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People visit the graves of their relatives, who were killed during Russia’s attack on Ukraine, as a large-scale light installation “Lights of Memory” illuminates the Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine, marking the fourth anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, unleashing the deadliest war in Europe since World War II. Tens of thousands of civilians and hundreds of thousands of soldiers have been killed in the war as it completes four years of invasion.
In Ukraine, millions more have had to flee their homes to escape the fighting as Russia’s troops advanced. Entire cities in Ukraine’s east and south, among them Bakhmut, Toretsk and Vovchansk, have been reduced to rubble by fighting.
Around a fifth of Ukraine is contaminated by mines or unexploded ordnance, according to the U.N.’s Mine Action Service.
The total cost of reconstruction in Ukraine is estimated at around $588 billion over the next decade, the World Bank reported on Monday (February 23, 2026).
Key events from 2022 to 2026
As the Russia-Ukraine war completes four years, The Hindu looks at the sequence of events that have unfolded during the war.
Deaths in Russia-Ukraine war
The United Nations has verified over 15,000 civilian deaths in Ukraine since 2022, although it says the actual number is likely considerably higher as it has no access to areas under Russian occupation, like the port city of Mariupol where thousands are reported to have died in a Russian siege. Neither side releases reliable data on military casualties.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier this month 55,000 of his soldiers had been killed – a toll widely believed to be an underestimate.
Russia has not given an official update on losses since September 2022.
Where the war stands now
The Kremlin is pushing for full control of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region and a ban on Western military support for Kyiv.
Ukraine says giving in would leave it vulnerable to future attack, is constitutionally impossible, and unacceptable to much of Ukrainian society.
Since Donald Trump returned to the White House, several rounds of talks – in Istanbul, Abu Dhabi and Geneva – have failed to secure a deal.
(With inputs from AFP)
Published – February 24, 2026 01:01 pm IST
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Russia-Ukraine war at four years: key events from 2022 to 2026
