The invasion began before dawn.
Shortly before 6am Moscow time on Thursday 24 February, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced to the world he’d ordered in Ukraine.
Russia had been amassing vast numbers of troops on the Ukraine border for months, raising fears in the West that a major war in Europe, the size of which had not been seen since World War II, could be around the corner.
Days earlier on Monday, Mr Putin .
At the United Nations that day, – and looking back, that’s exactly what’s panned out.
A week after Mr Putin announced the invasion, attacking Ukraine from the air, land and sea, thousands of people have been reported dead - including hundreds of civilians - and missiles have been raining down on major Ukrainian cities.
Hundreds of thousands of refugees have already fled to neighbouring countries, and much of the international community, including Australia, has pledged support.
Here’s a recap of the past seven days, and a look at what could happen in the weeks ahead.
Thursday
Within an hour of Mr Putin’s announcement of the invasion, explosions were reported at Ukrainian airports, military bases and major cities, including the capital Kyiv.
Frightened Ukrainians fled to underground train stations for shelter or sought transport to safer ground as air raid sirens and rang out across the country's main cities.
Pictures quickly spread online of queues of panicked people waiting to withdraw money from ATMs and buying supplies of food and water. Traffic leaving major cities was jammed.
Announcing the invasion, Mr Putin made unproven claims of a "genocide" orchestrated by Ukraine in the country's east, and denounced NATO - the West's defensive military alliance - for its "aggression" towards Russia.
"For this, we will strive to achieve demilitarisation and de-Nazification of Ukraine," he said.
Traffic jams are seen as people leave Kyiv, Thursday, February 24, 2022 Source: AP / Emilio Morenatti/AP
He called on all citizens who were ready to defend the country from Russian forces to come forward, and by day’s end, Ukrainian males aged between 16 and 60 were banned from leaving the country.
At least 137 people were killed after the first day of fighting, Ukrainian officials said.
World leaders were swift to condemn Russia's attack on its neighbour, with Western nations, including Australia, pledging sanctions.
Friday
In the early hours of Friday morning, two loud blasts were heard in central Kyiv, with Ukrainian officials saying they’d shot down an enemy aircraft which then crashed into a residential building and set it on fire.
Mr Zelenskyy released a self-shot video from central Kyiv a few hours later, vowing to defend the capital.
"We are all here. Our military is here. Citizens in society are here. We're all here defending our independence, our country, and it will stay this way," he said in the video, which went viral on social media.
The Ukrainian leader also accused Russia of targeting civilian sites.
Russian troops pressed deeper into Ukraine, reportedly reaching the outskirts of Kyiv, and Mr Putin called on the Ukrainian military to overthrow the democratically-elected government.
A woman reacts next to her house following a rocket attack in Kyiv, Friday February 25, 2022. Source: AP / Emilio Morenatti/AP
As Russian troops edged closer to Kyiv, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence urged civilians to "inform us of troop movements, to make Molotov cocktails, and neutralise the enemy".
The United Nations said more than 50,000 Ukrainians had fled their homeland in the 48 hours since the war began and called for "safe, unimpeded access" for aid workers to carry out humanitarian operations.
A Ukrainian service member is seen in Kyiv on the morning of 26 February, 2022. Source: Getty, AFP / AFP via Getty Images
Mr Zelenskyy also spoke with a number of Western leaders, urging them to pledge support beyond the already announced sanctions.
Saturday
Saturday saw Russian forces pound Ukrainian cities with artillery and cruise missiles for a third day, along with reports of dozens more deaths.
A high-rise apartment block in Kyiv was hit by shelling and a 5pm - 8am curfew was later placed on the city.
A number of countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, announced a new tranche of sanctions to directly slap on Mr Putin.
A coalition including the European Union, US and Britain announced it would cut some Russian banks off from the and "paralyse" the assets of Moscow's Central Bank.
Mr Zelenskyy revealed he had refused an offer from the US to evacuate him from the country. He instead asked for more ammunition.
Shocking stories from the frontlines of the crisis continued to spread across social media, with reports surfacing of babies being born in an underground train station, of and of Afghans who fled the Taliban last year for their safety now finding themselves in a similar situation in Ukraine.
Russian media reported troops had captured the southeastern city of Melitopol, which would’ve been the first significant population centre for Russian troops to seize. However, the report was debunked.
Countries across Europe also began banning Russian planes from transiting through their airspace.
While fighting intensified and Russia’s advances continued, Western intelligence sources said Russia had come up against stronger resistance than expected, significantly slowing the assault down.
Sunday
Early on Sunday, missiles were reported to have hit the central town of Vasylkiv, setting an oil terminal ablaze, while Russian-backed separatists in the Luhansk province said another was hit by Ukraine in the town of Rovenky.
Ukrainian officials said a , the country's second-largest city and where Russian troops had reportedly entered.
Mr Putin ordered his military to put Russia’s nuclear deterrence forces on high alert, sparking condemnation from NATO and the UN.
Russia's army also admitted for the first time there were "killed and injured" soldiers among its troops.
An armoured personnel carrier burns after fighting in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Sunday, 27 February, 2022. Source: AAP / Marienko Andrew/AP
Australia joined a number of countries in , reversing its previous decision to only support the country with “non-lethal” aid. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said
The EU warned the war could displace up to seven million people, with Poland’s interior ministry saying about 100,000 people had already crossed into the country since Thursday. For the first time in its history, the EU also agreed to finance the purchase and delivery of arms to help Ukraine.
