LONDON (AP) — This was the year war returned to Europe, and few facets of life were left untouched.
Russia’s invasion of its neighbor Ukraine unleashed misery on millions of Ukrainians, shattered Europe’s sense of security, ripped up the geopolitical map and rocked the global economy. The shockwaves made life more expensive in homes across Europe, worsened a global migrant crisis and complicated the world’s response to climate change.
“What do we hear today? It’s not just rocket explosions, battles, the roar of aircraft. It is the sound of a new Iron Curtain lowering and closing Russia away from the civilized world.” — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Feb. 24.
Russia’s pre-dawn attack on Feb. 24 shattered European peace and shocked the world. The war also confounded the near-universal expectation that Russian forces would quickly prevail. Ukraine put up fierce resistance, and Russian troops bogged down on the journey to the capital. Russia pulled back from the area around Kyiv in April, leaving blasted buildings, traumatized people and hundreds of corpses that Ukraine and its allies say are evidence of war crimes.
Fighting also raged in Ukraine’s south and east, where Russia pushed outward from territory held by pro-Moscow forces since 2014. The port of Mariupol fell after a brutal three-month siege that reduced the city to ruins.
The war revived Cold War-era enmity between Russia and the West, pushing Sweden and Finland to seek NATO membership and prompting NATO nations to flood troops and weapons into eastern Europe.
As winter approached Ukraine’s military — bolstered by weapons, ammunition and training from the U.S. and other allies — pushed Russian forces out of the southern city of Kherson, a morale-boosting victory amid a grinding war that showed no sign of ending.
“We … are preparing for the worst winter of our lives.” – Kyiv resident Anastasia Pyrozhenko, Nov. 20.
As winter approached, Russia launched missile attacks aimed at Ukraine’s infrastructure, temporarily cutting power for swaths of the country and leaving millions facing a freezing, dark winter.
The war also sent global energy prices soaring as Moscow squeezed supplies to the West in retaliation for sanctions on Russia and support for Ukraine. Italy, Germany and other countries that relied on Russian oil and natural gas scrambled for alternative energy supplies. With millions of people suddenly struggling to pay their energy bills, governments came under intense pressure to step in with help.
Ukraine and Russia are key global suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and — in Russia’s case — fertilizer, and the war also drove up food prices and raised fears of global shortages. A U.N.-brokered deal to allow grain ships to leave Ukraine’s Black Sea ports was struck in July and, though shaky, held to prevent a worse crisis.