Lightning strike settles into attrition as Ukraine marks 100 days of war

From the siege of Kyiv and the sinking of the 'Moskva', to the eastern offensive and fall of Mariupol, the scale of suffering is unimaginable

Russian President Vladimir Putin signs documents, including a decree recognising two Russian-backed breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent, during a ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow. President Vladimir Putin said on February 21, 2022, he would make a decision "today" on recognising the independence of east Ukraine's rebel republics, after Russia's top officials made impassioned speeches in favour of the move. AFP

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pictured on February 22 after Russia ordered troops into two Moscow-backed rebel regions of Ukraine. AFP

Russian military equipment crosses the Crimea border checkpoint. AFP

People use a subway station as a bomb shelter in Kharkiv, Ukraine. EPA

A traffic jam in Kyiv on February 24. Russian troops entered Ukraine while President Zelenskyy addressed the nation to announce the imposition of martial law. EPA

Emergency services tend to an injured man after bombings hit the town of Chuguiv, Ukraine. AFP

Firefighters tend to a fire after bombings in Chuguiv on February 24. AFP

Protesters show support for Ukraine in Times Square, New York, on February 24. EPA

Ukrainian National Guard servicemen take their positions in central Kyiv on February 25. Reuters

Helena and her brother Bodia from Lviv at the Medyka pedestrian border crossing in eastern Poland on February 26. AFP

People desperate to leave Ukraine try to board a train at the railway station in Lviv on February 27. Oliver Marsden for The National

Svyatoslav Yurash, 26, a lawmaker from Zelenskyy's Servant of the People party, poses with his assault rifle as he patrols downtown Kyiv on February 27. AFP

Mark Goncharuk, a young boy from Kyiv, leaves his father behind as he travels with the rest of his family towards the border on February 27. Reuters

A pro-Russian militia serviceman in the Luhansk region, Ukraine, on February 27. Reuters

A Ukrainian serviceman and his dog look at smoke from a burned petroleum storage depot after a Russian missile attack near Kiev on February 27. EPA

Children with cancer are evacuated to the basement of the oncology centre used as a bomb shelter in Kyiv on February 28. AFP

A woman in Kyiv looks at empty supermarket shelves after the curfew was lifted on February 28. Reuters

People in support of Ukraine hold an anti-war protest outside the Russian Embassy in Mexico City on February 28. Reuters

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in Kyiv on March 1. Reuters

Destroyed military vehicles in the town of Bucha, Ukraine, on March 1. Reuters

Members of a Ukrainian civil defence unit pass new assault rifles to the opposite side of a blown up bridge on Kyiv's northern front on March 1. AFP

Kirilo Trantin comforts an elephant at Kiev Zoo on March 1. AP

Stanislav says goodbye to his two-year-old son David and wife Anna after they boarded a train that will take them to Lviv, on March 3. AP

People take cover on the floor of a hospital during shelling by Russian forces in Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 4. AP

A flare lands at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine during shelling on March 4. EPA

Messages are posted by visitors on a board in support of Ukraine, inside the Ukrainian pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai on March 4. AFP

Ukrainians try to flee the country by crossing the Irpin River on the outskirts of Kyiv on March 5. AP

Ukrainian territorial defence fighters Valeriy, right, and Lesya during their wedding ceremony near Kyiv on March 6. EPA

Russian policemen detain a participant in an unauthorised rally against the Russian special operation in Ukraine, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on March 6. EPA

US President Joe Biden announces a ban on US imports of Russian oil and gas on March 8. AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a videoconference meeting with government members at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on March 10. EPA

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, and Ukranian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba before their meeting during the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Turkey, on March 10. EPA

An explosion tears a hole in the side of an apartment building after a Russian tank fired a rocket in Mariupol on March 11. AP Photo

Yana Hladiychuk of Ukraine UKR looks on with a 'Stop War' message on her face after the women's pole vault on day two of the World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 2022 on March 19. Getty Images

In this picture taken on March 18, 109 empty prams and baby baskets are seen outside the Lviv city council during an action to highlight the number of children killed in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. AFP

Six-year-old Milana, who is recovering from leg injuries sustained after a Russian rocket hit her house on February 28, killing her mother, reacts to volunteers dressed as clowns at a children's hospital in Kyiv on March 19. Getty Images

People clean a room in an apartment building destroyed during an air raid in Kyiv on March 21. Reuters

