{O/C}
Good evening and welcome to World Review 2022.
Overshadowing the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises throughout much of the year was the blood-curdling Ukraine invasion that began in February.
Russian forces rocked every part of Ukraine with missiles and other attacks.
Gutted homes and buildings, and the overwhelming loss of life enveloped the entire country.
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"Russia-Ukraine war" became one of the buzz terms of 2022.
When word got out that heavily-armed Russian soldiers were spotted near the Ukrainian border, several rounds of talks were held to forestall an impending war, with no major breakthroughs.
At first, critics believed Russia would at least hold off on invading given the Beijing Olympics in early February hosted by its ally, China.
But just as the world thought it was all merely a flare-up in tensions, all came to a head on February 24, when Russia's military initiated a multi-pronged assault on Ukraine.
This as air sirens blared, and missile barrages and shelling became normalcy for Ukrainians.
President Vladimir Putin termed the attack "a special military operation", a phrase that truly didn't sit well with Western powers, who immediately slapped Russia with bruising sanctions.
Criticism poured in from the world, starting from Washington.
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JOE BIDEN, United States President (February 24, 2022):
The Russian military has begun a brutal assault on the people of Ukarine without provocation, without justification, without necessity.
This is a premeditated attack.
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SCOTT MORRISON, Australian Prime Minister (February 23, 2022):
They're behaving like thugs and bullies. And they should be pulled out as thugs and bullies.
{VO}
Western powers were also swift to cut off Russia's ties to the irreplaceable SWIFT system for financial transactions.
By the first month into the war, key Ukrainian cities like Kharkiv, Lviv as well as the capital of Kyiv, had been mercilessly bombarded.
Missiles and blasts ravaged buildings and even hospitals as well as a theatre in central Mariupol where residents had hunkered down.
Russia went on to blow up a maternity hospital in Mariupol.
Three people were killed, including a child.
Millions apparently had no choice but to desert their own country for safety.
Reports say some 4.5 million Ukrainian refugees had to fend for themselves in Europe.
But President Volodymyr Zelensky never bowed to Russian pressure.
He stayed with his fellow countrymen and gave countless nightly video addresses, calling for sanctions against the aggressor.
On April 8th, the 193-member U.N. General Assembly voted to suspend Russia from the human rights body over its war atrocities.
They included evidence of mass graves in Bucha where over 400 dead were found to have had their hands tied to the back.
Over in Russia, Putin tapped a veteran commander to lead the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
That was followed by a thunderous train station attack in early April in Kramatorsk when a Russian missile pounded the station.
Over 50 were killed.
With mounds of debris and corpses lining the streets of the strategic port city of Mariupol, it appeared impossible for Ukraine to dish it right back.
But in mid-April, a dispiriting setback for Russia after its main warship, Moskva, was sunk by Ukrainian missiles.
That's also when a drama unravelled at the Azovstal steel-mill plant in Mariupol.
Russian President Vladimir Putin prematurely declared victory in Mariupol after a deadly weeks-long siege of that plant.
Then, more evidence of mass graves on the outskirts of Mariupol from satellite imagery.
Between March and June, the port city lurched from prosperity to tatters.
As Ukraine continued its battle, western leaders began paying stealth visits to Kyiv.
May began on a positive note when more than 100 civilians were reportedly freed from the Mariupol steel plant.
But more than one million surrendered and were led into Russia with reports of a complete takeover of eastern Ukraine.
Meantime, European countries joined forces to isolate Russia via slashing their reliance on Russian gas, yet raising fears of an energy crunch in winter.
NATO got a boost later in the month when Finland and Sweden hinted at joining it, prompting anger from Moscow.
Despite lingering Turkish worries about the two potential new members, Washington assured, it'd be just fine.
At the same time, the leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the United States convened a quadrilateral meeting to offer support for Ukraine.
In late May, the European Union imposed an embargo on most Russian oil imports.
When its war tactics failed, Russia began to devour the Donbas.
Throughout June, both sides claimed to have killed thousands of enemy soldiers.
Kyiv vowed to recapture territory seized by Russia.
That's when G7 leaders met in Germany to discuss Russia's relentless onslaught.
In late July, signs of thawing tensions when the U.S. offered a prisoner swap deal to Russia.
Washington hoped to trade convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for jailed American Paul Whelan and basketball star Brittney Griner, who was detained in Russia in February for carrying vape cartridges with cannabis oil.
But details of the deal remained sketchy at best.
After a few dramatic twists, on December 10th, prisoner swap accomplished, as both Bout and Griner returned to their home countries.
While Washington hailed the news, Whelan expressed discontent that Washington had left him behind.
In September, Ukraine unleashed its counter-offensive, which saw a massive Russian retreat from Kharkiv.
Even Putin's allies admitted things weren't as rosy for Russia.
That's when allegations of mass graves were levelled against Russia again, this time in newly-liberated town Izyum.
Over 400 corpses were exhumed from a mass burial site, with evidence of torture.
Despite opposition from the West, the Kremlin oversaw referendums in parts of Russian-controlled eastern and southern Ukraine on whether to join Russia.
It followed that up with a partial mobilisation of 300,000 men, prompting thousands to flee to avoid being drafted.
At the U.N. Security Council, the U.S. and Ukraine repeatedly traded blame with Russia.
But on October 8th, another turn for the worse as the Kerch Bridge linking Russia to Russian-annexed Crimea partially collapsed following a deadly blast that killed four.
Russia expressed outrage.
In apparent retaliation, it pounded Ukraine, including its capital, with another round of missile barrages.
Then in November, new British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced more military aid to bolster Ukrainian defences on his Kyiv visit.
This as Kherson residents returned to soak up their victory.
The United Nations also called for Russian reparations to Ukraine over its damage to civilian and power infrastructure.
But in December, Russian military bases were wrecked by drone attacks which many suspect were part of Ukraine's retaliation, with Russia responding in kind.
In an about-face, the United States said it was ready to provide Ukraine with advanced Patriot missile air defence systems.
Washington had previously refused to offer the Patriots for fear of escalating the war.
Amid an energy crisis, Europe endured.
European countries inked an agreement to construct an electric cable running under the Black Sea.
Also the same weekend, Germany inaugurated its floating gas terminal for liquefied natural gas at its North Sea port.
On December 22nd, President Zelensky met with Biden at the White House in his first foreign trip in years.
Biden announced billions in military aid, including the Patriots, as Zelensky thanked the American people in a powerful speech to Congress.
{Soundbite}
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, Ukrainian President (December 22nd, 2022):
Against all odds and doom-and-gloom scenarios, Ukraine didn't fall.
Ukraine is alive and kicking.
{VO}
But Russian missiles continued to level much of Ukraine's vital infrastructure.
This came as millions of Ukrainians raced against time for what is likely to be a perilous winter without heat or electricity.
{O/C}
2022 was also a challenging year for the U.K.
This, as Asia saw some of its deadliest tragedies.
More when we get back.
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