Ukrainians protesting against the Russian invasion and war. Hubert2T/Pixabay (CC0)
Civilian atrocities, besieged cities and a rising number of both refugees and casualties. Such is the horror that Ukraine is going through today because of Russia's invasion, all while the rest of the world is still trying to recover from an unprecedented pandemic.
All this started back on February 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine’s desire to join the Western defensive alliance NATO was a threat to Russia and that they could not feel “safe, develop and exist” because of it.
What followed was an invasion and the first major war in Europe since World War II, with Putin at the helm stating that his goal was to “de-militarize and de-Nazify Ukraine” to protect people that have been subjected to “eight years of bullying and genocide by the Ukrainian government.”
But as the months went by, the so-called “special military operation” by the Russian leader has resulted in thousands of deaths in ruined towns and the displacement of more than 11 million people, a scenario that no one should be subjected to in today’s modern times.
Here, we look at some of the most vivid pictures that showcase the devastation brought to Ukraine by the war.
13. OZERA, UKRAINE - APRIL 25: A tow truck removes a heavily damaged car on April 25, 2022 in Ozera, Ukraine. The towns around Kyiv are continuing a long road to what they hope is recovery, following weeks of brutal war as Russia made its failed bid to take Ukraine's capital. As Russia concentrates its attack on the east and south of the country, residents of the Kyiv region are returning to assess the war's toll on their communities. Photo by Alexey Furman/Getty Images25. KYIV, UKRAINE - APRIL 27: A young woman attending a demonstration in support of Mariupol cries as she listens to Ukrainian national anthem, on April 27, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. The remaining Ukrainian soldiers and civilians in Mariupol, including the forces holed up at Azovstal iron and steelworks, are effectively trapped, as Russia, Ukraine and other parties have failed to agree on a viable evacuation plan. Photo by Alexey Furman/Getty Images24. TROSTYANETS, UKRAINE - MARCH 30: A man rides his bike past a destroyed Russian tank on March 30, 2022 in Trostyanets, Ukraine. Ukrainian forces announced this week that they had retaken Trostyanets, a northeastern town that has seen fierce fighting and was occupied by Russians for weeks, from Russian control. Last week, after its advances have stalled on several fronts, Russia appeared to revise its military goals in Ukraine, claiming that it would focus its efforts on the battle in the eastern Donbas region.Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images23. HORENKA, UKRAINE - APRIL 23: A cat sits among the debris of a heavily damaged apartment building on April 23, 2022 in Horenka, Ukraine. The towns around Kyiv are continuing a long road to what they hope is recovery, following weeks of brutal war as Russia made its failed bid to take Ukraine's capital. As Russia concentrates its attack on the east and south of the country, residents of the Kyiv region are returning to assess the war's toll on their communities.Photo by Alexey Furman/Getty Images22. ZAPORIZHZHIA, UKRAINE - APRIL 23:A family from Myrne, a town which is currently occupied by Russian forces wait to register with police at an evacuation point for people fleeing from Mariupol, Melitopol and surrounding towns under Russian control on April 23, 2022 in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Ukrainian and Russian authorities, as well as international aid groups, have been engaged in fitful negotiations for weeks over the evacuation of civilians from Mariupol and other parts of southeast Ukraine under Russian assault. Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images21. Residents shelter in a subway station on the northern outskirts of second largest Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, late April 23, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photo by SERGEY BOBOK/AFP via Getty Images20. BUCHA, UKRAINE - APRIL 23: (EDITORS NOTE: Image contains graphic content) Ukrainian morticians look at body bags full of corpses, as a morgue overflows with victims who died during the Russian military presence in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, Ukraine, on April 23, 2022. Ukrainian officials and volunteers are beginning the work of identifying the dead and gathering evidence for war crimes accusations, and say that more than 1,000 civilians lost their lives when Russian troops occupied districts northwest of the capital for weeks after a February 24 invasion.Photo by Scott Peterson/Getty Images19. Relatives and friends pay their last respect during the funeral of Ukrainian serviceman Oleh Skybyk, killed during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at Lychakiv cemetery in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on April 28, 2022.Photo by YURIY DYACHYSHYN/AFP via Getty Images18. Residents gather in a basement used as a shelter after hearing the sound of a nearby shelling attack in the frontline town of Gulyaipole, southeast of Zaporizhzhia on April 25, 2022. - In the southern town of Gulyaipole, replete with red and yellow tulips and an old-fashioned charm, the thunder of bombs exploding nearby is a constant reminder of the proximity of the fighting. Photo by ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images17. Local residents look at damaged graves in a cemetery of Odessa, southern Ukraine, on April 24, 2022, which was reportedly hit by missile on April 23, 2022. Photo by OLEKSANDR GIMANOV/AFP via Getty Images16. US' Venezuela-born Leo Soto checks the wall of artificial flowers set up by the US-based Wall of Flowers Foundation in memory of the victims of Russia's invasion, in Ukraine's western city of Lviv on April 24, 2022. - Leo Soto, who set up the foundation, says he saw how comforting a similar memorial was after a building collapse in the US state of Florida in June, and travelled to Ukraine to try to offer Ukrainians a similar level of comfort.Photo by YURIY DYACHYSHYN/AFP via Getty Images15. HOSTOMEL, UKRAINE - APRIL 25: Local resident Oksana walks through the destroyed second floor of her multi-generational home while searching for salvageable items on April 25, 2022 in Hostomel, Ukraine. Located on the former frontline, she said the house was rocketed by Russian troops on March 7 when her mother and grandmother were downstairs. They were evacuated uninjured to Kyiv, before the entire family relocated west to 15. 