A firefighter works at a residential district that was damaged by shelling in Kyiv on March 23. Reuters

Smoke billows from a fire on what Ukrainian Ministry of Defence says is a Russian ship at the port of Berdiansk on March 24. Reuters

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, US President Joe Biden, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and leaders of the US-led military alliance pose for a family photo at Nato Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on March 24. Reuters

This general view taken on March 30 shows fire and smoke lighting up the night sky, east of Kharkiv. AFP

Women sew camouflage fabric for homemade military bullet proof vests and flak jackets in Mykolaiv on March 31. Oliver Marsden for the National

A theatre destroyed in the southern port city of Mariupol on April 3. Reuters

Women stand in their robes as smoke rises in the background after shelling in Odesa, Ukraine, on Sunday, April 3. AP

President Zelenskyy in the town of Bucha, northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, on April 4. AFP

A woman carries her cat as she walks past buildings destroyed by Russian shelling in Borodyanka, Ukraine, on April 5. Reuters

Ukrainian servicemen sing a patriotic song amid buildings destroyed during fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces in Borodyanka on April 5. AP

A firefighter works at the site of burning fuel storage facilities damaged by an air strike in Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, on April 6. Reuters

Pope Francis holds a Ukraine flag sent to him from the Ukrainian town of Bucha during the weekly general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall, Vatican City, on April 6. EPA

Photos of people are seen next to a destroyed apartment building on April 9 in Borodianka. Getty Images

Mr Johnson and Mr Zelensky in central Kyiv on April 9. AFP

A booby trap found by locals near their home in the village of Zalissya village, Ukraine, on April 12. EPA

Yehor, 7, holds a toy rifle next to destroyed Russian military vehicles near Chernihiv on Sunday, April 17. AP

A man takes a selfie in front of a destroyed Russian tank in the village of Andriivka, Ukraine, on April 17. AFP

Destroyed structures in Irpin, Ukraine, on April 8. Getty Images

A sign saying 'children' on the windscreen of a car with bullet holes in Irpin on April 19. AFP

An armoured convoy of pro-Russian troops moves along a road in the southern port city of Mariupol on April 21. Reuters

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy poses for a picture with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin in Kyiv on April 24. Reuters

A Ukrainian serviceman looks at a Russian ballistic missile's booster stage that fell in a field in Bohodarove, eastern Ukraine, on April 25. AFP

Lithuanian musician Darius Mazintas plays a piano in front of the Central House of Culture, destroyed during Russia's invasion, in the town of Irpin on April 26. Reuters

A woman cries as she takes part in a rally in Kyiv on April 27 demanding international leaders organise a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of Ukrainian military and civilians from Mariupol. Reuters

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres visits Borodianka on April 28. AFP

People wait in a car to be processed at a reception centre for displaced people in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Monday, May 2. AP

Anton Gladun lies on his bed at the Third City Hospital in Cherkasy, Ukraine, on Thursday, May 5. AP

Patron, a dog trained to search for explosives, during demining works at the Gostomel airfield near Kyiv on May 5. EPA

A woman covers her ears from the sound of mortar fire as people queue to collect pensions from a postal delivery van that reached the frontline despite the ongoing conflict in Mayaky, eastern Ukraine, on May 6. AFP

Service members of pro-Russian troops fire from a tank near the Azovstal steel plant in the southern port city of Mariupol on May 5. Reuters

A Ukrainian soldier inside the ruined Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol on May 7. AP

The statue of Ukrainian philosopher Hryhoriy Skovoroda stands in the damaged Hryhoriy Skovoroda Literary Memorial Museum in Skovorodynivka, Ukraine, on May 7. EPA

First lady Jill Biden receives flowers from Olena Zelenska, wife of Ukraine's President Zelenskyy, outside a public school in Uzhhorod, Slovakia, on May 8. Reuters

Bono and The Edge sing during a performance for Ukrainian people inside a subway station in Kyiv on May 8. Reuters

An explosion at the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol on May 11. Reuters

Russian paratroopers on a BMD-4 infantry fighting vehicle in Kharkiv on May 11. EPA

Sasha, left, 4, and his sister Ksenia, 8, in a basement shelter in Lysychansk, eastern Ukraine, on May 15. AFP

A controlled detonation of explosive devices near Borodianka, Ukraine, on May 17. Reuters

People stand amid newly-made graves at a cemetery in Staryi Krym outside Mariupol on May 22. Reuters

