ten at the city's glass factory.68MajorValeriy Chybineyev of the Defense Intelligence was killed at Hostomel the same day.697071 The next day, the DIU announced that a special forces group under its command, which also included the 3rd Special Forces Regiment and a local resistance group, had restored control over Hostomel, and that over fifty members of Russia's 31st Air Assault Brigade had been killed in action during the battles.727369 An advisor to Zelenskyy claimed that Russian forces retook control of Hostomel and Bucha on 5 March.74
Vasylkiv
It has been reported that, on 26 February 2022, Russian paratroopers began an assault on Vasylkiv, 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of Kyiv, to capture a military airbase nearby. A large group of Russian paratrooper units were alleged to have landed near Vasylkiv, despite anti-aircraft fire. The units then advanced to the city and were involved in heavy fighting with the Ukrainian 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade,7576 and were repulsed.77 The city's mayor, Natalia Balasinovich, claimed over 200 Ukrainians were injured during the fight.787980 The New York Times cited reports by unnamed Ukrainian officials, that at least part of the attackers were sleeper agents who had bought apartments in the city the month before the invasion.81
Claims have been made that Ukrainian aircraft shot down two Russian Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft transporting assault troops.828384 However, The Guardian reports "no convincing public evidence has surfaced about the two downed planes, or about a drop of paratroopers in Vasylkiv".78Ukrainian territorial defense units combed the woods and surrounding countryside and found no plane wreckage.81
In the early morning of 27 February, a Russian missile struck an oil depot in Vasylkiv, setting it ablaze.85 On 12 March, a Russian rocket attack destroyed the air base.86
Battle of Kyiv
On 25 February, Russian fighter aircraft began bombarding central Kyiv.87 A Ukrainian Su-27 was then shot down.8889 Russian saboteurs dressed as Ukrainian soldiers attempted to infiltrate Obolon,901 a suburb north of central Kyiv, just 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) from the Verkhovna Rada building (the seat of the Ukrainian parliament), but were all captured or killed by Ukrainian troops.91Army reserves were then activated to defend Kyiv. Gunfire, described by Ukrainian officials as clashes between Ukrainian and Russian troops, was heard in several wards of the city.191 Zelenskyy urged residents to engage in urban guerrilla warfare with Molotov cocktails against Russian forces.9293 Guns were distributed to civilian militias.94 The Ukrainian government imposed a curfew on the city the next morning.95 Ukrainian forces claimed to have killed around 60 Russian saboteurs in a single day.96
Simultaneously with the failed assault on Vasylkiv, Russian units began bombarding Kyiv on 26 February with artillery and organized attacks to capture the Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant with muddled outcome.979899 Ukrainian forces regrouped and struck a counter-offensive on the power plant the next day, repulsing Russian forces from the site.100101 A separate attack on an army base in the city ended in failure.99 Russian forces were reported to be 31 kilometres (19 mi) from central-Kyiv.102
Russian airstrikes were made on Vasylkiv and Kyiv on 27 February,85103 including one on a radioactive waste disposal site near Kyiv, albeit the site was unharmed.104 Another Russian attack group began approaching Kyiv from the northeast after bypassing the city of Chernihiv.49Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, told the Associated Press that Kyiv had been "completely encircled". However, his remarks were retracted shortly after.105 Missile attacks were reported at Brovary on 28 February,106107 but Kyiv was relatively free from direct combat.108109
Ukrainian forces claimed the destruction of a Russian column in Makariv,110 where fighting had erupted one day earlier.111 Russian strikes continued in early March. The Kyiv TV Tower was hit on 1 March.112 Strikes were later reported at Rusanivka, Kurenivka, Boiarka, Vyshneve,113114Vorzel and Markhalivka.115116 while Borodianka was extensively bombed, killing hundreds.11758 The Ukrainian Air Force claimed it had downed two Russian Sukhoi Su-35 over Kyiv on 2 March.118 Makariv was recaptured on 3 March.119 Ukrainian reports from Kyiv believed the Russian army had begun to surround the city with tanks from Belarus,120 in an attempt to enforce a blockade.121 In early March 2022, the Ukrainians claimed the destruction of 120 tanks in one day, reportedly "when Russian tank columns stalled on roads to Kyiv, got hit with massed artillery barrages and modern anti-tank missiles dropped by plane-sized drones or fired by infantry teams."122
Estonian intelligence estimated that the advancing Russian convoy would arrive at Kyiv in at least two days.123 On 4 March, an armored Russian column from the Sumy Oblast reportedly reached near Brovary.42 Clashes remained throughout the Kyiv Oblast by 8 March.124 Russian forces advanced on the highway between Zhytomyr and Kyiv, threatening Fastiv. Russian tanks reached within a few kilometres from Kyiv on 9 March,125 but were attacked by Ukrainian forces during the night.126
On 25 February, due a lack of communications with the main invasion command, a convoy of special police units OMON and SOBR from the Kemerovo Oblast accidentally separated from the invasion forces and ended up charging and spearheading the attack at Kyiv by themselves. The convoy was spotted by local transit CCTV cameras and were ambushed by local Ukrainian forces using anti-tank missiles and mortars at a bridge over the Irpin River, and the unarmored and under-equipped units were completely destroyed. Reportedly, of the 80 soldiers in the convoy, only 3 survived.129
Fighting neared Bucha on 27 February, as the 36th Combined Arms Army and Russian special police forces approached the city.13013113285 Russian artillery began bombarding the city at the same time,133134 causing several civilian casualties, reportedly also wounding the mayor of Bucha, Anatoliy Fedoruk.135136 As fighting developed, Russian breakthroughs allowed units to advance to Irpin.130137
Ukrainian forces used artillery to shell Russian convoys to halt the advance,138 and destroyed a bridge linking Bucha and Irpin.139140 According to the mayor of Irpin, Oleksandr Markushin, Russian forces were trapped and destroyed.141 Ukrainian forces engaged and destroyed an armored column on 28 February.142
Irpin was struck by missiles on 2 March.143 Russian forces attacked a Ukrainian checkpoint in Yasnohorodka on 6 March.144 Markushin had refused requests by Russian forces to surrender the town.145
Encirclement of Chernihiv
At 06:00 on 24 February, the Russian military crossed the Ukrainian border into the Chernihiv Oblast from both Russia and Belarus, at Hremiach, Mykolaivka, Senkivka, Derevyny and Ilmivka.146
At the onset of the Russian invasion, Major General Viktor Nikoliuk, head of the Ukrainian Operational Command North, ordered the 1st Tank Brigade to defend Chernihiv, and sent the 58th Motorized Brigade to Baturyn and Hlukhiv in order to stop the Russian advance on the major highway there. The 1st Brigade failed to reach a planned defensive line at Ripky and Horodnia on time, though it still managed to stall the Russian advance north of Chernihiv and began to fortify the city. Meanwhile, the 58th Brigade was outnumbered and forced to retreat, first to Konotop and then to Vertiivka and Kipti, where it took up the defense of the area south of Chernihiv.147
Near Chernihiv, Russian forces struck Pivka airfield.148 The Ukrainian military said its forces had stopped Russian columns near Baturyn and on the outskirts of Chernihiv, near the villages of Velyki Osniaky and Rivnopillia.149150
On 10 March, Chernihiv Mayor Vladyslav Atroshenko said that Russian forces had completed the encirclement of Chernihiv, adding that the city was completely isolated and critical infrastructure for its 300,000 residents was rapidly failing as it came under repeated bombardment.153
Operations in other northern regions
A column of Russian military vehicles crossed the international border at the Bachivsk checkpoint in the Sumy Oblast around 5:00 on 24 February.15445 Units of Ukraine's 58th Motorized Brigade engaged the Russians outside the city of Hlukhiv, halting the column.154155 The Ukrainian military claimed to have neutralized the column outside of Hlukhiv using Javelin anti-tank missiles,156157 but by 14:30 on 24 February, the governor of the Sumy Oblast acknowledged that Russian forces were in control of the entire length of the Kyiv–Moscow highway in the Sumy Oblast, up until Baturyn in the Chernihiv Oblast.158159 Due to the destruction of the bridge over the Seim River outside of Baturyn by Ukrainian forces,160 Russian forces were forced to use alternative routes to Kyiv, taking a detour through Konotop, Bakhmach, and Plysky.161
A separate Russian advance into Sumy Oblast on 24 February attacked the city of Sumy, just 35 kilometres (22 mi) from the Russo-Ukrainian border. The Russian advance bogged down in urban fighting, and Ukrainian forces successfully held the city. According to Ukrainian sources, more than 100 Russian tanks, 20 Grad MLRs and eight tanker trucks were destroyed and dozens of soldiers were captured.162
Russian forces entered Sumy Oblast from Russia on the morning of 24 February. Two Russian tank columns crossing the border at Grayvoron and Popivka reached Velyka Pysarivka at 08:00.163 Clashes broke out in Okhtyrka between 12:00-14:00 as a Russian column attempted to pass through the city.164 Russian forces attacked Okhtyrka by 14:25,163 deploying thermobaric weapons;165 Russian assaults on the city were repelled by territorial defense fighters and Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade.163166167 On the evening of February 24, two convoys of Russian soldiers coming from the cities of Nedryhailiv and Konotop made their way in the direction of Romny.163
Russia's 4th Guards Tank Division first entered the city of Trostianets in Sumy Oblast shortly after noon on 24 February.168169170 There were no Ukrainian military units in the city,171 and due to a lack of weapons, the local territorial defense unit had elected to disperse and engage in partisan combat.169172 Russian tank columns moved westward through the city on their way towards Kyiv.169173
In the early hours of 2 March, the Sumy administration claimed that about 100 Russian military vehicles, mainly tanks and armored personnel carriers (APCs), had been destroyed in the village of Byshkin.163
