Three years of the Great War captured through the lens of Ukrinform.
The latest act of armed aggression is a continuation of the eleven-year war initiated by the Russian Federation, which began with the occupation of Ukrainian Crimea and certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The morning of February 24, 2022, definitively divided the lives of Ukrainians into "before" and "after." The confrontation with hostile tanks and devastating missiles spread across the entire country, marking the first continental war in Europe in the 21st century.
Ukrinform has prepared a three-year photo chronicle of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
During this time, powerful symbolic images emerged, capturing the events of the first days of the Great War. Crowded train stations, sports halls transformed into temporary shelters for evacuees from conflict zones, life in the subway, destroyed enemy equipment on the streets of Ukrainian cities, and evacuation columns from Mariupol, along with the "injured" Shevchenko in front of a ruined building in the center of Borodyanka.
11 People at the train station waiting for evacuation trains to Poland, Lviv, March 2022.
12 Sleeping arrangements in one of the city's sports complexes accommodating displaced persons, Uzhhorod, March 7, 2022.
13 People near makeshift sleeping areas on the platform of the "Palace of Ukraine" station of the Kyiv Metro, which operates as a shelter during air raids, Kyiv, March 13, 2022.
14 Destroyed military equipment near damaged and destroyed private homes due to Russian aggression on one of the streets of the liberated city of Bucha, Kyiv region, April 7, 2022.
15 Children-displaced persons in a bus used for evacuation from Mariupol, Zaporizhzhia, March 22, 2022.
16 The monument to Taras Shevchenko, shot by Russian soldiers, against the backdrop of a destroyed residential high-rise in the liberated Borodyanka, Kyiv region, April 6, 2022.
Every day, rockets of various types, "Shahed" drones, and guided bombs fall on the heads of Ukrainians. Under attack are energy and critical infrastructure facilities, as well as residential buildings in densely populated cities. This results in significant casualties and destruction, as well as technogenic accidents in entire regions.
17 Fire on a gas pipeline in the Podil district caused by falling debris from rockets, with which Russian troops launched a massive strike on the capital, Kyiv, January 2, 2024.
18 First aid being provided to a victim of a rocket strike by Russian forces in Kharkiv, January 23, 2024.
19 Rescuers and law enforcement officers carrying an injured person on a stretcher following a rocket attack by Russian troops in the city, Zaporizhzhia, April 5, 2024.
20 A woman with a cat in her arms at the site of a missile strike by Russian troops on a residential complex, Odesa, December 29, 2023.
21 Local residents affected by the Russian missile strike, Zaporizhzhia, December 29, 2023.
22 Rescuers clearing debris after a Russian missile strike on a shop-café in the village of Groza, where a memorial lunch was taking place, resulting in 59 fatalities (including a child born in 2017), Groza, Kupiansk district, Kharkiv region, October 5, 2023.
23 Rescuers extinguishing a fire caused by an airstrike by Russian troops on industrial infrastructure in Zaporizhzhia, January 8, 2025.
24 Rescuers extinguishing a fire caused by a gas pipe damage due to a Russian missile attack in the Holosiivskyi district, Kyiv, December 20, 2024.
25 Rescuers in a building severely damaged by a Russian guided bomb, Kharkiv, October 3, 2024.
According to UN data, as of January 8, 2025, over 12,300 civilians have been killed during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif, the number of civilian casualties in Ukraine has increased in recent months due to Russia's use of drones, long-range missiles, and cruise bombs.
26 Bags with the bodies of civilians and soldiers killed by Russian invaders during the exhumation at the site of a mass grave discovered after the de-occupation of the area in the forest on the outskirts of the city near the local cemetery, Izium, Kharkiv region, September 19, 2022.
27 The mother of the deceased 4-year-old Zlata Rostochil, Nadiia, holding her daughter’s hand during a farewell at the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral. The girl died on May 23 in the hospital from injuries sustained during a Russian missile strike by a ballistic "Iskander-M" missile on the coast on April 29, Odesa, May 26, 2024.
28 Men carrying a body bag of a deceased man near the building destroyed by a Russian missile attack where he lived, Zaporizhzhia region, August 26, 2024.
29 A passenger's hand hanging out of the window of a minibus, killed as a result of an airstrike by Russian troops on the industrial infrastructure in Zaporizhzhia, January 8, 2025.
In three years of full-scale war, Russians have destroyed hundreds of thousands of residential buildings across Ukraine. It is impossible to count their exact number as shelling continues. Architectural monuments, churches, educational institutions, and hospitals are also systematically targeted by the enemy. There are settlements where active hostilities are ongoing, some have fallen under occupation, and part has been virtually completely destroyed – Popasna, Maryinka, Soledar, Bakhmut. These names now carry much more than geographical significance and for Ukrainians symbolize pain, loss, and at the same time strength and struggle.
Since February 2022, millions of Ukrainians have become refugees and internally displaced persons.
30 A female sculpture against the backdrop of a multi-story building destroyed by Russian shelling in the liberated city, Izium, Kharkiv region, September 15, 2022.
31 Local residents near a damaged residential building during the aftermath of a Russian shelling in the Solomianskyi district of the capital, Kyiv, January 3, 2024.
32 A multi-story building destroyed by a Russian missile strike in the Saltivka residential area, Kharkiv, October 9, 2022.
33 A woman observing the dismantling of a residential high-rise damaged by Russian military shelling, Kharkiv, April 13, 2024.
34 The church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary destroyed by a Russian missile strike on July 8, in the village of Novoekonomichne, Donetsk region, August 7, 2024.
35 The Pokrovsk church, shattered by Russian shelling in the frontline town of Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia region, February 28, 2024.
36 The building of an infectious disease hospital in Myrnohrad, destroyed by Russian invaders, Donetsk region, August 7, 2024.
37 Consequences of shelling by Russian troops on a local school in Kram