Attack

This chapter sets out the details of Russia’s military campaign in the south, including the lack of preparedness for Russia’s invasion and its early advances in the south. The territorial extent of Russia’s occupation was largely determined in the first months of the war. A determined defense of Mykolaiv prevented further Russian progress along the southern coast towards Odesa, and a Ukrainian counteroffensive forced Russian withdrawal from Kherson city and Kharkiv oblast by the end of 2022. As the Russian military advanced, they began putting in place the key building blocks of the occupation, ousting Ukrainian officials, seizing businesses and properties, and targeting potential opponents.