Russian forces moved west along highways from Sumy, reaching Brovary, an eastern suburb of Kyiv, on 4 March.42 In an assessment of the campaign on 4 March, Frederick Kagan wrote that the "Sumy axis is currently the most successful and dangerous Russian avenue of advance on Kyiv." He noted that the geography favored mechanized advances as the terrain "is flat and sparsely populated, offering few good defensive positions."174 According to the Institute for the Study of War, since Russian forces failed to secure any new territory in the theater after 8 March, it was possible that they had redeployed forces from eastern Kyiv to defend against Ukrainian counterattacks in Sumy Oblast.175
Throughout the battle at Kyiv Oblast, the Zhytomyr Oblast was also affected. Russian forces operating nearby Kyiv had advanced some 20 miles (32 km) into the oblast towards Bihun and Ovruch as of 3 March. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces claimed that two Russian BTGs were within the territory of Zhytomyr Oblast.176
Ukrainian forces repelled an attack by a column of up to 300 Russian vehicles on Konotop late on 24 February,150177 and Russian forces reportedly retreated from the city of Sumy in the early hours of the next day.178 However, the Russian military claimed later on 25 February that it had encircled both cities.179 Outside of Konotop, Ukraine's military said that Russian troops were experiencing "problems with fuel and supply" and had suffered heavy losses,180 though later statements from Ukrainian officials suggested that Ukrainian forces lost control over the city later that day.18147
On 25 February, battles began in the outskirts of Okhtyrka around 7:30 from the direction of the village of Velyka Pysarivka.182 Russian forces were unable to occupy Okhtyrka, and retreated the following day, leaving behind tanks and equipment.183
On 26 February, clashes occurred in Sumy between Russian forces and Territorial Defense Forces throughout the day.184 Russian forces reportedly managed to capture half of the city during the day, but Ukrainian forces repelled the attackers according to a Ukrainian official.185 Three civilians were reportedly killed in shelling on Sumy.186Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, the governor of Sumy Oblast, stated that six civilians were killed and 55 wounded in Russian shelling on Okhtyrka.187 Russian forces west of Sumy reportedly advanced further westwards by the night, and were apparently 150 kilometres (93 mi) from Kyiv.49BM-27 Uragan missiles hit a school in Okhtyrka,188 killing a guard and injuring an unknown number of children and a teacher. However, Ukrainian forces put up heavy resistance, forcing the Russians to retreat.183
Between February 26 and 27, more Russian vehicles headed towards Romny from Krasnopillia, bypassing Sumy. A second convoy was bombed by Ukrainian forces before it reached Romny.189 Ukrainian forces allegedly destroyed some Russian tanks outside of Trostianets on 27 February.190
Also on 27 February, a number of Russian vehicles advanced into Sumy from the east, while two women were reportedly killed around the Sumy Airport.191 On 28 February, Russian forces bombed and destroyed an oil depot in Okhtyrka.192 More than 70 Ukrainian soldiers were killed when their base in Okhtyrka was struck by a thermobaric bomb.193194 Russian forces also attacked the Romny Correctional Colony. Meanwhile, that same day, Russian forces crushed a civilian in the village of Pohozha Krynytsia when he attempted to use his car to block Russian tanks passing through.195 On the same day, a local man died in Shtepivka attempting to enter an abandoned military vehicle that had been mined.196 The next day, the Ukrainians claimed to have destroyed 80 units of Russian equipment near the village of Pustoviitivka, half of which were Grad MLRS.163
In the Sumy Oblast, the Russian offensive began to stall due to Ukrainian resistance west and southwest of Trostianets, and the detonation of a bridge south of the city.170172173 As a result, Trostianets, which was first envisioned as "little more than a speed bump" in Russian plans to swiftly take Kyiv, was occupied by a garrison of Russian troops on 1 March.173197
On the same day, the Sumy Oblast territorial defense was reported to have erected roadblocks and checkpoints on some parts of the Kipti-Bachivsk highway, a major road which had been one of the main routes of the Russian invasion.198 Meanwhile, Russian forces captured the villages of Bilovodske and Bobryk, just south of Romny, which had been contested in previous days.199200201202
On 2 March, Russian forces gave Konotop's mayor an ultimatum to surrender the city, threatening to bombard it with artillery; an "angry crowd" of locals "overwhelmingly" refused to surrender.203204205 A compromise was reached under which Russian forces agreed not to interfere with the city's government or deploy troops in return for the residents not attacking them.206205 The territorial council of the Kruty rural hromada in Chernihiv Oblast claimed that nearly 200 Russian soldiers were killed in clashes with Ukrainian armed forces and the Territorial Defense Forces in the village of Kruty on 2 March.207 On the same day, it was reported that the Ukrainian military and border guards of the 5th Detachment had returned the border with Russia in some areas of Sumy Oblast.208
On 3 March, five people were reportedly injured from shelling on buildings of the 27th Artillery Brigade and the military department at Sumy State University.209 Elsewhere in the Sumy Oblast, an escalation in Russian artillery shelling led to the bombardment of the localities of Nedryhailiv, Okhtyrka, Boromlia, Bezdryk and Lebedyn.210 The same day, Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade announced that Ukrainian artillery had destroyed a Russian column near the village of Moskovskyi Bobryk.211 During their stay in the village, the Russians had looted the local shops and burnt the car of the head of the village, according to residents.212
On 3 March, Russian troops shelled Lebedyn during the bombardment across Sumy Oblast.210
The next day, civilians from the village of Spartak attempted to block Russian vehicles passing from Nedryhailiv to Romny. They succeeded in blocking the road, although an ensuing attack by the Russians resulted in one civilian dying.213 During the night between March 4 and 5, Russian soldiers occupied a poultry farm in Vilshana, Sumy Oblast, killing around 100,000 poultry and causing an estimated one million hryvnias worth of damage.214
On March 5, three out of four hostages who were taken by Russian troops were released, according to the head of the Romny Raion, Denys Vashchenko. That same day, Russian soldiers standing on the road fired at Ukrainian TDF troops at a gas station, leaving one Ukrainian soldier killed and two wounded.215 On the evening of March 5, Russian soldiers fired at two cars traveling from Sumy to Romny, in the village of Pustoviitivka. 3 civilians were wounded, and one civilian was killed in the shooting.216 Later that evening, in the village of Skrypali in Romny Raion, Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian column, and killed an unspecified number of soldiers.217 In the evening between March 5 and 6, shots were fired in Pustoviitivka and Romny, with no injuries. The shooting in Romny, however, knocked out electricity for parts of the town.218
Lebedyn was completely cut off from electricity for the 4 and 5 of March. On 5 March at 7 a.m., civilians heard an air raid alarm in Lebedyn as the Russians began shelling the city.219 The explosions blew out windows in multistoried buildings. The artillery shelling went on all day long.162 An electric substation, the Lebedyn bakery, and a gas station were destroyed by Russian shelling.220
According to the Military Administration, Russian artillery shelling and the airstrikes of 6 March left many inhabitants of Lebedyn without electricity. The prosecution launched a pre-trial investigation into the destruction of the Lebedyn bakery by the strikes of Russian military planes.162
On 7 March, the electricity supply to Lebedyn was partially restored.162
On the night of 8 to 9 March, the Russian air forces attacked Lebedyn. Two houses in Shevchenka Street were ruined. Five people, two children among them, were retrieved from the debris. The officers of the 5th State Fire and Rescue Brigade, who were in charge that night, worked at the site from 01:45 on 9 March.221
On 11 March, Sumy Oblast Governor Dmytro Zhyvytskyy claimed that 104 Russian servicemen had been taken prisoner in Sumy Oblast since the invasion began.222
According to Yuriy Bova, the mayor of Trostianets, Russian forces were planning to capture Lebedyn on 12 March, Okhtyrka on 13 March, and Sumy on 14 March, but were prevented from doing so by Ukrainian resistance.223 Members of the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division were reportedly told on 11 March that they would storm the city of Sumy, but after a company in the division rebelled two days later, all conscripts serving in its ranks were sent back into Russia.224 The Ukrainian General Staff claimed on 19 March that units of Russia's 1st Guards Tank Army were focused on surrounding Sumy, while preparing offensive operations in the areas of Trostianets, Okhtyrka, and Poltava. Some of the units were claimed to be planning offensives the direction of Pryluky and Kyiv.225
On the night of 11 March, the Russian troops shelled houses in Kerdylivshchyna killing two locals – Vasyl Masliuk and Valeriy Sukhanov.221
As of 13 March, 22,500 civilians in Sumy Oblast had no electricity. According to the Military Administration, shelling damaged the power lines in Okhtyrka, Trostianets, Lebedyn and Sumy.226 On March 11, Vashchenko reported that Ukrainian forces unblocked the road between Romny and Lokhvytsia, allowing civilians to flee southwards. That morning near Romny, police and Ukrainian TDF discovered and detained 29 Russian soldiers in a field, all of whom claimed to be lost.226227228 Between 11 and 12 March, the Ukrainians claimed to have destroyed a column of 80 military vehicles belonging to the 228th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 90th Tank Division in the Chernihiv Oblast.229
Stalemate (11–15 March)
By early March, Russian advances along the west side of the Dnieper were limited, after setbacks from Ukrainian defences.42 As of 5 March, a large Russian convoy, reportedly 64 kilometres (40 mi) in length, had made little progress toward Kyiv.230 The London-based think tankRoyal United Services Institute (RUSI) assessed Russian advances from the north and east as "stalled".231 Advances along the Chernihiv axis had largely halted as a siege there began. By 11 March, it was reported that the lengthy convoy had largely dispersed, taking up positions under tree cover. Rocket launchers were also identified.232