International discourse around the language being used in media coverage of the invasion also kicked off over the weekend, with a number of reporters from Western-based outlets suggesting the war in Ukraine was different to those in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan .
Protests against Russia and the war took place in Berlin, Bern, London, Tokyo, Sydney and other cities worldwide.
Monday
On the fifth day of fighting, Ukrainian forces claimed the Russian onslaught had slowed but still aimed for Kyiv, while Russia reported progress in the south.
Ukraine's revised reported civilian death toll since the start of the invasion reached 352, including 14 children. The UN’s civilian toll was 102, including seven children, but there were warnings it was actually much higher.
Images from a US satellite imaging company appeared to show a Russian military convoy stretching nearly 65 kilometres north of Kyiv.
The UN also revealed on Monday more than 670,000 refugees had already fled Ukraine since the start of the invasion.
A breakdown of where Ukrainian refugees have been fleeing to Credit: SBS News/Karin Zhou-Zheng
During an emotional speech, Ukraine’s ambassador held up images of what he said were the final text messages from a Russian soldier to his mother before he was killed. Russia’s ambassador, meanwhile, said the invasion had been "unleashed by Ukraine against its own residents".
Mr Zelenskyy said he signed an official request for Ukraine to join the EU.
It was also becoming clear how Russia’s invasion was affecting its sporting, cultural and diplomatic links.
Poland and Sweden said their national football teams would not play their World Cup qualifiers against the country. FIFA and UEFA suspended Russia's national teams from international football, making it likely they won't be represented at this year's men’s World Cup and women's Euro tournament.
More and more brands and artists launched boycotts of Russia and Russian products, while Russian diplomats were facing expulsion from various Western countries.
Tuesday
Tuesday brought fresh Russian assaults and saw a massive military convoy draw closer to Kyiv amid fears of a further escalation of fighting.
Ukraine said Russian airstrikes had , resulting in dozens of deaths.
Mr Zelenskyy said Russia’s actions amounted to “state terrorism” and accused it of committing a war crime in Kharkiv.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the Kharkiv bombardment was "absolutely sickening" and reminiscent of massacres of civilians in Sarajevo, Bosnia in the 1990s.
Kherson, a city with a population of 290,000 people on the Black Sea, reported Russian checkpoints encircling the city and Russia's defence ministry said its troops had linked up with pro-Moscow rebel forces from eastern Ukraine along the Azov Sea.
Mariupol, another Black Sea port, was left without electricity following a Russian attack.
The US Department of Defence said Russia had captured Melitopol and the city of Berdyansk in the southeast – but Ukraine was defiant, saying, for all of Russia’s efforts, it was yet to capture a major city.
Mr Lukashenko said he’d ordered more Belarusian troops to the border with Ukraine, but they wouldn’t be taking part in the invasion, saying: "that's not our job".
Wednesday
Russia on Wednesday mooted the possibility of ceasefire talks after its troops shelled several Ukrainian cities and battled in the streets of Kharkiv, where Russian airborne troops had landed before dawn.
Ukraine confirmed a delegation was "on its way" for the talks at the Belarus-Poland border - but after failed negotiations a few days earlier, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Ukraine would not accept "ultimatums".
More civilians were reported killed in the latest shelling, with Ukrainian authorities upping their civilian death toll to at least 350 people, including 14 children. In its first official death toll of the invasion, Russia revealed that 498 of its troops had been killed so far.
The World Bank announced it was halting all of its ongoing projects in Russia and Belarus.
A blaze at a Kharkiv University faculty building allegedly caused by a Russian missile strike on 2 March 2022. Source: Press Association, AAP / State Emergency Service of Ukraine
The UN General Assembly on Wednesday overwhelmingly adopted a resolution demanding Russia immediately withdraw from Ukraine. China and India were among the handful of countries to abstain.
The vote had been touted by diplomats as a bellwether of democracy and diplomacy as Mr Putin's forces bore down on Kyiv.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said while “the enemy is drawing up forces closer to the capital”, the city “will hold”.
Masses of people stay inside a subway station for use as a bomb shelter in Kyiv, 2 March 2022. Source: EPA / Roman Pilipey/EPA
The UN said nearly 875,000 people had now fled the invasion - including almost 200,000 in the previous 24 hours.
Where to from here?
Exactly what will happen next is difficult to predict, but experts feel the conflict is far from over.
Alexey Muraviev, associate professor of national security and strategic studies at Curtin University, said the scale of the invasion and geographical size of Ukraine means fighting will likely carry on for some time before either side "wins".
“I expect in the coming weeks there is an increase in the intensification and ferocity of fighting. More deaths are coming on both sides,” he said.
While further sanctions, bans and boycotts are expected, a diplomatic way out of the crisis, while not impossible, seems unlikely at the moment.
Given the “sheer size of this catastrophe”, Dr Muraviev said, “it’s really important we see some kind of negotiations or political outcome being found sooner or later”.
“It's in the interest of both the Ukrainians and the Russians to find political resolution, because the wounds of this war will deeply divide the two nations for many years to come.
“And the longer the war is going, the level of cruelty will only increase and then … any attempts to reconcile down the track would be really difficult.”
With AFP.
