The Russian invasion in Ukraine has just passed the 100 day mark. Like every week, 20 Minutes invites you to take stock of this war and its challenges. This Friday is an opportunity to take stock of the armed conflict between kyiv and Moscow, based on four infographics.
A front that has been reduced to the east of the country
On February 24, 2022 at dawn, Russia launched its offensive on three fronts: from Crimea, annexed since 2014, in the East by joining the pro-Russian separatists and in the North, in the hope of taking kyiv quickly and bring down the Ukrainian government. However, progress was not as rapid as hoped, and on April 2, when Russian soldiers had still not entered kyiv, Vladimir Putin’s army withdrew from this front.
Direction South and East, where Moscow wants to create a land corridor to connect Crimea to Russia. After having stumbled over Mariupol for a long time, the connection was established on May 20 and the Russian troops now concentrated on the conquest of the entire Donbass.
Many civilian victims linked to war crimes
On April 1, as the Ukrainian army entered a Boutcha liberated from Russian troops, the horror of war erupted with force. Dozens of civilians, their hands tied behind their backs, are found dead in the middle of the street. The term “war crimes” quickly came back into the mouths of Western leaders. Other atrocities will follow, from the gutted building of Borodianka to the bombardment of the Kramatorsk station. The image of the theater of Mariupol completely razed also marks the spirits. The city is besieged for almost two months, bombarded daily, its population deprived of heat, running water and electricity.
If it is difficult to be sure of the figures communicated on military losses, the assessment of civilian losses is also very difficult to establish. It took the Russian soldiers retreating to the North to realize the extent of their massacres, and the figure of 567 victims in Mariupol would be, according to experts, largely underestimated. As of May 27, there are 2,975 confirmed civilian deaths. The losses are spread over the whole territory because of the Russian bombardments at the beginning of the war. But, on the computer graphics, we notice that the front line follows that of many bereaved localities, a sign of the immobility of the two armies.
The West is piling up sanctions against Russia
Quickly, Western countries denounced this war at the UN and imposed sanctions on Russia. First symbolic, especially by freezing the assets of oligarchs, in order to limit the repercussions on the economy and by closing their airspace to Russian planes. The idea is also to isolate Russia, in particular by excluding Russian banks from the Swift banking system. Then come the embargoes on various products and finally the more sensitive subject of energies.
Much of Europe is, in fact, dependent on Russian gas and oil. The Nordstream 2 gas pipeline project is nevertheless suspended and the EU approves, after difficult negotiations, a partial oil embargo. Meanwhile, nearly 1,000 global brands have left Russia, sometimes under pressure from public opinion. It should be noted that among the major Western oil groups, only Total maintains an unchanged activity there.
Gas, a major challenge for Europe
While European Union (EU) countries will gradually stop importing Russian oil, the gas has been kept out of all sanctions. And for good reason: the EU imports 48.4% of the gas it consumes from Russia. Some countries are totally dependent on it. A major brake on the continent’s energy independence, which the Kremlin can always use as a threat to dissuade Europe from further supporting Ukraine.