Russian forces continued to advance on Kyiv from the northwest, capturing Bucha, Hostomel, and Vorzel by 5 March,23 though Irpin remained contested as of 9 March.145
By 11 March, some elements of the Russian Kyiv convoy broke off and deployed into firing positions. While the bulk of the convoy remained on the road, some parts, including artillery, left the main column, and took up positions near Hostomel.233 Some elements of the convoy took up positions in Lubianka and nearby forests.234 An assessment of the offensive at this date by the Institute for the Study of War said that Russian ground forces attempting to encircle Kyiv had paused to resupply and refit their combat units, having failed in their attacks from 8 to 10 March.175
On 12 March, the Security Service of Ukraine said that seven civilians were killed after Russian forces shot at an evacuation column in the village of Peremoha, Brovary Raion, and forced it to turn back.239
An overnight barrage of missile attacks had destroyed the Vasylkiv Air Base along with its airstrip. In addition, the ammunition depot and an oil depot in the town and an oil depot in the village of Kriachky were set ablaze as well. Shelling on the village of Kvitneve at 03:40 set a frozen goods warehouse on fire.240241242 Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov stated that long-range high-precision missiles were used to destroy the military airfield in Vasylkiv and the "main center of radio and electronic intelligence of Ukrainian forces" in Brovary.243
On 13 March, the UK's Ministry of Defence reported that Russian forces were 25 kilometres (16 mi) from the center of Kyiv.244
That day American journalist Brent Renaud was killed and two other journalists were wounded at a checkpoint in Irpin when Russian forces reportedly shot at a car carrying non-Ukrainian journalists.245 Ukrainian forces prevented an attempt by Russian forces to advance further on Kyiv by blowing up a pontoon bridge on the Irpin river near Hostomel and 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north of the main bridge on the river.246 Russian advances across the Irpin were also hindered by flooding caused by their own attack on the Kozarovychi dam, which regulates flow from the Kyiv Reservoir.247
On 14 March, Fox News reporter Benjamin Hall was wounded in the village of Horenka while reporting on the conflict near Kyiv. Cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and Oleksandra Kuvshynova, a Ukrainian news producer and fixer, were killed in the same attack. Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs, stated that the deaths were caused by Russian shelling.248249 Russian forces meanwhile had captured Bucha and half of Irpin by 14 March.250
On 15 March, a new military headquarters responsible for the defense of Kyiv was established. Zelenskyy appointed acting Commander of the Joint Forces Oleksandr Pavliuk as head of the "Kyiv Regional Military Administration" and Eduard Koskalov the new Commander of the Joint Forces.76 The National Police of Ukraine stated that one civilian was killed and two others wounded in Hostomel when Russian troops fired at evacuation buses.251 In Bucha, Russian troops captured volunteers and employees of the city council, although they released them the next day.252
Ukrainian counteroffensive (16 March – 4 April)
On 16 March, the Ukrainian government announced that its forces had begun a counter-offensive to repel Russian forces approaching Kyiv. Fighting took place in Bucha, Hostomel, and Irpin.253 Russian forces conducted only limited attacks northwest of Kyiv.254
On 17 March, Ukraine's Defense Ministry announced that Russian forces had made "no significant advances around Kyiv in the past 24–48 hours" and had resorted to "chaotic" shelling. A British military intelligence report added that Russian forces suffered "heavy losses" while making "minimal progress".255
On 18 March, Ukraine blocked Russia's two main routes for attacking the capital city as the latter was abandoning "offensive actions" around Brovary and Boryspil. Ukraine worked on strengthening a third line of defense around the capital, while Russian forces were "cynically shooting" at infrastructure facilities.256
By 19 March, Russia was attempting to consolidate control over the area they occupied, while more efforts were made to resupply and reinforce units' static positions. Maxar imagery showed Russian forces digging trenches and revetments in Kyiv Oblast.257
On 20 March, Russian missiles struck a number of areas in the capital and what Russia described as a "Ukrainian special forces training center" in Zhytomyr Oblast.258
On 21 March, Ukraine halted a Russian attack on Brovary, while Russia claimed to have captured a Ukrainian command bunker in Mykolaivka. However, Russian forces were still reportedly struggling to organize the sufficient logistical support needed for major operations in the northwest of Kyiv.259
Unable to achieve a quick victory in Kyiv, Russian forces switched strategies and began using standoff weapons, indiscriminate bombing, and siege warfare.260261
Between 22 and 24 March, Ukrainian forces retook the strategically important town of Makariv (22 March), the village of Moshchun (23 March), and the small settlement of Lukianivka (24 March). It was claimed that three Russian tanks and nine infantry fighting vehicles were destroyed at Lukianivka, as well as some armor captured, while Ukrainian troops were reportedly working on the encirclement of Russian units in nearby villages. Irpin was reportedly 80% controlled by Ukrainian forces, while Russia launched rocket attacks against the town.262263264
On 23 March, reports arose that Russian soldiers were starting to mutiny against their leaders. Colonel Yuri Medvedev was fighting in Makariv when a soldier from the 37th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade was reported to have deliberately rammed into the colonel, breaking both his legs, allegedly killing him. This was because the 37th Brigade, which he was commanding, was reported to have lost close to 50% of its men while fighting in Makariv.265266 Dan Sabbagh wrote in The Guardian that while the attack most likely occurred, little evidence existed confirming that Medvedev had indeed died.267
By 25 March, Ukrainian counterattacks in Kyiv Oblast had retaken several towns to the east and west of Kyiv, including Makariv.268269 Under attack by the Ukrainian military, Russian troops in the Bucha area began to retreat north at the end of March. Ukrainian forces entered the city on 1 April.270 A British Ministry of Defence intelligence assessment reported that, as Russian forces were falling back on overextended supply lines, Ukraine recaptured towns and defensive positions up to 35 kilometers (25 miles) east of Kyiv. The assessment concluded that Ukrainian forces were likely "to continue to attempt to push Russian Forces back along the north-western axis from Kyiv towards Hostomel Airfield."271 The Russian military also withdrew from the village of Malyi Vystorop in Sumy Oblast on the same day.272
On 26 March, additional Russian forces from the Eastern Military District (EMD) were reportedly being sent into the Kyiv–Chernihiv axis. The ISW assessed that Ukraine created a "Russian salient" at Hostomel that is "exposed from several directions and apparently under continued pressure".273 The Ukrainian military said that its forces had retaken the villages of Lukianivka and Rudnytske, 40 kilometers east of Brovary, on 26 March, forcing Russia's 30th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade to retreat.274
Following several days of Ukrainian artillery shelling and drone strikes, Trostianets was abandoned by Russian troops over the night of 25–26 March, and Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade retook the city on the 26th.173169170Associated Press reporters in the city said it was "not clear" where the Russian forces had gone.275 The recapture of the city was expected to open up supply routes to relieve the besieged city of Sumy, and "seriously restrict" the Russian military's ability to maneuver in the region.276277 On the same day, Ukrainian forces also took the neighboring city of Boromlia,278 and Russian troops withdrew from the villages of Velykyi Bobryk and Steblianka, which are also in the Sumy Oblast.279280 Russian forces destroyed a bridge over the Psel River after withdrawing from villages near the city of Sumy.281 On 27 March, Slavhorod and Krasnopillia were retaken.160
On 27 March, Russia's 35th Combined Arms Army reportedly rotated damaged units into Belarus under cover of airstrikes and shelling, while it was claimed that Russia established a command post for all EMD-forces operating around Kyiv in the Chernobyl area. The ISW assessed that the EMD Commander Colonel-General Aleksandr Chaiko "may be personally commanding efforts to regroup Russian forces in Belarus and resume operations to encircle Kyiv from the west".274
On 28 March, Ukrainian forces reportedly retook Irpin, with the city's mayor saying the city would be a staging ground for the recapture of Bucha, Hostomel, and Vorzel.282283
On 29 March, the Russian Deputy Ministry of DefenceAlexander Fomin announced a withdrawal of Russian forces from the Kyiv and Chernihiv areas.4 Ukrainian forces stormed the village of Dmytrivka, about 35 km west of Kyiv, on 29 March.284 Between 30 and 31 March, Ukrainian forces reportedly recaptured the settlements of Dmytrivka, Kopyliv, Kapitanivka, Lisne, Buzova, all near Kyiv. Near Brovary, Ploske, Svitylnia, and Hrebelky were reportedly recaptured on 30 March, with Ukrainian forces reportedly entering Nova Basan on 31 March.285
Between 30 and 31 March, Russian forces shelled the eastern and northern suburbs of Kyiv where Ukrainian forces had regained territory in recent days, as well as Irpin and Makariv. At the same time, there were battles reported around Hostomel amidst Ukrainian counterattacks and some Russian withdrawals around Brovary. According to the British Ministry of Defence, "Russian forces continue to hold positions to the east and west of Kyiv despite the withdrawal of a limited number of units" and projected that heavy fighting would likely take place in the suburbs of the city in coming days.286287
After several weeks of attacks, and a month under siege, Ukrainian forces managed to break the encirclement of Chernihiv on 31 March by recapturing a main road connecting Kyiv with the regional capital.288
Bucha was retaken by Ukrainian forces on 31 March, according to its mayor Anatolii Fedoruk. Ukrainian troops recaptured Hostomel and Borodianka by 1 April, and some Russian units withdrew from Chernihiv Oblast. Ivankiv was also captured by 1 April, as Ukrainian forces advanced from Zhytomyr Oblast, and some reports suggested that they had conducted counterattacks in Dytiatky and Orane.289290 According to a Ukrainian official, reconnaissance indicated that Russian forces had left the Chernobyl area by 1 April.284 Amid a withdrawal of Russian troops into Belarus, the Ukrainian military announced that its forces had retaken Demydiv, Dymer, Lytvynivka, Havrylivka, Kozarovychi, Zhovtneve, Hlibivka, Yasnohorodka, Tolokun, Sukholuchchia, Lypivka, Havronshchyna, Makovyshche, Mykolaivka and Khmilna.291
