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The Russian Invasion Of Ukraine: A Year In Pictures

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, it triggered the biggest military conflict in Europe since World War II, upending the lives of millions and bringing widespread devastation that continues today.

RFE/RL looks back at some of the year's most unforgettable images from the war. For more photo galleries, see our archive.

As Russian troops began their invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, 53-year-old teacher Olena Kurylo was injured in a strike on the city of Chuhuyiv. "I never thought that such a thing could happen. I never thought that this would truly happen in this lifetime," she said.
1 As Russian troops began their invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, 53-year-old teacher Olena Kurylo was injured in a strike on the city of Chuhuyiv.

"I never thought that such a thing could happen. I never thought that this would truly happen in this lifetime," she said.
Ukrainian soldiers take positions on a bridge inside the city of Kyiv on February 25, 2022. After launching air strikes on cities and military installations and pouring in troops and tanks from three directions, Russian invaders eventually reached the outskirts of the capital.
2 Ukrainian soldiers take positions on a bridge inside the city of Kyiv on February 25, 2022. After launching air strikes on cities and military installations and pouring in troops and tanks from three directions, Russian invaders eventually reached the outskirts of the capital.
Destroyed Russian armor litters a street in the city of Bucha near Kyiv on March 1, 2022. Russian forces failed to encircle or capture the capital and eventually withdrew from the region.
3 Destroyed Russian armor litters a street in the city of Bucha near Kyiv on March 1, 2022. Russian forces failed to encircle or capture the capital and eventually withdrew from the region.
Maryna Yatsko runs into a hospital behind her boyfriend, Fedir, carrying her 18-month-old son, Kyrylo, who was hit during the shelling of Mariupol on March 4, 2022. Kyrylo did not survive.
4 Maryna Yatsko runs into a hospital behind her boyfriend, Fedir, carrying her 18-month-old son, Kyrylo, who was hit during the shelling of Mariupol on March 4, 2022. Kyrylo did not survive.
A man carries a child from the town of Irpin after heavy shelling as Russian troops advanced toward Kyiv on March 6, 2022.
5 A man carries a child from the town of Irpin after heavy shelling as Russian troops advanced toward Kyiv on March 6, 2022.
A woman hugs her cat in a subway station in Kyiv on March 8, 2022, where many people were forced to take shelter. Scenes reminiscent of World War II shocked the world in early March as Ukrainian civilians moved underground for safety while Russia launched missiles and rockets into several major cities.
6 A woman hugs her cat in a subway station in Kyiv on March 8, 2022, where many people were forced to take shelter.

Scenes reminiscent of World War II shocked the world in early March as Ukrainian civilians moved underground for safety while Russia launched missiles and rockets into several major cities.
Bodies are placed in a mass grave on the outskirts of Mariupol on March 9, 2022. A nearly three-month-long siege of the port city resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of inhabitants and the destruction of 90 percent of its structures.
7 Bodies are placed in a mass grave on the outskirts of Mariupol on March 9, 2022.

A nearly three-month-long siege of the port city resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of inhabitants and the destruction of 90 percent of its structures.
An explosion rips through an apartment building after a Russian tank fired on it in Mariupol on March 11, 2022.
8 An explosion rips through an apartment building after a Russian tank fired on it in Mariupol on March 11, 2022.
A 5-month-old orphan, rescued from the besieged city of Sumy, sleeps in his stroller at the Kyiv City Heart Center on March 20, 2022.
9 A 5-month-old orphan, rescued from the besieged city of Sumy, sleeps in his stroller at the Kyiv City Heart Center on March 20, 2022.
A man rides his bike past flames and smoke rising from a fire following a Russian attack in Kharkiv on March 25, 2022.
10 A man rides his bike past flames and smoke rising from a fire following a Russian attack in Kharkiv on March 25, 2022.
A Ukrainian soldier walks by the remains of the Antonov An-225 Mriya transport plane on April 2, 2022. The Mriya, which had been the world's largest aircraft, was destroyed by a Russian strike on February 27 during fighting at Antonov airport in Hostomel. The Mriya, which means "dream" or "inspiration," was beloved by aviation enthusiasts around the world.
11 A Ukrainian soldier walks by the remains of the Antonov An-225 Mriya transport plane on April 2, 2022.

