Russia's war on Ukraine, which began at the instruction of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been continuing for three months. During the early hours on Feb. 24, Putin announced 'a special military intervention' in Ukraine's eastern Donbas, which led to the start of the war. Russian military simultaneously entered Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which are under the control of the Kyiv administration, including the Kharkiv, Sumi, and Chernihiv regions via the Russian border, and the Chernobyl region via Belarus. The Russian army landed troops in the Kherson and Melitopol regions via Crimea. Air and ground troops were sent to areas near Kyiv and besieged the areas. During the second month of the war, Russian troops withdrew from the Kyiv and the Chernihiv regions as the Ukrainian troops regained control. Life has started to revive in the capital Kyiv, and the process of returning to normal life continues in the shadow of the war. As the Russian army targets strategic regions in Ukraine, it has also been targeting vehicles and warehouses containing weapons sent by the US and European countries to Ukraine during the past month. Russia further said the transport vehicles belonging to NATO countries delivering weapons to Ukraine are a legitimate target for the Russian army. Ukraine announced that civilians were killed and injured in these attacks. KHARKIV RESISTING, MARIUPOL LOST Despite Ukraine's strong resistance, Russian forces targeted military infrastructure facilities and also besieged Kharkiv and Mariupol since the beginning of the war. As clashes between the Ukrainian and Russian armies in the Kharkiv region are still ongoing, Ukrainian authorities announced that they have regained control of some settlements in the area. In the first month, the Russian troops aimed to seize the strategic cities on the Azov Sea coast and captured the port city of Berdyansk. In the third month of the war, Mariupol, one of the most important port cities of Ukraine in the Sea of Azov, came under Russia's control following a long siege. After days of fighting, Mariupol fell into ruins. At least 2,439 Ukrainian fighters, who were hiding in the shelters on the Azovstal Metallurgical Plant site, surrendered to the Russian army by laying down their arms, according to Russia's Defense Ministry. After taking control of the Azovstal steel plant, the Russian army took complete control of Mariupol. Kherson became another city that came under the control of the Russian army. While a region in Kherson was already using the Russian ruble, it was announced that it would be used in the entire city by the end of the year. The war, which shifted towards the east of Ukraine in April, had intense effects on the country. According to a statement by the Ukrainian General Staff, Russian military further advanced from the east of Ukraine, capturing some settlements. Although the Russian army announced that it was able to reach the administrative borders of the city of Luhansk, a statement by the Pentagon said Russia fell behind schedule they had planned in the Donbas operation. Ukrainian forces also continued to attack Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which were supposedly 'under separatist control,' and civilian casualties were incurred. Especially in recent months, attacks on Russian lands have increased in the northern borders of Ukraine, where the Russian army has withdrawn. Meanwhile, Russia increased its attacks on Odessa and Mykolaiv regions. As of the second week of May, clashes increased over the Snake Island, which has a strategic location in the southwest of Ukraine, in the Black Sea. Although the Ukrainian army made attempts to take the island, which was under the control of the Russians from the beginning of the war, they have been unsuccessful. The Russian Defense Ministry on May 10 claimed that the Ukrainian army lost a total of four aircrafts, 10 helicopters, 30 unmanned aerial vehicles, three armored warships, and more than 50 soldiers in last three days of war. Also, at least 1,351 Russian soldiers died and 3,825 were injured in the first month of the war, according to the Russian military authorities, who did not disclose further details. Russian officials claimed that the Ukrainian army lost 23,367 soldiers during the war, while Ukraine claimed that 29,350 Russian soldiers have died so far. Neither the Ukrainian nor the Russian side gave exact figures regarding the civilian casualties in the war. NUMBER OF UKRAINIAN REFUGEES EXCEEDS 6.5M: UN According to the UN refugee agency, more than 6.59 people have fled from Ukraine to other countries since the war began, while more than half of them went to Poland. One out of every six people was internally displaced due to the war, making the total number 7.7 million, said the UN's International Organization for Migration. The UN also noted that at least 3,930 civilians have so far lost their lives and 4,532 injured in the war. The Russian and Ukrainian delegations held a total of four face-to-face negotiations, with three of them in Belarus and one in Turkey, to ensure a cease-fire. In Belarus, both sides could only agree on humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians from conflict zones. As a result of the mediation attempts by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Ukrainian side delivered the principles of a draft agreement to the Russian side during negotiations held in Istanbul on March 29. On May 17, the Ukrainian side announced that the situation in Ukraine has changed a lot since the start of the war and that they suspended negotiations with Russia.