In Chernihiv Oblast, the Right Sector Ukrainian Volunteer Corps announced that on 31 March, it had taken control of the settlements of Petrivka, Staryi Bykiv, Novyi Bykiv, Havrylivka, Ukrainka, Makiivka, Tereshkivka, Halytsia, Yakhnivka, and Svitanok.292 The next day, Ukraine's military announced that following a Russian withdrawal from the area, it had retaken control over Rudnia, Shevchenkove and Bobryk of Kyiv Oblast, along with Stara Basan, Nova Basan, Pohreby, Bazhanivka, Volodymyrivka, Shniakivka and Salne, Sofiivka of Chernihiv Oblast.291
Subsequent artillery strikes were supposed to cover the start of a Russian retreat from Kyiv Oblast. Russian forces also mined areas as they pulled back. Ukrainian forces responded to the withdrawal by continuing their counter-offensive; as a result, the Russian retreat was disorderly in some areas, and some Russian troops were left behind.293
By 1 April, Russian forces had "almost left" the entire Brovary Raion. Ukrainian forces subsequently engaged in "mopping up" operations,294 involving the clearing of barricades, ammunition and suspected booby traps. Zelenskyy warned for "a potentially catastrophic situation for civilians" due to mines left by Russian forces around "homes, abandoned equipment and even the bodies of those killed".295 That day, Ukrainian journalist Maks Levin was found dead near the village of Huta-Mezhyhirska after going missing for more than two weeks. Ukraine's prosecutor's office claimed that the journalist was killed by "two shots" from the Russian military.296
On 2 April, Ukrainian forces retook control over all of Kyiv Oblast including Irpin, Bucha, Hostomel,5 and Brovary.297 Visual confirmation of Ukrainian forces retaking Pripyat district and the border area with Belarus was released on 3 April.298 Ukraine said it uncovered evidence of war crimes in Bucha.299
Russian forces began to withdraw from Romny Raion on April 1, through a corridor from Kyiv and Chernihiv oblasts through Romny towards the Russian state border. The withdrawal ended on April 4.300301 On the evening of 2 April, amid their withdrawal from the Sumy Oblast, Russian forces destroyed the P44 highway's bridge over the Seim River near the village of Chumakove, after crossing the river in the direction of Russia. The retreating Russian columns withdrew through the villages of Volyntseve and Yurieve towards the international border.302303 In Chernihiv Oblast, Horodnia, Shestovytsia, and Novyi Bykiv were recaptured between 1 and 2 April.304
Ukrainian forces recaptured almost the entirety of Chernihiv Oblast and much of Sumy Oblast on 3 April.305 On 4 April, the Zhytomyr Oblast was declared liberated.7 Also on 4 April, Governor Dmytro Zhyvytskyi stated that Russian troops no longer occupied any towns or villages in Sumy Oblast and had mostly withdrawn, while Ukrainian troops were working to push out the remaining units.305 Governor Chaus stated that the Russian military pulled back from the regional capital of Chernihiv, while "some troops" remained in the province.306Russian forces reportedly planted mines in many areas where they retreated from.307 On 6 April, the Pentagon confirmed that the Russian army left Chernihiv Oblast, while Sumy Oblast remained contested.308 On 8 April, Governor Zhyvytskyi stated that all Russians troops left Sumy Oblast. He added that the territory of the region was still unsafe due to rigged explosives and other ammunition left behind by Russian troops.309
Aftermath
After Ukraine had fully retaken Kyiv Oblast, its military began to mop up pockets of isolated Russian troops who had been left behind in the retreat. The Institute for the Study of War assessed that these remnant groups did not offer organized resistance. The Institute for the Study of War also said that some of the Russian units that were pulled back to Belarus and western Russia would "remain combat ineffective for a protracted period".293
On 6 April 2022, NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said that the Russian "retraction, resupply, and redeployment" of their troops from the Kyiv area should be interpreted as an expansion of Putin's plans for his military actions against Ukraine, by redeploying and concentrating his forces on Eastern Ukraine and Mariupol within the next two weeks, as a precursor to the further expansion of Putin's actions against the rest of Ukraine.310
Ukrainian border guards returned to border regions of Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy oblasts by 11 April. A large concentration of Russian forces remained near Sumy Oblast.311
As the second phase of the invasion began, Kyiv was left generally free from attack apart from isolated missile strikes, one of which occurred during the 28 April 2022 visit of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who met with Zelenskyy to discuss the fate of survivors at the siege of Mariupol.312
On 14 June 2024 Russian presidentPutin claimed that "Russian troops were near Kyiv in March 2022", but "There was no political decision to storm the three-million-strong city; it was a coercive operation to establish peace."313
On 10 June 2025, a Radio Liberty investigation had identified 898 Russian personnel who had been treated in hospitals during the offensive on Kyiv. The group claimed that some of them had been complicit in war crimes committed in the region.314
Humanitarian situation and war crimes
Ukrainian authorities said that more than 300 civilian inhabitants of Bucha had been summarily executed in what would be known as the Bucha massacre. The bodies were discovered after the Russians withdrew.315 In total, 458 civilian deaths were recorded in Bucha,316317 along with 1,300 deaths in Russian-occupied areas of Kyiv Oblast.318
A Russian airstrike on the local power plant on 3 March 2022 cut off the electricity and heating supply in the city of Okhtyrka.319 On 9 March, in Velyka Pysarivka, three civilians were killed due to Russian bombing according to Zhyvytskyi.320
After 01:30 on 10 March, Russian airstrikes destroyed a gas pipeline in Okhtyrka. According to governor Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, Russian shelling on the territory of the former Elektrobutprilad plant in Trostianets had killed three civilians.320 At 14:20, Russian forces shelled the city of Nizhyn using BM-27 Uragan, reportedly killing two civilians.321 On 11 March, two civilians were reportedly killed overnight due to Russian shelling in the village of Kerdylivshchyna in Sumy Oblast.322
Further reading
Cooper, Tom; Fontanellaz, Adrien; Crowther, Edward; Sipos, Milos (2023). War in Ukraine: Russian Invasion, February 2022. Helion & Company. ISBN 978-1-80451-216-6.
Harrel, John S. (2024). The Russian Invasion of Ukraine, February – December 2022: Destroying the Myth of Russian Invincibility. Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 978-1-399-03176-9.
Lawrence, Christopher A. (2024). The Battle for Kyiv: The Fight for Ukraine's Capital. Frontline Books. ISBN 978-1-399-04848-4.
Plokhy, Serhii (2024). Chernobyl Roulette: A War Story. Allen Lane. ISBN 978-0-241-68125-1.
Gabuev, Alexander (23 September 2022). "Putin has once again overplayed his hand in Ukraine". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 23 September 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022. Putin's original plan—to take Kyiv in three days—was thwarted by the fierce resistance of the Ukrainians and by western support for Kyiv. Now we are seeing plan B, formed in response to developments on the ground. Alt URL↩
Copp, Tara (2 March 2022). "'The Convoy Is Stalled': Logistics Failures Slow Russian Advance, Pentagon Says". Defense One. Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022. On Wednesday, Ukraine's security service posted a video of a captured Russian soldier who says he and his unit were sent across the border with only three days' food. 'Putin expected to capture Ukraine in three days,' Ukraine's security service wrote above the video, which could not be independently verified. 'By the order of the top Russian leadership, the phones and documents were taken from the fire brigades, removed food and water for three days and sent to war with Ukraine,' the agency said, according to the English translation of the post. ↩
"ЗСУ: Росіяни взяли з собою в Україну парадну військову форму". Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 29 January 2025. Вони їхали до нас вбивати наших дітей, трощити наші домівки, щоб потім пройти урочистим парадом Хрещатиком. Навіть везли з собою парадну форму з начепленими медалями. ↩
Akopov, Petr (26 February 2022). "Наступление России и нового мира" [The arrival/attack of Russia and the new world] (in Russian). RIA Novosti. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022. ↩
Doucet, Lyse (25 February 2022). "Ukraine conflict: Kyiv braces for Russian assault". BBC News. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022. On Friday afternoon, Russia's defence ministry announced it had captured the Antonov airport, using 200 helicopters and a landing force in order to take the base to the north of Kyiv from Ukraine. Western intelligence officials warned earlier that Russia was building an "overwhelming force" to take control of the city. ↩
Schwirtz, Michael; Troianovski, Anton; Al-Hlou, Yousur; Froliak, Masha; Entous, Adam; Gibbons-Neff, Thomas (16 December 2022). "Putin's War". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 May 2023. ↩
"Держспецзв'язку" [State Special Communications]. Telegram (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022. ↩
"На Донбасі збили російський вертоліт і штурмовик" [A Russian helicopter and an attack aircraft were shot down in Donbas]. portal.lviv.ua (in Ukrainian). 26 February 2022. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022. ↩
Russian forces initially captured several towns and cities,23 but logistical and supply failures, stiff Ukrainian resistance, and poor morale caused their advance to stall. With heavy losses and the inability to make further progress, Russia withdrew its forces from Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv and Sumy oblasts in late March and early April 2022, and Ukrainian forces retook control.4567
Campaign
Three-day war plan
Russia had reportedly hoped to take Kyiv rapidly and to remove the Ukrainian Government, allowing the installation of a pro-Russian government. Russia , which crossed the border and invaded the north of Ukraine, while other forces attacked from the east of Ukraine (occupied territories of the ) and from in the south.