A view shows the destroyed Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol on May 22. Reuters

Russian Sgt Vadim Shishimarin listens to his translator during his court hearing in Kyiv on May 23. The 21-year-old soldier pleaded guilty to killing an unarmed civilian. AP

President Zelenskyy on a screen at the opening ceremony of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on May 23. Reuters

A red poppy in front of a destroyed residential building in Mariupol on May 31. AFP

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is discussed during the 152nd session of the Ministerial Council of the Gulf Co-operation Council in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 1. EPA

The Ukraine war is one of contradictions. It was meant to be ultra-modern, Russian-dominated and swift. Instead, it has resorted to warfare in its most base form. Sieges, artillery barrages and many dead.

The Russians have suffered humiliating setbacks, huge losses in men and equipment. But its army is ominously still in the fight, remoulded in the furnace of fighting, with a seemingly inexorable advance in eastern Ukraine.

The past 100 days have featured an intensity of fighting not seen in Europe since 1945. The battle for Kyiv, the siege of Mariupol, the sinking of the Moskva, dead generals and battered cities. And it will inevitably continue, probably for another 100 days or more.

The gamble

At 5.30am Moscow time on February 24, President Vladimir Putin announced the “special military operation” against Ukraine. Minutes later a barrage of missiles struck targets across the country.

He took an enormous gamble to swiftly unseat the Ukraine government with a “decapitation” operation by seizing Kyiv.

Airborne forces and Spetsnaz special forces attempted a textbook airfield seizure. It was a disaster. Transport helicopters were easy prey to handheld US Stinger missiles. There was little air support with Ukraine warplanes and air defences keeping the Russian Air Force at bay.

A CCTV image released on February 24 shows Russian military equipment crossing a Crimea border checkpoint. AFP

When the paratroopers landed on Hostomel Airport, outside Kyiv, their assault rifles were little match for Ukraine’s determined defence, supported by artillery and armour.

Russian teams that tried to enter Kyiv, either on foot or in lightly protected vehicles, were cut down.

It heralded the inept Russian approach to battle, the result of a lack of preparation caused by Mr Putin’s secrecy.

The tactic of “combined arms” — where infantry, tanks and artillery work in concert, supporting each other — was entirely ignored.

Casualties mounted and the Kyiv offensive stalled.

The leader

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stood firm. When he was threatened by Chechen assassination squads in Kyiv, the Americans offered him an immediate evacuation. Mr Zelenskyy’s reply was: “I don’t need a ride, I need ammo.” The response will echo through Ukrainian history.

From that point on he has grown in stature as a leader. A key moment came on the first day of the war when Mr Zelenskyy, in green fatigues, posted a selfie taken on the streets of Kyiv. It captured a bold man who seemed unafraid and who thoroughly understood the power of the media.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks from Kyiv in a video posted to his Facebook account on February 25. AFP

Given his film production and acting background, that was unsurprising. But Mr Zelenskyy's astute grip on communications, later addressing parliaments across the western world — always dressed in an olive green or khaki T-shirt or fleece — has garnered immense support for Ukraine, along with money and military hardware.

Besieged cities

Russia's southern offensive, mainly streaming out of annexed Crimea, was the most effective of the five lines of attack. By March 2, Russian forces had taken Kherson — Ukraine’s first city to fall. This provided a vital railhead for supplies and gave the momentum to push west and east along Ukraine’s southern Black Sea coast.

There were fears that the port of Odesa would swiftly follow, potentially with the Russians reaching the breakaway territory of Transnistria in Moldova. But fierce Ukrainian defence, which included blowing up bridges over rivers that flow south into the Black Sea, kept Odesa and the key grain port of Pivdennyi out of artillery range.

A Russian serviceman standing guard on a promenade along the Dnipro River in Kherson. EPA

However, swiftly taking Kherson meant that the invaders could then push along the Sea of Azov coastline to the outskirts of city port Mariupol.

The opposite to Kherson happened in Kharkiv, in north-east Ukraine. A large industrial city just 30 kilometres from the Russian border, it should have been an easy picking. Instead, using dogged defence, it has held off the invaders and in recent weeks pushed them back to the border. Similarly, it was vital the Ukrainians held the Russians back from the city of Chernihiv, on the northern border with Belarus.

Kyiv retreat

In 1945, the Battle of Berlin required 1.5 million Russian troops, who suffered 80,000 dead, to take the German capital. In 2022, the Russians had a total force of 180,000 servicemen, of whom about 50,000 were centred on Kyiv.

