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Buildings reduced to debris, bloodied faces: What Ukraine looks like after Russia's military offensive

Russian forces launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, hitting cities and bases with airstrikes and shelling, as civilians desperately tried to flee the country or take shelter in underground metro stations

FP Staff February 25, 2022 19:06:53 IST
The face of Europe changed on Thursday as Russia launched a unilateral attack on Ukraine, raining down missiles and rockets in cities from Kyiv to Kharkiv, killing an untold number of people, and throwing the fate of the country into the balance. A wounded woman stands outside a hospital after the bombing of the eastern Ukraine town of Chuguiv. AFP
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The face of Europe changed on Thursday as Russia launched a unilateral attack on Ukraine, raining down missiles and rockets in cities from Kyiv to Kharkiv, killing an untold number of people, and throwing the fate of the country into the balance. A wounded woman stands outside a hospital after the bombing of the eastern Ukraine town of Chuguiv. AFP
A man clears debris at a damaged residential building at Koshytsa Street, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where a military shell allegedly hit. AFP
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A man clears debris at a damaged residential building at Koshytsa Street, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where a military shell allegedly hit. AFP
The body of a rocket stuck in a flat after shelling on the northern outskirts of Kharkiv The Russian air strikes hit military facilities across the country and ground forces moved in from the north, south and east. AFP
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The body of a rocket stuck in a flat after shelling on the northern outskirts of Kharkiv The Russian air strikes hit military facilities across the country and ground forces moved in from the north, south and east. AFP
A rocket body stuck into a road in Kharkiv. AFP
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A rocket body stuck into a road in Kharkiv. AFP
A man sits outside his destroyed building after bombings on the eastern Ukraine town of Chuguiv. Russian armed forces invaded Ukraine from several directions, using rocket systems and helicopters to attack Ukrainian position in the south, the border guard service said. AFP
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A man sits outside his destroyed building after bombings on the eastern Ukraine town of Chuguiv. Russian armed forces invaded Ukraine from several directions, using rocket systems and helicopters to attack Ukrainian position in the south, the border guard service said. AFP
A damaged Ukrainian military facility in the aftermath of Russian shelling outside Mariupol, Ukraine. Ukraine’s president said that 137 people had been killed, and 316 wounded so far, after Russia launched a full scale invasion on his country by land, sea and air. AP
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A damaged Ukrainian military facility in the aftermath of Russian shelling outside Mariupol, Ukraine. Ukraine’s president said that 137 people had been killed, and 316 wounded so far, after Russia launched a full scale invasion on his country by land, sea and air. AP
A woman walks past the debris in the aftermath of Russian shelling, in Mariupol, Ukraine. AP
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A woman walks past the debris in the aftermath of Russian shelling, in Mariupol, Ukraine. AP
Smoke rise from an air defence base in the aftermath of a Russian strike in Mariupol, Ukraine. AP
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Smoke rise from an air defence base in the aftermath of a Russian strike in Mariupol, Ukraine. AP
A man reacts at the body of a relative outside a destroyed building after bombings on the eastern Ukraine town of Chuguiv. A US official has warned that this is merely the first stage of Russia’s all-out invasion, with only a fraction of the more than 150,000 troops that the country has deployed to Ukraine’s borders taking part in the assault so far. AFP
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A man reacts at the body of a relative outside a destroyed building after bombings on the eastern Ukraine town of Chuguiv. A US official has warned that this is merely the first stage of Russia’s all-out invasion, with only a fraction of the more than 150,000 troops that the country has deployed to Ukraine’s borders taking part in the assault so far. AFP