After the start of the invasion, Ukrainian and Western analysts tentatively assessed that Putin seemed to have assumed that the Russian Armed Forces would be capable of capturing the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv within several days. This assessment eventually led to the commonly reached conclusion that "taking Kyiv in three days" had been the original objective or expectation of the invasion.81112
Putin himself asserted back in 2014 that Russian forces "could take Ukraine in two weeks".1314Aleksandr Lukashenko had already stated that, in case of war, Kyiv would be taken in "3–4 days".1516Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the Russian state-controlled broadcaster RT, had made similar remarks about Russia being able to "defeat Ukraine in two days".17 The narrative of the planned "three day" capture of Kyiv was further reinforced on 2 March, when the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) repeated the claim following its release of a video showing a captured Russian soldier claiming that his unit was sent into Ukraine with food supplies for only three days.1819 Documents found inside Russian tanks mention how the "special military operation" would conclude in ten days.20 Ukraine also captured "flagship" tanks – as used in parades – along with military parade uniforms, suggesting that Russia expected to stage a victory parade in Kyiv after a quick conquest.2122 Three days after the invasion began, RIA Novosti, a Russian state news agency, mistakenly published an article entitled "Russia's Coming and the New World," which was prepared in advance in anticipation of a Russian victory. It announced that Russia had won the Russo-Ukrainian war and that "Ukraine had returned to Russia".2324 Zelenskyy also said that he had received an ultimatum to be replaced with Viktor Medvedchuk.2526
Russian advance on Kyiv
On the morning of 24 February 2022, Russia initiated attacks on Kyiv Oblast with artillery and missile strikes on several primary targets, including Boryspil International Airport, Kyiv's primary airport.272829 Russia apparently intended to rapidly seize Kyiv, with Spetsnaz infiltrating the city, supported by airborne operations and a rapid mechanised advance from the north. Russian Airborne Forces attempted to seize two key airfields near Kyiv, launching an airborne assault on Antonov Airport,3031 followed by a similar landing at Vasylkiv, near Vasylkiv Air Base south of Kyiv, on 26 February.3233
The attacks were unsuccessful34 due to several factors, including the disparity in morale and performance between Ukrainian and Russian forces, the Ukrainian use of sophisticated man-portable weapons provided by Western allies, poor Russian logistics and equipment performance, the failure of the Russian Air Force to achieve air superiority, and Russian military attrition during their siege of major cities.353637 As Russian forces advanced towards Kyiv, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that "subversive groups" were approaching the city.3839 The Ukrainians also claimed that at the beginning of the invasion, just 30 SOF soldiers managed to halt the Russian attack. The Ukrainians ambushed the Russian convoy, guarded by some 2,000 troops, and destroyed three lead vehicles, attacked the rest of the convoy, destroying the bridges in the process. This engagement ended up temporarily stalling the entire Russian advance from Belarus, which consisted of 70,000 soldiers and 7,000 vehicles.40
Russian forces trying to capture Kyiv advanced south towards the city from Belarus on 24 February, reportedly in an attempt encircle the city from the west. Two supporting axes of attack from Russia through Chernihiv Oblast and Sumy Oblast were intended to encircle Kyiv from the northeast and east, respectively.42
The attack force reached the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and captured the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and the ghost city of Pripyat.4344 Russian vehicles had also broke through the border checkpoint at Vilcha by noon.45 Following their breakthrough at Chernobyl, Russian forces were held at Ivankiv, a key town between the border and Kyiv. United States Secretary of DefenseLloyd Austin revealed that some Russian mechanized infantry units had advanced to within 20 miles (32 km) of Kyiv on the first day of the offensive.38 In the morning of 25 February, Ukraine's military said its airborne forces were fighting near the settlements of Dymer and Ivankiv, where a large amount of Russian armored vehicles had advanced.4647 The Ukrainian forces destroyed a bridge over the Teteriv River at Ivankiv, claiming to have halted the Russian columns, though it was soon reported that 80 Russian vehicles were moving through Dymer and the neighboring village of Katiuzhanka.474844
On the morning of 27 February, a large convoy of Russian vehicles more than 4.8 kilometres (3 miles) long was seen on satellite images on a road near Ivankiv heading towards Kyiv.4950 By 28 February, the convoy had grown to around 64 kilometres (40 miles) long.10
The Russian advance was greatly hindered by logistical difficulties, partially caused by the Belarusian opposition, as dissident railway workers, hackers and security forces disrupted railway lines in Belarus. This operation, known as the 2022 rail war in Belarus, was mainly organized by individuals and three larger networks known as "Bypol", the "Community of Railway Workers", and the "Cyber Partisans".51
The assault was an attempt to secure the site as an airbridge for Russian transport troops and heavy equipment (such as artillery and tanks) for an invasion on Kyiv proper.30 The helicopter group was met by attacks from Ukrainian small arms and MANPADS. The attack eventually downed one to three helicopters, with their pilots ejecting.5352 Despite the attacks, the airport was ultimately captured on 25 February as the significantly outnumbered and outgunned members of the Ukrainian National Guard withdrew.545556
After the capture of the airport, Russian troops began to prepare for the arrival of 18 Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft with reinforcements for the assault. However, local militias and troops from the 3rd Special Purpose Regiment attacked the airport, hampering Russian efforts.57 The Ukrainian 4th Rapid Reaction Brigade, in a decisive counterattack, prevented the transport aircraft from landing at the airport, forcing it to return to Russia, and preventing further reinforcements.58 With air support from the Ukrainian Air Force, Ukrainian units managed to repel the airborne assault.5259 Russian forces also attempted landings at the Kyiv Cistern.60
A renewed airborne assault was launched a day after the initial attack. Russian forces were able to advance and capture the airport after a combined ground-based assault.31 Despite their success, the airport was deemed inoperable,58 ending chances for a swift Ukrainian capitulation via the capture of Kyiv.61 During the clash at Antonov Airport, the only existing Antonov An-225 Mriya (the world's largest operational aircraft) was destroyed in its storage hangar.62 The Russian government claimed nearly 200 Ukrainian deaths in the assault with no losses of its own. However, according to both Western and Ukrainian sources, an estimated 300 Russian paratroopers were killed during the battle.63
On 26 February, according to Ukrainian sources, Ukrainian strikes near the Hostomel airport resulted in the death of 141st Motorized Regiment commander Magomed Tushayev and the "destruction" of a "strike group" which had been ordered to assassinate Zelenskyy.6566
In late February 2022, Russian forces attempted to set up checkpoints within the city of Hostomel, but were forced to move back towards the airport by Ukrainian forces.67
On 3 March, the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) claimed that its forces were engaged in battles for the city of Hostomel, and claimed to have destroyed twenty Russian military vehicles, including ten at the city's glass factory.68MajorValeriy Chybineyev of the Defense Intelligence was killed at Hostomel the same day.697071 The next day, the DIU announced that a special forces group under its command, which also included the 3rd Special Forces Regiment and a local resistance group, had restored control over Hostomel, and that over fifty members of Russia's 31st Air Assault Brigade had been killed in action during the battles.727369 An advisor to Zelenskyy claimed that Russian forces retook control of Hostomel and Bucha on 5 March.74
Vasylkiv
It has been reported that, on 26 February 2022, Russian paratroopers began an assault on Vasylkiv, 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of Kyiv, to capture a military airbase nearby. A large group of Russian paratrooper units were alleged to have landed near Vasylkiv, despite anti-aircraft fire. The units then advanced to the city and were involved in heavy fighting with the Ukrainian 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade,7576 and were repulsed.77 The city's mayor, Natalia Balasinovich, claimed over 200 Ukrainians were injured during the fight.787980 The New York Times cited reports by unnamed Ukrainian officials, that at least part of the attackers were sleeper agents who had bought apartments in the city the month before the invasion.81
Claims have been made that Ukrainian aircraft shot down two Russian Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft transporting assault troops.828384 However, The Guardian reports "no convincing public evidence has surfaced about the two downed planes, or about a drop of paratroopers in Vasylkiv".78Ukrainian territorial defense units combed the woods and surrounding countryside and found no plane wreckage.81
In the early morning of 27 February, a Russian missile struck an oil depot in Vasylkiv, setting it ablaze.85 On 12 March, a Russian rocket attack destroyed the air base.86
Battle of Kyiv
On 25 February, Russian fighter aircraft began bombarding central Kyiv.87 A Ukrainian Su-27 was then shot down.8889 Russian saboteurs dressed as Ukrainian soldiers attempted to infiltrate Obolon,901 a suburb north of central Kyiv, just 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) from the Verkhovna Rada building (the seat of the Ukrainian parliament), but were all captured or killed by Ukrainian troops.91Army reserves were then activated to defend Kyiv. Gunfire, described by Ukrainian officials as clashes between Ukrainian and Russian troops, was heard in several wards of the city.191 Zelenskyy urged residents to engage in urban guerrilla warfare with Molotov cocktails against Russian forces.9293 Guns were distributed to civilian militias.94 The Ukrainian government imposed a curfew on the city the next morning.95 Ukrainian forces claimed to have killed around 60 Russian saboteurs in a single day.96
Simultaneously with the failed assault on Vasylkiv, Russian units began bombarding Kyiv on 26 February with artillery and organized attacks to capture the Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant with muddled outcome.979899 Ukrainian forces regrouped and struck a counter-offensive on the power plant the next day, repulsing Russian forces from the site.100101 A separate attack on an army base in the city ended in failure.99 Russian forces were reported to be 31 kilometres (19 mi) from central-Kyiv.102
Russian airstrikes were made on Vasylkiv and Kyiv on 27 February,85103 including one on a radioactive waste disposal site near Kyiv, albeit the site was unharmed.104 Another Russian attack group began approaching Kyiv from the northeast after bypassing the city of Chernihiv.49Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, told the Associated Press that Kyiv had been "completely encircled". However, his remarks were retracted shortly after.105 Missile attacks were reported at Brovary on 28 February,106107 but Kyiv was relatively free from direct combat.108109
Ukrainian forces claimed the destruction of a Russian column in Makariv,110 where fighting had erupted one day earlier.111 Russian strikes continued in early March. The Kyiv TV Tower was hit on 1 March.112 Strikes were later reported at Rusanivka, Kurenivka, Boiarka, Vyshneve,113114Vorzel and Markhalivka.115116 while Borodianka was extensively bombed, killing hundreds.11758 The Ukrainian Air Force claimed it had downed two Russian Sukhoi Su-35 over Kyiv on 2 March.118 Makariv was recaptured on 3 March.119 Ukrainian reports from Kyiv believed the Russian army had begun to surround the city with tanks from Belarus,120 in an attempt to enforce a blockade.121 In early March 2022, the Ukrainians claimed the destruction of 120 tanks in one day, reportedly "when Russian tank columns stalled on roads to Kyiv, got hit with massed artillery barrages and modern anti-tank missiles dropped by plane-sized drones or fired by infantry teams."122