The decapitation gamble had spectacularly failed and subsequent Russian attempts to surround the capital were shambolic. The Maxar civilian satellite service revealed a 64km traffic jam of armoured Russian vehicles — including tanks, missile batteries and fuel tankers.

It exemplified the chaotic Russian approach and presented the Ukrainians with an unmissable target.

Ukrainian firefighters and servicemen in the rubble of the Retroville shopping mall, a day after it was shelled by Russian forces in north-west Kyiv. AFP

Ukrainian special forces proved adept in ambushing armoured columns, using a combination of quad bikes to place anti-tank mines, then drones to call in accurate artillery strikes. Similar tactics were used against the uninspired Russian assaults throughout Ukraine in which armoured vehicles stuck to the roads, going ahead of infantry and artillery support, only to be picked off.

The results were devastating. After more than a month of fighting the Russian losses were put at 15,000 dead with 700 tanks and more than 3,000 combat support vehicles destroyed, including advanced air defence batteries and much-needed tankers.

The reputation of the Russian forces was also tarnished by atrocities such as the Bucha massacres, which brought further global support for Ukraine.

Dead generals

The faltering Russian campaign was exemplified by the number generals lost, the toll had reached seven by the end of March. All were killed in combat, some by snipers, others by artillery fire. The losses were almost more than those suffered during a decade of fighting in Afghanistan. The suggestion was that with fighting stalled, senior officers had gone to the front line to motivate soldiers.

But a more worrying issue for Moscow was that it also suggested a lapse in operational security and the Ukrainians were able to eavesdrop their communications. The Russians were supposed to have an encrypted radio system but it appears that corruption and use of cheap Chinese parts undermined their communications. Commanders were forced to use mobile phones or handheld commercial radios.

A destroyed Russian tank and armoured vehicle beside the road in Irpin, near Kyiv. Getty Images

It also raised questions about Russia’s fabled electronic warfare capabilities, supposedly able to down drones and shut down the internet.

In Ukraine, Elon Musk has become a hero. After an appeal by Ukraine’s digital minister, he provided the Starlink satellite internet service free of charge, with 12,000 dishes across the country.

This has not only allowed the government’s critical communications infrastructure to continue free from Russian interference, but also allowed Ukrainians to communicate on social media.

'Moskva' sunk

To the astonishment of the Kremlin and the wider world, the Ukrainians scored a significant military and propaganda success by sinking the flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

The attack on the missile cruiser Moskva on April 13 demonstrated the military’s ability to use technology and cunning. Flying a drone to distract the warship’s defences, the Ukrainians fired two of their recently developed Neptune anti-ship missiles striking the Moskva and causing a fire.

Russian missile cruiser Moskva moored in the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Sevastopol in 2013. It was sunk by Ukrainian forces in April, 2022 Reuters

The ship, which had been bombarding Odesa, sunk within a day, and with it went the morale and reputation of the Russian Navy. The enduring effect was that Russian warships were pushed away from the coastline, making their bombardment and blockade more difficult.

To an extent, they were also handicapped by Turkey invoking the Montreux Convention, which allowed it to deny passage of warships through the Bosporus into the Black Sea, blocking reinforcements.

Russian supremacy will be further challenged when advanced Nato anti-ship missiles arrive in Ukraine.

Foreign weapons

Those weapons, likely to include the Harpoon and possibly the long-range Blue Spear missiles, will add to the major foreign component of weapons that have blunted the Russian attack.

While Ukraine has a decent defence industry, it was the supply of NLAW anti-tank and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles that inflicted significant pain on the Russians.

It is estimated Ukraine received 60,000 anti-tank and 25,000 anti-aircraft missiles.

Members of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces examine new weapons, including NLAW anti-tank systems, in Kyiv. AFP

While those stemmed the initial attack, more equipment is needed to prevent Russian advances in the east and a potential counterattack.

Western defence chiefs met in April to consider how best to co-ordinate the supply, but more importantly the training for sophisticated equipment.

Artillery is key for defence and attack. Counter-battery radars, to detect incoming fire, have been sent along with about 90 American Paladin 155mm guns. The Germans have provided tracked anti-aircraft vehicles, as have the British, while the Czechs and Poles have given Soviet-era T-72 tanks — which Ukraine already uses. Many other countries have provided undisclosed equipment.