The Mriya, which had been the world's largest aircraft, was destroyed by a Russian strike on February 27 during fighting at Antonov airport in Hostomel. The Mriya, which means "dream" or "inspiration," was beloved by aviation enthusiasts around the world.
Vlad Tanyuk, 6, stands near the grave of his mother, Ira Tanyuk, in the courtyard of his home on the outskirts of Kyiv on April 4, 2022. His mother's death was blamed on starvation and stress from the Russian invasion.
12 Vlad Tanyuk, 6, stands near the grave of his mother, Ira Tanyuk, in the courtyard of his home on the outskirts of Kyiv on April 4, 2022. His mother's death was blamed on starvation and stress from the Russian invasion.
Yana Bachek is consoled by her partner, Yevhen Vlasenko, and her mother, Lyubov Hubareva, as she mourns over the body of her father, Viktor Hubarev, 79, who was killed by shelling in Kharkiv on April 18, 2022.
13 Yana Bachek is consoled by her partner, Yevhen Vlasenko, and her mother, Lyubov Hubareva, as she mourns over the body of her father, Viktor Hubarev, 79, who was killed by shelling in Kharkiv on April 18, 2022.
Cleanup crews prepare to work at the site of a Russian strike in Kyiv on April 28, 2022, that killed RFE/RL journalist Vira Hyrych, who had recently moved into the apartment building. At least 10 others were reportedly injured in the attack, which struck following a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
14 Cleanup crews prepare to work at the site of a Russian strike in Kyiv on April 28, 2022, that killed RFE/RL journalist Vira Hyrych, who had recently moved into the apartment building. At least 10 others were reportedly injured in the attack, which struck following a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The bodies of 11 Russian soldiers lie on the ground in the village of Vilkhyvka, recently retaken by Ukrainian forces near Kharkiv, on May 9, 2022.
15 The bodies of 11 Russian soldiers lie on the ground in the village of Vilkhyvka, recently retaken by Ukrainian forces near Kharkiv, on May 9, 2022.
Oksana Balandina, 23, is carried by her husband, Viktor, at a hospital in Lviv on May 13, 2022. Oksana lost both legs and four fingers on her left arm when a shell exploded near her house. "There was an explosion. My legs felt like they were falling into emptiness right after that. I was trying to look around and saw that there were no legs anymore -- only bones, flesh, and blood," she recalled.
16 Oksana Balandina, 23, is carried by her husband, Viktor, at a hospital in Lviv on May 13, 2022. Oksana lost both legs and four fingers on her left arm when a shell exploded near her house.

"There was an explosion. My legs felt like they were falling into emptiness right after that. I was trying to look around and saw that there were no legs anymore -- only bones, flesh, and blood," she recalled.
This image contains sensitive content which some people may find offensive or disturbing.
Olena cries next to the body of her husband, Oleksiy, who died during shelling in Kharkiv on May 26, 2022.
17 Olena cries next to the body of her husband, Oleksiy, who died during shelling in Kharkiv on May 26, 2022.
This image contains sensitive content which some people may find offensive or disturbing - Click to reveal
Olena cries next to the body of her husband, Oleksiy, who died during shelling in Kharkiv on May 26, 2022.
Family members watch rescuers work as they wait for news about their relatives who are under the rubble of a residential building damaged by a Russian military strike in the town of Chasiv Yar, in the Donetsk region, on July 10, 2022.
18 Family members watch rescuers work as they wait for news about their relatives who are under the rubble of a residential building damaged by a Russian military strike in the town of Chasiv Yar, in the Donetsk region, on July 10, 2022.
A young girl holding her dog waves goodbye to her grandparents from an evacuation train departing Pokrovsk, in the Donetsk region, on August 2, 2022. The Ukrainian government issued an order to residents to leave the Donetsk region out of concern that there might not be access to heating, electricity, or even clean water for its residents.
19 A young girl holding her dog waves goodbye to her grandparents from an evacuation train departing Pokrovsk, in the Donetsk region, on August 2, 2022.

The Ukrainian government issued an order to residents to leave the Donetsk region out of concern that there might not be access to heating, electricity, or even clean water for its residents.
People relax on a beach as smoke and flames rise from a Russian military air base in Ukraine's occupied Crimea region on August 9, 2022.
20 People relax on a beach as smoke and flames rise from a Russian military air base in Ukraine's occupied Crimea region on August 9, 2022.
At a funeral in Bucha on August 31, 2022, Anastasia Ohrimenko, 26, is comforted by relatives and friends as she mourns the loss of her husband, Yuriy Styhlyuk, a Ukrainian soldier who died in combat.
21 At a funeral in Bucha on August 31, 2022, Anastasia Ohrimenko, 26, is comforted by relatives and friends as she mourns the loss of her husband, Yuriy Styhlyuk, a Ukrainian soldier who died in combat.
A Ukrainian soldier holding a watermelon gives a thumbs up as a rocket launches toward the front line in the Donetsk region on September 3, 2022. The fruit became the symbol of the Ukrainian military's counteroffensive operation to liberate the city of Kherson, which was occupied by Russian forces in March.
22 A Ukrainian soldier holding a watermelon gives a thumbs up as a rocket launches toward the front line in the Donetsk region on September 3, 2022. The fruit became the symbol of the Ukrainian military's counteroffensive operation to liberate the city of Kherson, which was occupied by Russian forces in March.
A woman warms her dog in her coat in Kivsharyvka on October 16, 2022. Residents had been living without gas, electricity, or running water. 
23 A woman warms her dog in her coat in Kivsharyvka on October 16, 2022. Residents had been living without gas, electricity, or running water. 
Photos capture the moments before and after the impact of a Russian-operated, Iranian-made kamikaze drone in Kyiv on October 17, 2022.
24 Photos capture the moments before and after the impact of a Russian-operated, Iranian-made kamikaze drone in Kyiv on October 17, 2022.
The body of Ukrainian soldier Vadym Bereghnuy, 22, awaits burial at a cemetery in Kharkiv on October 17, 2022.
25 The body of Ukrainian soldier Vadym Bereghnuy, 22, awaits burial at a cemetery in Kharkiv on October 17, 2022.

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