Estonian intelligence estimated that the advancing Russian convoy would arrive at Kyiv in at least two days.123 On 4 March, an armored Russian column from the Sumy Oblast reportedly reached near Brovary.42 Clashes remained throughout the Kyiv Oblast by 8 March.124 Russian forces advanced on the highway between Zhytomyr and Kyiv, threatening Fastiv. Russian tanks reached within a few kilometres from Kyiv on 9 March,125 but were attacked by Ukrainian forces during the night.126
On 25 February, due a lack of communications with the main invasion command, a convoy of special police units OMON and SOBR from the Kemerovo Oblast accidentally separated from the invasion forces and ended up charging and spearheading the attack at Kyiv by themselves. The convoy was spotted by local transit CCTV cameras and were ambushed by local Ukrainian forces using anti-tank missiles and mortars at a bridge over the Irpin River, and the unarmored and under-equipped units were completely destroyed. Reportedly, of the 80 soldiers in the convoy, only 3 survived.129
Fighting neared Bucha on 27 February, as the 36th Combined Arms Army and Russian special police forces approached the city.13013113285 Russian artillery began bombarding the city at the same time,133134 causing several civilian casualties, reportedly also wounding the mayor of Bucha, Anatoliy Fedoruk.135136 As fighting developed, Russian breakthroughs allowed units to advance to Irpin.130137
Ukrainian forces used artillery to shell Russian convoys to halt the advance,138 and destroyed a bridge linking Bucha and Irpin.139140 According to the mayor of Irpin, Oleksandr Markushin, Russian forces were trapped and destroyed.141 Ukrainian forces engaged and destroyed an armored column on 28 February.142
Irpin was struck by missiles on 2 March.143 Russian forces attacked a Ukrainian checkpoint in Yasnohorodka on 6 March.144 Markushin had refused requests by Russian forces to surrender the town.145
Encirclement of Chernihiv
At 06:00 on 24 February, the Russian military crossed the Ukrainian border into the Chernihiv Oblast from both Russia and Belarus, at Hremiach, Mykolaivka, Senkivka, Derevyny and Ilmivka.146
At the onset of the Russian invasion, Major General Viktor Nikoliuk, head of the Ukrainian Operational Command North, ordered the 1st Tank Brigade to defend Chernihiv, and sent the 58th Motorized Brigade to Baturyn and Hlukhiv in order to stop the Russian advance on the major highway there. The 1st Brigade failed to reach a planned defensive line at Ripky and Horodnia on time, though it still managed to stall the Russian advance north of Chernihiv and began to fortify the city. Meanwhile, the 58th Brigade was outnumbered and forced to retreat, first to Konotop and then to Vertiivka and Kipti, where it took up the defense of the area south of Chernihiv.147
Near Chernihiv, Russian forces struck Pivka airfield.148 The Ukrainian military said its forces had stopped Russian columns near Baturyn and on the outskirts of Chernihiv, near the villages of Velyki Osniaky and Rivnopillia.149150
On 10 March, Chernihiv Mayor Vladyslav Atroshenko said that Russian forces had completed the encirclement of Chernihiv, adding that the city was completely isolated and critical infrastructure for its 300,000 residents was rapidly failing as it came under repeated bombardment.153
Operations in other northern regions
A column of Russian military vehicles crossed the international border at the Bachivsk checkpoint in the Sumy Oblast around 5:00 on 24 February.15445 Units of Ukraine's 58th Motorized Brigade engaged the Russians outside the city of Hlukhiv, halting the column.154155 The Ukrainian military claimed to have neutralized the column outside of Hlukhiv using Javelin anti-tank missiles,156157 but by 14:30 on 24 February, the governor of the Sumy Oblast acknowledged that Russian forces were in control of the entire length of the Kyiv–Moscow highway in the Sumy Oblast, up until Baturyn in the Chernihiv Oblast.158159 Due to the destruction of the bridge over the Seim River outside of Baturyn by Ukrainian forces,160 Russian forces were forced to use alternative routes to Kyiv, taking a detour through Konotop, Bakhmach, and Plysky.161
A separate Russian advance into Sumy Oblast on 24 February attacked the city of Sumy, just 35 kilometres (22 mi) from the Russo-Ukrainian border. The Russian advance bogged down in urban fighting, and Ukrainian forces successfully held the city. According to Ukrainian sources, more than 100 Russian tanks, 20 Grad MLRs and eight tanker trucks were destroyed and dozens of soldiers were captured.162
Russian forces entered Sumy Oblast from Russia on the morning of 24 February. Two Russian tank columns crossing the border at Grayvoron and Popivka reached Velyka Pysarivka at 08:00.163 Clashes broke out in Okhtyrka between 12:00-14:00 as a Russian column attempted to pass through the city.164 Russian forces attacked Okhtyrka by 14:25,163 deploying thermobaric weapons;165 Russian assaults on the city were repelled by territorial defense fighters and Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade.163166167 On the evening of February 24, two convoys of Russian soldiers coming from the cities of Nedryhailiv and Konotop made their way in the direction of Romny.163
Russia's 4th Guards Tank Division first entered the city of Trostianets in Sumy Oblast shortly after noon on 24 February.168169170 There were no Ukrainian military units in the city,171 and due to a lack of weapons, the local territorial defense unit had elected to disperse and engage in partisan combat.169172 Russian tank columns moved westward through the city on their way towards Kyiv.169173
In the early hours of 2 March, the Sumy administration claimed that about 100 Russian military vehicles, mainly tanks and armored personnel carriers (APCs), had been destroyed in the village of Byshkin.163
Russian forces moved west along highways from Sumy, reaching Brovary, an eastern suburb of Kyiv, on 4 March.42 In an assessment of the campaign on 4 March, Frederick Kagan wrote that the "Sumy axis is currently the most successful and dangerous Russian avenue of advance on Kyiv." He noted that the geography favored mechanized advances as the terrain "is flat and sparsely populated, offering few good defensive positions."174 According to the Institute for the Study of War, since Russian forces failed to secure any new territory in the theater after 8 March, it was possible that they had redeployed forces from eastern Kyiv to defend against Ukrainian counterattacks in Sumy Oblast.175
Throughout the battle at Kyiv Oblast, the Zhytomyr Oblast was also affected. Russian forces operating nearby Kyiv had advanced some 20 miles (32 km) into the oblast towards Bihun and Ovruch as of 3 March. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces claimed that two Russian BTGs were within the territory of Zhytomyr Oblast.176
Ukrainian forces repelled an attack by a column of up to 300 Russian vehicles on Konotop late on 24 February,150177 and Russian forces reportedly retreated from the city of Sumy in the early hours of the next day.178 However, the Russian military claimed later on 25 February that it had encircled both cities.179 Outside of Konotop, Ukraine's military said that Russian troops were experiencing "problems with fuel and supply" and had suffered heavy losses,180 though later statements from Ukrainian officials suggested that Ukrainian forces lost control over the city later that day.18147
On 25 February, battles began in the outskirts of Okhtyrka around 7:30 from the direction of the village of Velyka Pysarivka.182 Russian forces were unable to occupy Okhtyrka, and retreated the following day, leaving behind tanks and equipment.183
On 26 February, clashes occurred in Sumy between Russian forces and Territorial Defense Forces throughout the day.184 Russian forces reportedly managed to capture half of the city during the day, but Ukrainian forces repelled the attackers according to a Ukrainian official.185 Three civilians were reportedly killed in shelling on Sumy.186Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, the governor of Sumy Oblast, stated that six civilians were killed and 55 wounded in Russian shelling on Okhtyrka.187 Russian forces west of Sumy reportedly advanced further westwards by the night, and were apparently 150 kilometres (93 mi) from Kyiv.49BM-27 Uragan missiles hit a school in Okhtyrka,188 killing a guard and injuring an unknown number of children and a teacher. However, Ukrainian forces put up heavy resistance, forcing the Russians to retreat.183
Between February 26 and 27, more Russian vehicles headed towards Romny from Krasnopillia, bypassing Sumy. A second convoy was bombed by Ukrainian forces before it reached Romny.189 Ukrainian forces allegedly destroyed some Russian tanks outside of Trostianets on 27 February.190
Also on 27 February, a number of Russian vehicles advanced into Sumy from the east, while two women were reportedly killed around the Sumy Airport.191 On 28 February, Russian forces bombed and destroyed an oil depot in Okhtyrka.192 More than 70 Ukrainian soldiers were killed when their base in Okhtyrka was struck by a thermobaric bomb.193194 Russian forces also attacked the Romny Correctional Colony. Meanwhile, that same day, Russian forces crushed a civilian in the village of Pohozha Krynytsia when he attempted to use his car to block Russian tanks passing through.195 On the same day, a local man died in Shtepivka attempting to enter an abandoned military vehicle that had been mined.196 The next day, the Ukrainians claimed to have destroyed 80 units of Russian equipment near the village of Pustoviitivka, half of which were Grad MLRS.163
In the Sumy Oblast, the Russian offensive began to stall due to Ukrainian resistance west and southwest of Trostianets, and the detonation of a bridge south of the city.170172173 As a result, Trostianets, which was first envisioned as "little more than a speed bump" in Russian plans to swiftly take Kyiv, was occupied by a garrison of Russian troops on 1 March.173197
On the same day, the Sumy Oblast territorial defense was reported to have erected roadblocks and checkpoints on some parts of the Kipti-Bachivsk highway, a major road which had been one of the main routes of the Russian invasion.198 Meanwhile, Russian forces captured the villages of Bilovodske and Bobryk, just south of Romny, which had been contested in previous days.199200201202
On 2 March, Russian forces gave Konotop's mayor an ultimatum to surrender the city, threatening to bombard it with artillery; an "angry crowd" of locals "overwhelmingly" refused to surrender.203204205 A compromise was reached under which Russian forces agreed not to interfere with the city's government or deploy troops in return for the residents not attacking them.206205 The territorial council of the Kruty rural hromada in Chernihiv Oblast claimed that nearly 200 Russian soldiers were killed in clashes with Ukrainian armed forces and the Territorial Defense Forces in the village of Kruty on 2 March.207 On the same day, it was reported that the Ukrainian military and border guards of the 5th Detachment had returned the border with Russia in some areas of Sumy Oblast.208
On 3 March, five people were reportedly injured from shelling on buildings of the 27th Artillery Brigade and the military department at Sumy State University.209 Elsewhere in the Sumy Oblast, an escalation in Russian artillery shelling led to the bombardment of the localities of Nedryhailiv, Okhtyrka, Boromlia, Bezdryk and Lebedyn.210 The same day, Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade announced that Ukrainian artillery had destroyed a Russian column near the village of Moskovskyi Bobryk.211 During their stay in the village, the Russians had looted the local shops and burnt the car of the head of the village, according to residents.212
On 3 March, Russian troops shelled Lebedyn during the bombardment across Sumy Oblast.210
The next day, civilians from the village of Spartak attempted to block Russian vehicles passing from Nedryhailiv to Romny. They succeeded in blocking the road, although an ensuing attack by the Russians resulted in one civilian dying.213 During the night between March 4 and 5, Russian soldiers occupied a poultry farm in Vilshana, Sumy Oblast, killing around 100,000 poultry and causing an estimated one million hryvnias worth of damage.214
