Recapping the Russo-Ukraine war since May 2024
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes we are closer to the end of the Russo-Ukraine war than we think.
Monday, October 7, represents day 955 of the Russo-Ukraine war since it began in February 2022. Since then, millions of Ukrainian families have been displaced, including more than five million people who have fled to neighbouring countries as a result of the war.
This year, Russia has continued its attacks on Ukraine while Ukraine tries to counter Russian advances.
May 2024
In early May of this year, Russian forces crossed the international border to the north of Kharkiv—Ukraine’s second-biggest city—capturing several villages and forcing thousands of civilians to flee.
Additionally, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine said Russian forces dropped nearly 3,200 guided aerial bombs this month alone in Ukraine.
July 2024
This year, July became the deadliest month for civilians in Ukraine since October 2022, when 317 civilians were killed and 795 were injured. This month, at least 219 civilians were killed, and 1,018 were injured in total.
August 2024
In early August, Ukrainian troops launched a counter-offensive into Russian soil, reaching up to 30 kilometres into Russia’s Kursk region. The attack resulted in the evacuation of 200,000 people from areas along the border by the Russian government and is considered an attempt to relieve pressure on Ukraine’s eastern regions by forcing the redeployment of Russian troops.
Two weeks after the start of the offensive of the Kursk region, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian military, Oleksandr Syrskyi, stated that his troops controlled over 93 villages and more than 1,200 square kilometres in Kursk, which is more territory than Russia has seized from Ukraine this year.
According to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office, a strike on a shopping mall in Ukraine on August 9 killed at least 14 people and injured 43 others.
On August 25, Russia carried out what Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleschuk described as “the most massive aerial attack” to date. The assault involved hundreds of drones, cruise missiles, and supersonic missiles, striking around 15 regions in Ukraine and focusing on energy infrastructure, leading to widespread blackouts. The attack killed at least seven people and wounded dozens of others.
September 2024
On September 1, Russian air strikes in Kharkiv, a city in Ukraine, injured at least 41 people, including five children. The strikes also resulted in damage to a supermarket and sports complex, which residents visit daily.
President Zelensky condemned the attacks, stating that “Russia is once again terrorizing Kharkiv, striking civilian infrastructure and the city itself.”
On September 3, at least 51 people were killed and 271 injured after a missile attack in the central Ukrainian city of Poltava hit a military academy and hospital. A strike on a Kharkiv apartment on September 15 killed one person and injured at least 40 others.
On September 12, the International Committee of the Red Cross reported that three of its workers and two others were injured in a strike in eastern Ukraine, which Zelensky called “another Russian war crime.”
A few days later, on September 14, Russia and Ukraine exchanged a total of 206 prisoners of war in a deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates.
In the last week of September, Zelensky visited the US to present his “victory plan” to American leaders, including President Joe Biden, Vice-President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Zelensky also hinted at his wish to ease the weapon restrictions of allies like the US and Britain and told ABC News that Ukraine was “closer to the peace than we think.”
October 2024
On October 1, a shelling by Russian forces killed six people in a local market area in Kherson, a city in Ukraine.
On October 3, Russian forces carried out a major drone attack overnight, targeting 15 Ukrainian regions, which resulted in the damage to energy infrastructure and residential buildings.
As of this month, the Russia-Ukraine war continues to take a heavy toll, with military operations from both sides intensifying, including Russian attacks and Ukrainian counter-offensives.
