Russian troops retreat from northern Ukraine

Apr 14, 2022

Russian forces withdrew from northern Ukraine in late March and early April 2022 after failing to capture Kyiv, which they had approached to within 75 kilometers from Belarus. Ukrainian forces successfully used artillery and drones against Russian convoys stretching dozens of kilometers, while Russian troops struggled with logistical problems, supply line vulnerabilities, and failure to suppress Ukrainian air defenses. Western estimates indicated nearly a quarter of Russian units were rendered unfit for action. Russia announced on March 29 it would scale down operations around Kyiv and Chernihiv to focus on Donbas in eastern Ukraine, where conflict has killed over 14,000 since 2014, while NATO warned this eastward shift marked a crucial new phase of the war.

Russia's failed northern offensive and strategic retreat

▪Russia announced on March 29, 2022 that it would scale down military activities around Kyiv and Chernihiv
▪Russian forces invaded Ukraine from the north, east and south on February 24, 2022
▪Russian troops pushed into Ukraine from Belarus and reached the outskirts of Kyiv, 75 kilometers south of the Belarus border

Shift to eastern Ukraine and the battle for Donbas

▪The separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine began in 2014 shortly after the annexation of Crimea and has killed over 14,000 people
▪Russia announced it would focus on the liberation of Donbas on March 29, 2022
▪NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned that Russia's eastward shift marks a crucial phase of the war

Putin's endgame and conditions for peace

▪Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the issues of Crimea and Donbas could be put on hold
▪Vladimir Putin's conditions for peace include a demand for Ukraine to acknowledge Russia's sovereignty over Crimea
▪Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected Vladimir Putin's conditions for peace
▪Russia celebrates its victory over Nazi Germany in World War II on May 9, which is Russia's most important public holiday
▪Vladimir Putin's conditions for peace include a demand for Ukraine to recognize the independence of the eastern separatist regions