On March 5, three out of four hostages who were taken by Russian troops were released, according to the head of the Romny Raion, Denys Vashchenko. That same day, Russian soldiers standing on the road fired at Ukrainian TDF troops at a gas station, leaving one Ukrainian soldier killed and two wounded.215 On the evening of March 5, Russian soldiers fired at two cars traveling from Sumy to Romny, in the village of Pustoviitivka. 3 civilians were wounded, and one civilian was killed in the shooting.216 Later that evening, in the village of Skrypali in Romny Raion, Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian column, and killed an unspecified number of soldiers.217 In the evening between March 5 and 6, shots were fired in Pustoviitivka and Romny, with no injuries. The shooting in Romny, however, knocked out electricity for parts of the town.218
Lebedyn was completely cut off from electricity for the 4 and 5 of March. On 5 March at 7 a.m., civilians heard an air raid alarm in Lebedyn as the Russians began shelling the city.219 The explosions blew out windows in multistoried buildings. The artillery shelling went on all day long.162 An electric substation, the Lebedyn bakery, and a gas station were destroyed by Russian shelling.220
According to the Military Administration, Russian artillery shelling and the airstrikes of 6 March left many inhabitants of Lebedyn without electricity. The prosecution launched a pre-trial investigation into the destruction of the Lebedyn bakery by the strikes of Russian military planes.162
On 7 March, the electricity supply to Lebedyn was partially restored.162
On the night of 8 to 9 March, the Russian air forces attacked Lebedyn. Two houses in Shevchenka Street were ruined. Five people, two children among them, were retrieved from the debris. The officers of the 5th State Fire and Rescue Brigade, who were in charge that night, worked at the site from 01:45 on 9 March.221
On 11 March, Sumy Oblast Governor Dmytro Zhyvytskyy claimed that 104 Russian servicemen had been taken prisoner in Sumy Oblast since the invasion began.222
According to Yuriy Bova, the mayor of Trostianets, Russian forces were planning to capture Lebedyn on 12 March, Okhtyrka on 13 March, and Sumy on 14 March, but were prevented from doing so by Ukrainian resistance.223 Members of the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division were reportedly told on 11 March that they would storm the city of Sumy, but after a company in the division rebelled two days later, all conscripts serving in its ranks were sent back into Russia.224 The Ukrainian General Staff claimed on 19 March that units of Russia's 1st Guards Tank Army were focused on surrounding Sumy, while preparing offensive operations in the areas of Trostianets, Okhtyrka, and Poltava. Some of the units were claimed to be planning offensives the direction of Pryluky and Kyiv.225
On the night of 11 March, the Russian troops shelled houses in Kerdylivshchyna killing two locals – Vasyl Masliuk and Valeriy Sukhanov.221
As of 13 March, 22,500 civilians in Sumy Oblast had no electricity. According to the Military Administration, shelling damaged the power lines in Okhtyrka, Trostianets, Lebedyn and Sumy.226 On March 11, Vashchenko reported that Ukrainian forces unblocked the road between Romny and Lokhvytsia, allowing civilians to flee southwards. That morning near Romny, police and Ukrainian TDF discovered and detained 29 Russian soldiers in a field, all of whom claimed to be lost.226227228 Between 11 and 12 March, the Ukrainians claimed to have destroyed a column of 80 military vehicles belonging to the 228th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 90th Tank Division in the Chernihiv Oblast.229
Stalemate (11–15 March)
By early March, Russian advances along the west side of the Dnieper were limited, after setbacks from Ukrainian defences.42 As of 5 March, a large Russian convoy, reportedly 64 kilometres (40 mi) in length, had made little progress toward Kyiv.230 The London-based think tankRoyal United Services Institute (RUSI) assessed Russian advances from the north and east as "stalled".231 Advances along the Chernihiv axis had largely halted as a siege there began. By 11 March, it was reported that the lengthy convoy had largely dispersed, taking up positions under tree cover. Rocket launchers were also identified.232
Russian forces continued to advance on Kyiv from the northwest, capturing Bucha, Hostomel, and Vorzel by 5 March,23 though Irpin remained contested as of 9 March.145
By 11 March, some elements of the Russian Kyiv convoy broke off and deployed into firing positions. While the bulk of the convoy remained on the road, some parts, including artillery, left the main column, and took up positions near Hostomel.233 Some elements of the convoy took up positions in Lubianka and nearby forests.234 An assessment of the offensive at this date by the Institute for the Study of War said that Russian ground forces attempting to encircle Kyiv had paused to resupply and refit their combat units, having failed in their attacks from 8 to 10 March.175
On 12 March, the Security Service of Ukraine said that seven civilians were killed after Russian forces shot at an evacuation column in the village of Peremoha, Brovary Raion, and forced it to turn back.239
An overnight barrage of missile attacks had destroyed the Vasylkiv Air Base along with its airstrip. In addition, the ammunition depot and an oil depot in the town and an oil depot in the village of Kriachky were set ablaze as well. Shelling on the village of Kvitneve at 03:40 set a frozen goods warehouse on fire.240241242 Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov stated that long-range high-precision missiles were used to destroy the military airfield in Vasylkiv and the "main center of radio and electronic intelligence of Ukrainian forces" in Brovary.243
On 13 March, the UK's Ministry of Defence reported that Russian forces were 25 kilometres (16 mi) from the center of Kyiv.244
That day American journalist Brent Renaud was killed and two other journalists were wounded at a checkpoint in Irpin when Russian forces reportedly shot at a car carrying non-Ukrainian journalists.245 Ukrainian forces prevented an attempt by Russian forces to advance further on Kyiv by blowing up a pontoon bridge on the Irpin river near Hostomel and 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north of the main bridge on the river.246 Russian advances across the Irpin were also hindered by flooding caused by their own attack on the Kozarovychi dam, which regulates flow from the Kyiv Reservoir.247
On 14 March, Fox News reporter Benjamin Hall was wounded in the village of Horenka while reporting on the conflict near Kyiv. Cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and Oleksandra Kuvshynova, a Ukrainian news producer and fixer, were killed in the same attack. Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs, stated that the deaths were caused by Russian shelling.248249 Russian forces meanwhile had captured Bucha and half of Irpin by 14 March.250
On 15 March, a new military headquarters responsible for the defense of Kyiv was established. Zelenskyy appointed acting Commander of the Joint Forces Oleksandr Pavliuk as head of the "Kyiv Regional Military Administration" and Eduard Koskalov the new Commander of the Joint Forces.76 The National Police of Ukraine stated that one civilian was killed and two others wounded in Hostomel when Russian troops fired at evacuation buses.251 In Bucha, Russian troops captured volunteers and employees of the city council, although they released them the next day.252
Ukrainian counteroffensive (16 March – 4 April)
On 16 March, the Ukrainian government announced that its forces had begun a counter-offensive to repel Russian forces approaching Kyiv. Fighting took place in Bucha, Hostomel, and Irpin.253 Russian forces conducted only limited attacks northwest of Kyiv.254
On 17 March, Ukraine's Defense Ministry announced that Russian forces had made "no significant advances around Kyiv in the past 24–48 hours" and had resorted to "chaotic" shelling. A British military intelligence report added that Russian forces suffered "heavy losses" while making "minimal progress".255
On 18 March, Ukraine blocked Russia's two main routes for attacking the capital city as the latter was abandoning "offensive actions" around Brovary and Boryspil. Ukraine worked on strengthening a third line of defense around the capital, while Russian forces were "cynically shooting" at infrastructure facilities.256
By 19 March, Russia was attempting to consolidate control over the area they occupied, while more efforts were made to resupply and reinforce units' static positions. Maxar imagery showed Russian forces digging trenches and revetments in Kyiv Oblast.257
On 20 March, Russian missiles struck a number of areas in the capital and what Russia described as a "Ukrainian special forces training center" in Zhytomyr Oblast.258
On 21 March, Ukraine halted a Russian attack on Brovary, while Russia claimed to have captured a Ukrainian command bunker in Mykolaivka. However, Russian forces were still reportedly struggling to organize the sufficient logistical support needed for major operations in the northwest of Kyiv.259
Unable to achieve a quick victory in Kyiv, Russian forces switched strategies and began using standoff weapons, indiscriminate bombing, and siege warfare.260261
Between 22 and 24 March, Ukrainian forces retook the strategically important town of Makariv (22 March), the village of Moshchun (23 March), and the small settlement of Lukianivka (24 March). It was claimed that three Russian tanks and nine infantry fighting vehicles were destroyed at Lukianivka, as well as some armor captured, while Ukrainian troops were reportedly working on the encirclement of Russian units in nearby villages. Irpin was reportedly 80% controlled by Ukrainian forces, while Russia launched rocket attacks against the town.262263264
On 23 March, reports arose that Russian soldiers were starting to mutiny against their leaders. Colonel Yuri Medvedev was fighting in Makariv when a soldier from the 37th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade was reported to have deliberately rammed into the colonel, breaking both his legs, allegedly killing him. This was because the 37th Brigade, which he was commanding, was reported to have lost close to 50% of its men while fighting in Makariv.265266 Dan Sabbagh wrote in The Guardian that while the attack most likely occurred, little evidence existed confirming that Medvedev had indeed died.267
By 25 March, Ukrainian counterattacks in Kyiv Oblast had retaken several towns to the east and west of Kyiv, including Makariv.268269 Under attack by the Ukrainian military, Russian troops in the Bucha area began to retreat north at the end of March. Ukrainian forces entered the city on 1 April.270 A British Ministry of Defence intelligence assessment reported that, as Russian forces were falling back on overextended supply lines, Ukraine recaptured towns and defensive positions up to 35 kilometers (25 miles) east of Kyiv. The assessment concluded that Ukrainian forces were likely "to continue to attempt to push Russian Forces back along the north-western axis from Kyiv towards Hostomel Airfield."271 The Russian military also withdrew from the village of Malyi Vystorop in Sumy Oblast on the same day.272
On 26 March, additional Russian forces from the Eastern Military District (EMD) were reportedly being sent into the Kyiv–Chernihiv axis. The ISW assessed that Ukraine created a "Russian salient" at Hostomel that is "exposed from several directions and apparently under continued pressure".273 The Ukrainian military said that its forces had retaken the villages of Lukianivka and Rudnytske, 40 kilometers east of Brovary, on 26 March, forcing Russia's 30th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade to retreat.274
Following several days of Ukrainian artillery shelling and drone strikes, Trostianets was abandoned by Russian troops over the night of 25–26 March, and Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade retook the city on the 26th.173169170Associated Press reporters in the city said it was "not clear" where the Russian forces had gone.275 The recapture of the city was expected to open up supply routes to relieve the besieged city of Sumy, and "seriously restrict" the Russian military's ability to maneuver in the region.276277 On the same day, Ukrainian forces also took the neighboring city of Boromlia,278 and Russian troops withdrew from the villages of Velykyi Bobryk and Steblianka, which are also in the Sumy Oblast.279280 Russian forces destroyed a bridge over the Psel River after withdrawing from villages near the city of Sumy.281 On 27 March, Slavhorod and Krasnopillia were retaken.160