15. Vinnytsia. As Russia concentrates its attack on the east and south of the country, residents of the Kyiv region are returning to assess the war's toll on their communities.Photo by John Moore/Getty Images14. Internally displaced persons receive chickens at the entrance of the bunker of Ostchem factory in Severodonetsk, eastern Ukraine, on April 27, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images1. IRPIN, UKRAINE - APRIL 28: A Ukrainian army soldier stands guard at the war damaged Irpinsky Lipky residential complex following the visit of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on April 28, 2022 in Irpin, Ukraine. The secretary general visited several towns around Kyiv heavily damaged by Russian forces in their failed bid to take Kyiv.Photo by John Moore/Getty Images12. OZERA, UKRAINE - APRIL 25: Inna, 53, walks by the burnt car of her son next to her burnt house on April 25, 2022 in Ozera, Ukraine. The towns around Kyiv are continuing a long road to what they hope is recovery, following weeks of brutal war as Russia made its failed bid to take Ukraine's capital. As Russia concentrates its attack on the east and south of the country, residents of the Kyiv region are returning to assess the war's toll on their communities.Photo by Alexey Furman/Getty Images11. KYIV, UKRAINE - APRIL 26: Figures from the 'Friendship of Peoples' monument are taken down during its demolition on April 26, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced in a social media post that the 8-meter high statue of men holding a star-shaped emblem that says "Friendship of Peoples" and "USSR" would be removed from the city, and the metal arch overhead would be renamed. Photo by Alexey Furman/Getty Images10. KYIV, UKRAINE - APRIL 28: Smoke rises after missiles landed at sunset on April 28, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, said on his Telegram account that Russian strikes hit the lower floors of a residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district. The attack coincides with today's visit to Kyiv by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.Photo by John Moore/Getty Images9. Decoy flares are seen after being released by an Ukrainian Sukhoi Su-25 providing an air support to Ukrainian troops on the ground during the battle near Yampil, eastern Ukraine, on April 27, 2022, amid Russian invasion of Ukraine.Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images8. ZAHALTSI, UKRAINE - APRIL 28: Toys are seen next to the destroyed house of Iryna Minenko, 35, on April 28, 2022 in Zahaltsi, Ukraine. The towns around Kyiv are continuing a long road to what they hope is recovery, following weeks of brutal war as Russia made its failed bid to take Ukraine's capital. As Russia concentrates its attack on the east and south of the country, residents of the Kyiv region are returning to assess the war's toll on their communities. Photo by Alexey Furman/Getty Images7. A picture taken on April 25, 2022 in the cemetery of Bucha shows the grave of Mykhaylo Kovalenko, a civilian who was shot dead on Yablunska street in Bucha on March 5,2022 during Russian invasion of Ukraine Bucha, Kyiv region. When the 62-year-old arrived on Yablonska, he "got out of the vehicle with his hands up" to present himself to a checkpoint manned by Russian soldiers, said Artem, the boyfriend of Kovalenkos daughter. Still, the troops opened fire, said his daughter and his wife, who survived the attack by running away. - They all had different paths to death on Yablunska Street in Ukraines tragedy-scarred Bucha: A risky evacuation, a borrowed bicycle, a missing parent one among them was even from Russia. But at the end of that path, at least 20 people in civilian clothes met what is widely alleged to be an overt violation of war crimes law by Russias invading forces.Photo by Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP) (Photo by SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images6. ZAHALTSI, UKRAINE - APRIL 28: A destroyed Ukrainian tank on April 28, 2022 in Zahaltsi, Ukraine. The towns around Kyiv are continuing a long road to what they hope is recovery, following weeks of brutal war as Russia made its failed bid to take Ukraine's capital. As Russia concentrates its attack on the east and south of the country, residents of the Kyiv region are returning to assess the war's toll on their communities.Photo by Alexey Furman/Getty Images5. ZAHALTSI, UKRAINE - APRIL 28: In this aerial view, the destroyed houses are seen on April 28, 2022 in Zahaltsi, Ukraine. The towns around Kyiv are continuing a long road to what they hope is recovery, following weeks of brutal war as Russia made its failed bid to take Ukraine's capital. As Russia concentrates its attack on the east and south of the country, residents of the Kyiv region are returning to assess the war's toll on their communities.Photo by Alexey Furman/Getty Images4. A man rides a bicycle past a destroyed house in the village of Derhachi north of Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, on April 27, 2022, amid Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photo by DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images3. A Ukrainian anti-tank missle is set on a tripod near Yampil, eastern Ukraine, on April 27, 2022, amid Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images2. A car and piled sleepers are burning after a shelling near the Lyman station in Lyman, eastern Ukraine, on April 28, 2022, amid Russian invasion of Ukraine.Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images
