2022 in Photos: How Putin's Ukraine Gamble Became a Quagmire
The past year has been almost entirely dominated by the seismic repercussions of Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine on Feb. 24 in a full-scale attack that he believed would see his troops swiftly take Kyiv.
Of course, the invasion didn't go as Putin had planned. From the unexpected ferocity of Ukrainian resistance, Western supplies of modern weapons and equipment to Kyiv and unanimous European support for economic sanctions on Moscow, the fallout from the war for Russia has been far-reaching. At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has transformed from political neophyte to inspirational wartime leader.
As the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II grinds on, we look back at some of the events that shaped 2022 in Russia and Ukraine.
Of course, the invasion didn't go as Putin had planned. From the unexpected ferocity of Ukrainian resistance, Western supplies of modern weapons and equipment to Kyiv and unanimous European support for economic sanctions on Moscow, the fallout from the war for Russia has been far-reaching. At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has transformed from political neophyte to inspirational wartime leader.
As the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II grinds on, we look back at some of the events that shaped 2022 in Russia and Ukraine.
February. Russia
A man stages a solitary anti-war picket on Moscow's Pushkin Square. Some 19,478 people were detained in Russia for speaking out against the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Igor Generalov
February. Russia
Protesters in Moscow hold a sign that reads "No one but Putin needs the war!" Several thousand Russians were arrested for attending anti-war rallies during the first days of the Russian invasion.
Igor Generalov
February. Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky holds an urgent meeting with advisors in the hours following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Office of the President of Ukraine
March. Russia
U.S. fast food chain McDonald's was among hundreds of foreign companies that decided to cease its operations and withdraw from the Russian market in response to the war.
Sophia Sandurskaya / Moskva News Agency
March. Russia
Among the companies halting operations in Russia within the first few weeks of the war was Inditex, which owns Spanish fashion retailer Zara.
Sergei Karpukhin / TASS
March. Russia
A law enforcement officer on Moscow's Manezhnaya Square sports the increasingly popular pro-war "Z" symbol.
Vyacheslav Prokofyev / TASS
March. Ukraine
A toddler stares through the window of a train departing the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. Since the start of the war, over 7 million Ukrainians have fled to Europe, according to the United Nations.
Felipe Dana / AP / TASS
April. Russia
With his hands tied behind his back with a strip of sheeting — a reference to the civilian massacre allegedly committed by Russian soldiers in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha — an artist-activist makes a brave statement in front of Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.
t.me/holodmedia
April. Russia
Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the founder and veteran leader of Russia’s far-right Liberal Democratic Party, died in a Moscow hospital on April 6 at the age of 75.
Sergei Kiselev / Moskva News Agency
April. Ukraine
Residents of the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol make a fire pit on the balcony of a residential building damaged during airstrikes.
Sergei Bobylev / TASS
May. Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the annual Victory Day parade on Moscow's Red Square.
kremlin.ru
May. Ukraine
Residents of Mariupol charge their phones with a generator while Russian emergency personnel clear debris from the partially destroyed Mariupol Drama Theatre, which was bombed by Russian forces in March despite some 1,200 civilians sheltering inside. Ukrainian officials estimated that as many as 300 people were killed in the attack.
AFP
June. Russia
Putin visits a multimedia exhibit in Moscow dedicated to the 350th anniversary of Russian monarch Peter the Great's birth.
kremlin.ru
June. Ukraine
A girl rides her bike past apartment blocks that have been destroyed by shelling in the town of Borodyanka near Kyiv.
Natacha Pisarenko / AP Photo / TASS
July. Russia
Muscovites watch July's supermoon rise above Russia's capital.
Igor Ivanko / Kommersant
July. Ukraine
A Russian serviceman watches as barley is harvested near the occupied village of Yakymivka in southern Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Region.
Alexei Konovalov / TASS
July. Russia
Russia's second city St. Petersburg hosts celebrations for Navy Day.
Alexander Demianchuk / TASS
August. Ukraine
A girl stands on the wreckage of a Russian tank on display in Kyiv in the run-up to Ukrainian Independence Day on Aug. 24.
Dimitar Dilkoff / AFP
August. Russia
Moscow is blanketed by smog amid high summer temperatures and raging wildfires in neighboring regions.
Sergei Kiselev / Moskva News Agency
September. Russia
Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Dmitry Muratov holds a portrait of Mikhail Gorbachev at the funeral of the last Soviet leader. Gorbachev passed away on Aug. 30 after a "long and serious illness" aged 91.
Sergei Kiselev / Moskva News Agency
September. Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visits the recently liberated city of Izyum in the country's Kharkiv region on Sep. 14.
president.gov.ua
September. Russia
Police officers detain a man during protests following the announcement of partial mobilization in Russia. More than 2,000 people were arrested across the country during the September protests.
Alexander Nemenov / AFP
September. Russia
A Russian man called up to fight in Ukraine bids farewell to his family before being sent to the frontlines.
Sergei Kiselev / Moskva News Agency
September. Russia
Russians fleeing Putin's military draft wait in line at the land border with Georgia. Hundreds of thousands of Russians are believed to have left the country since the invasion of Ukraine began in February.
Valery Sharifulin / TASS
October. Ukraine
Ukrainian law enforcement officials examine burnt-out cars in the capital Kyiv following Russian strikes on Oct. 10.
Sergei Chuzavkov / AFP
October. Russia
October's partial solar eclipse is seen above a statue of Lenin in the city of Ryazan in western Russia.
Alexander Ryumin / TASS
November. Ukraine
Pedestrians walk through an underground passageway near Kyiv's Independence Square amid countrywide blackouts as Russian missile strikes increasingly target Ukraine's power infrastructure.
Dimitar Dilkoff / AFP
November. Russia
Vladimir Putin visits an open-air museum on Red Square dedicated to the anniversary of the 1941 Battle of Moscow and the October Revolution parade that was held amid the fighting.
Sergei Bobylev / TASS / Kremlin.ru
November. Ukraine
Zelensky makes a surprise visit to the city of Kherson just days after it was recaptured by the Ukrainian military on Nov. 11.
Zelenskiy / Official telegram channel
December. Russia
Militaristic decorations in front of Russia's Defense Ministry in Moscow ahead of the city's New Year celebrations.
Moskva News Agency
December. Russia
A light installation near Moscow's VDNKh exhibition center takes the shape of the pro-war "V" symbol and is made up of St. George's ribbon — a military symbol — and the Russian flag.
Sergei Bulkin / News.ru / TASS
December. Ukraine
The 12-meter tall Christmas tree on Kyiv's St. Sophia Square has been dubbed the "tree of Invincibility," and has come to represent Ukraine's endurance through the Russian invasion.
Sergei Supinsky / AFP