On 27 March, Russia's 35th Combined Arms Army reportedly rotated damaged units into Belarus under cover of airstrikes and shelling, while it was claimed that Russia established a command post for all EMD-forces operating around Kyiv in the Chernobyl area. The ISW assessed that the EMD Commander Colonel-General Aleksandr Chaiko "may be personally commanding efforts to regroup Russian forces in Belarus and resume operations to encircle Kyiv from the west".274
On 28 March, Ukrainian forces reportedly retook Irpin, with the city's mayor saying the city would be a staging ground for the recapture of Bucha, Hostomel, and Vorzel.282283
On 29 March, the Russian Deputy Ministry of DefenceAlexander Fomin announced a withdrawal of Russian forces from the Kyiv and Chernihiv areas.4 Ukrainian forces stormed the village of Dmytrivka, about 35 km west of Kyiv, on 29 March.284 Between 30 and 31 March, Ukrainian forces reportedly recaptured the settlements of Dmytrivka, Kopyliv, Kapitanivka, Lisne, Buzova, all near Kyiv. Near Brovary, Ploske, Svitylnia, and Hrebelky were reportedly recaptured on 30 March, with Ukrainian forces reportedly entering Nova Basan on 31 March.285
Between 30 and 31 March, Russian forces shelled the eastern and northern suburbs of Kyiv where Ukrainian forces had regained territory in recent days, as well as Irpin and Makariv. At the same time, there were battles reported around Hostomel amidst Ukrainian counterattacks and some Russian withdrawals around Brovary. According to the British Ministry of Defence, "Russian forces continue to hold positions to the east and west of Kyiv despite the withdrawal of a limited number of units" and projected that heavy fighting would likely take place in the suburbs of the city in coming days.286287
After several weeks of attacks, and a month under siege, Ukrainian forces managed to break the encirclement of Chernihiv on 31 March by recapturing a main road connecting Kyiv with the regional capital.288
Bucha was retaken by Ukrainian forces on 31 March, according to its mayor Anatolii Fedoruk. Ukrainian troops recaptured Hostomel and Borodianka by 1 April, and some Russian units withdrew from Chernihiv Oblast. Ivankiv was also captured by 1 April, as Ukrainian forces advanced from Zhytomyr Oblast, and some reports suggested that they had conducted counterattacks in Dytiatky and Orane.289290 According to a Ukrainian official, reconnaissance indicated that Russian forces had left the Chernobyl area by 1 April.284 Amid a withdrawal of Russian troops into Belarus, the Ukrainian military announced that its forces had retaken Demydiv, Dymer, Lytvynivka, Havrylivka, Kozarovychi, Zhovtneve, Hlibivka, Yasnohorodka, Tolokun, Sukholuchchia, Lypivka, Havronshchyna, Makovyshche, Mykolaivka and Khmilna.291
In Chernihiv Oblast, the Right Sector Ukrainian Volunteer Corps announced that on 31 March, it had taken control of the settlements of Petrivka, Staryi Bykiv, Novyi Bykiv, Havrylivka, Ukrainka, Makiivka, Tereshkivka, Halytsia, Yakhnivka, and Svitanok.292 The next day, Ukraine's military announced that following a Russian withdrawal from the area, it had retaken control over Rudnia, Shevchenkove and Bobryk of Kyiv Oblast, along with Stara Basan, Nova Basan, Pohreby, Bazhanivka, Volodymyrivka, Shniakivka and Salne, Sofiivka of Chernihiv Oblast.291
Subsequent artillery strikes were supposed to cover the start of a Russian retreat from Kyiv Oblast. Russian forces also mined areas as they pulled back. Ukrainian forces responded to the withdrawal by continuing their counter-offensive; as a result, the Russian retreat was disorderly in some areas, and some Russian troops were left behind.293
By 1 April, Russian forces had "almost left" the entire Brovary Raion. Ukrainian forces subsequently engaged in "mopping up" operations,294 involving the clearing of barricades, ammunition and suspected booby traps. Zelenskyy warned for "a potentially catastrophic situation for civilians" due to mines left by Russian forces around "homes, abandoned equipment and even the bodies of those killed".295 That day, Ukrainian journalist Maks Levin was found dead near the village of Huta-Mezhyhirska after going missing for more than two weeks. Ukraine's prosecutor's office claimed that the journalist was killed by "two shots" from the Russian military.296
On 2 April, Ukrainian forces retook control over all of Kyiv Oblast including Irpin, Bucha, Hostomel,5 and Brovary.297 Visual confirmation of Ukrainian forces retaking Pripyat district and the border area with Belarus was released on 3 April.298 Ukraine said it uncovered evidence of war crimes in Bucha.299
Russian forces began to withdraw from Romny Raion on April 1, through a corridor from Kyiv and Chernihiv oblasts through Romny towards the Russian state border. The withdrawal ended on April 4.300301 On the evening of 2 April, amid their withdrawal from the Sumy Oblast, Russian forces destroyed the P44 highway's bridge over the Seim River near the village of Chumakove, after crossing the river in the direction of Russia. The retreating Russian columns withdrew through the villages of Volyntseve and Yurieve towards the international border.302303 In Chernihiv Oblast, Horodnia, Shestovytsia, and Novyi Bykiv were recaptured between 1 and 2 April.304
Ukrainian forces recaptured almost the entirety of Chernihiv Oblast and much of Sumy Oblast on 3 April.305 On 4 April, the Zhytomyr Oblast was declared liberated.7 Also on 4 April, Governor Dmytro Zhyvytskyi stated that Russian troops no longer occupied any towns or villages in Sumy Oblast and had mostly withdrawn, while Ukrainian troops were working to push out the remaining units.305 Governor Chaus stated that the Russian military pulled back from the regional capital of Chernihiv, while "some troops" remained in the province.306Russian forces reportedly planted mines in many areas where they retreated from.307 On 6 April, the Pentagon confirmed that the Russian army left Chernihiv Oblast, while Sumy Oblast remained contested.308 On 8 April, Governor Zhyvytskyi stated that all Russians troops left Sumy Oblast. He added that the territory of the region was still unsafe due to rigged explosives and other ammunition left behind by Russian troops.309
Aftermath
After Ukraine had fully retaken Kyiv Oblast, its military began to mop up pockets of isolated Russian troops who had been left behind in the retreat. The Institute for the Study of War assessed that these remnant groups did not offer organized resistance. The Institute for the Study of War also said that some of the Russian units that were pulled back to Belarus and western Russia would "remain combat ineffective for a protracted period".293
On 6 April 2022, NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said that the Russian "retraction, resupply, and redeployment" of their troops from the Kyiv area should be interpreted as an expansion of Putin's plans for his military actions against Ukraine, by redeploying and concentrating his forces on Eastern Ukraine and Mariupol within the next two weeks, as a precursor to the further expansion of Putin's actions against the rest of Ukraine.310
Ukrainian border guards returned to border regions of Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy oblasts by 11 April. A large concentration of Russian forces remained near Sumy Oblast.311
As the second phase of the invasion began, Kyiv was left generally free from attack apart from isolated missile strikes, one of which occurred during the 28 April 2022 visit of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who met with Zelenskyy to discuss the fate of survivors at the siege of Mariupol.312
On 14 June 2024 Russian presidentPutin claimed that "Russian troops were near Kyiv in March 2022", but "There was no political decision to storm the three-million-strong city; it was a coercive operation to establish peace."313
On 10 June 2025, a Radio Liberty investigation had identified 898 Russian personnel who had been treated in hospitals during the offensive on Kyiv. The group claimed that some of them had been complicit in war crimes committed in the region.314
Humanitarian situation and war crimes
Ukrainian authorities said that more than 300 civilian inhabitants of Bucha had been summarily executed in what would be known as the Bucha massacre. The bodies were discovered after the Russians withdrew.315 In total, 458 civilian deaths were recorded in Bucha,316317 along with 1,300 deaths in Russian-occupied areas of Kyiv Oblast.318
A Russian airstrike on the local power plant on 3 March 2022 cut off the electricity and heating supply in the city of Okhtyrka.319 On 9 March, in Velyka Pysarivka, three civilians were killed due to Russian bombing according to Zhyvytskyi.320
After 01:30 on 10 March, Russian airstrikes destroyed a gas pipeline in Okhtyrka. According to governor Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, Russian shelling on the territory of the former Elektrobutprilad plant in Trostianets had killed three civilians.320 At 14:20, Russian forces shelled the city of Nizhyn using BM-27 Uragan, reportedly killing two civilians.321 On 11 March, two civilians were reportedly killed overnight due to Russian shelling in the village of Kerdylivshchyna in Sumy Oblast.322
Further reading
Cooper, Tom; Fontanellaz, Adrien; Crowther, Edward; Sipos, Milos (2023). War in Ukraine: Russian Invasion, February 2022. Helion & Company. ISBN 978-1-80451-216-6.
Harrel, John S. (2024). The Russian Invasion of Ukraine, February – December 2022: Destroying the Myth of Russian Invincibility. Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 978-1-399-03176-9.
Lawrence, Christopher A. (2024). The Battle for Kyiv: The Fight for Ukraine's Capital. Frontline Books. ISBN 978-1-399-04848-4.
Plokhy, Serhii (2024). Chernobyl Roulette: A War Story. Allen Lane. ISBN 978-0-241-68125-1.
Gabuev, Alexander (23 September 2022). "Putin has once again overplayed his hand in Ukraine". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 23 September 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022. Putin's original plan—to take Kyiv in three days—was thwarted by the fierce resistance of the Ukrainians and by western support for Kyiv. Now we are seeing plan B, formed in response to developments on the ground. Alt URL↩
Copp, Tara (2 March 2022). "'The Convoy Is Stalled': Logistics Failures Slow Russian Advance, Pentagon Says". Defense One. Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022. On Wednesday, Ukraine's security service posted a video of a captured Russian soldier who says he and his unit were sent across the border with only three days' food. 'Putin expected to capture Ukraine in three days,' Ukraine's security service wrote above the video, which could not be independently verified. 'By the order of the top Russian leadership, the phones and documents were taken from the fire brigades, removed food and water for three days and sent to war with Ukraine,' the agency said, according to the English translation of the post. ↩
"ЗСУ: Росіяни взяли з собою в Україну парадну військову форму". Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 29 January 2025. Вони їхали до нас вбивати наших дітей, трощити наші домівки, щоб потім пройти урочистим парадом Хрещатиком. Навіть везли з собою парадну форму з начепленими медалями. ↩
Akopov, Petr (26 February 2022). "Наступление России и нового мира" [The arrival/attack of Russia and the new world] (in Russian). RIA Novosti. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022. ↩
Doucet, Lyse (25 February 2022). "Ukraine conflict: Kyiv braces for Russian assault". BBC News. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022. On Friday afternoon, Russia's defence ministry announced it had captured the Antonov airport, using 200 helicopters and a landing force in order to take the base to the north of Kyiv from Ukraine. Western intelligence officials warned earlier that Russia was building an "overwhelming force" to take control of the city. ↩
Schwirtz, Michael; Troianovski, Anton; Al-Hlou, Yousur; Froliak, Masha; Entous, Adam; Gibbons-Neff, Thomas (16 December 2022). "Putin's War". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 May 2023. ↩
"Держспецзв'язку" [State Special Communications]. Telegram (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022. ↩
"На Донбасі збили російський вертоліт і штурмовик" [A Russian helicopter and an attack aircraft were shot down in Donbas]. portal.lviv.ua (in Ukrainian). 26 February 2022. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022. ↩