full-scale Russo-Ukrainian war

Overview

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the existing war between the two countries that began when Russia attacked Ukraine in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thousands of military casualties and tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties. As of July 2026, Russian troops occupy roughly 20% of Ukraine. From a population of 41 million, about 8 million Ukrainians have been internally displaced and 6–7 million have fled the country, creating Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 marked the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, constituting a major escalation of the existing conflict that began with Russia's attack on Ukraine in 2014. The invasion was launched with an initial Russian force of 169,000–190,000 troops against a Ukrainian military of approximately 196,600. The scale of the resulting violence has been severe: hundreds of thousands of military casualties on both sides and tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian deaths have been recorded. As of June 2026, Russian forces occupy roughly 20 percent of Ukrainian territory. The war has also produced Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II, with approximately 8 million Ukrainians internally displaced and a further 6–7 million having fled the country out of a pre-war population of 41 million. The invasion fundamentally transformed the conflict from a localized eastern Ukrainian insurgency into a continent-wide security emergency, reshaping European defense commitments and international alignments around the question of Ukrainian sovereignty.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (6)