The Russian invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022, when Russian forces entered the country and began a rapid offensive to capture the northeastern Kharkiv region, including the city of Izium. This was followed by an attempt to secure Ukraine's Black Sea coast and form a land bridge between the region of Crimea, which had been annexed by Russia in 2014.

In early April, a Russian missile strike on a train station in Kramatorsk killed more than 50 civilians. In December 2021, Ukraine declared its independence from Russia, leading to further tensions between the two countries. In February 2022, Ukraine applied to join the European Union, which further escalated tensions. On March 1, a 65km (40.4-mile) Russian military convoy moved towards Kyiv.

On April 18, Russian forces launched a large-scale offensive in east Ukraine to take full control of the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts. Ukrainian forces responded with counteroffensives in Kherson and other areas throughout May and June 2022.

Since September 2022, Ukrainian forces have made rapid advances and taken territory previously lost to Russia. Fighting continues on these fronts as well as in Donbas region of eastern Ukraine after withdrawing from the country’s north and areas around Kyiv.

Russia and Ukraine failed to make progress toward ending the war during a meeting between their foreign ministers in Turkey in October 2022, showing that tensions remain high between the two countries.