It is now a question of training the Ukrainians in more advanced technology that could potentially defeat the Russians. The coming months will reveal how successful this has been.

Officials, including British and Ukrainian service members, before unloading Britain's security support package for Ukraine, at Boryspil International Airport, outside Kyiv. Reuters

The Americans and British have also been providing crucial intelligence, either through their security agencies or surveillance platforms, leading to one officer asserting that the “Ukrainians know more [about] where the Russians are located than Russian generals do”.

There is also a unique briefing campaign by the Pentagon and other western officials, giving information to the media in a transparent fashion, allowing the wider public to understand the war.

Eastern offensive

The first 100 days of the war have favoured the Ukrainians, who were meant to succumb in the first few days.

A combination of courage, agility and equipment has frustrated and humiliated the invaders, but the Russians are certainly not defeated.

Just as they did in the Second World War, they appear to have absorbed the early defeats and have now re-organised, with greater understanding of what is required.

Burning and destroyed high-rise apartment buildings in Mariupol, south-eastern Ukraine. AFP

Centralising command under a single figure, the Syria war veteran Gen Aleksandr Dvornikov, has given the army focus. Reassembling the force in the east means shorter supply lines and a greater concentration of effort.

The Russian tactic now is simple and effective. It identifies a Ukrainian position then uses massed artillery fire to methodically pound it before its armoured forces move in.

The fall of Mariupol, after an 85-day siege and heroic defence of the Azovstal steelworks, has also freed up more troops for the east.

Culminating point

For now, the next phase of the war is predictable. The Russians grimly pushing forward, one objective at a time, with Severodonetsk next. What happens then is unclear. Will the Ukrainians unveil new tactics in a counter-offensive to push the Russians back? Or will they simply not have enough time or resources to hold back an army with superior numbers?

The Russians have suffered heavily and no one knows if their demoralised army has the calibre to defeat the Ukrainians.

They might arrive at what military experts call the “culmination point”, when an advancing army is battered, depleted and exhausted and on the cusp of defeat, similar to Germany's Western Front offensive of spring 1918, during the First World War.

“If Russia reaches the culminating point, running out of steam as both sides did in the First World War, then the time is right for a counter-offensive,” said former Brig Ben Barry of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank. “When that time is, is a very difficult judgment.”

An elderly woman in the basement of an apartment during a mortar barrage in Severodonetsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP

The Ukrainians may well be allowing the Russians to plough on, willing to sacrifice territory to inflict mounting attrition on them.

We may also yet see unleashed a Ukraine reserve force they have been building.

“The counter-offensive option is really key,” said Sam Cranny-Evans of the Royal United Services Institute think tank in London.

“That could potentially change things quite dramatically, because the Russians would have to very quickly reposition forces to deal with it. I don't know how slick it would be but if they have enough experienced troops left alive, they could do it.”

After 100 days of warfare that Europe thought it would never see again, neither side is defeated and victory remains elusive.

Ukraine Russia conflict latest — in pictures

Service members of pro-Russian troops drive a tank past a destroyed residential building in the town of Popasna in the Luhansk region, Ukraine. Reuters

Smoke and dirt rise from the city of Severodonetsk during shelling in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. AFP

Russian soldiers Alexander Alexeevich Ivanov and Alexander Vladimirovich Bobykin, left, attend their trial hearing in Kotelva, northeastern Ukraine. AP Photo

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, meets with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP

A man drives a GAZ-21 Volga car past a damaged building in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, on the 92nd day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP

Public transit workers sweep up shrapnel in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Getty Images

Pro-Russian troops inspect an AT4 anti-tank launcher outside the town of Svitlodarsk in the Donetsk region, Ukraine. Reuters

People inspect destroyed Russian tanks and armoured vehicles in Irpin, Ukraine. Getty Images

A local resident pets a cat next to a destroyed house in Vilkhivka village, near Kharkiv, Ukraine. AFP

The remains of a school in Vilkhivka village, near Kharkiv. AFP

Widow and daughter of Andriy Vertiev, a Ukrainian serviceman, killed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, attend his funeral at Lychakiv cemetery, Lviv, Ukraine. AFP

Russian serviceman Vadim Shishimarin, centre, leaves a court hearing in Kyiv. EPA

Kateryna Shelikhova, widow of Oleksandr Shelipov, 62, who was shot dead by a Russian soldier. Reuters

A child plays against a backdrop of buildings ruined by shelling in Borodyanka, Ukraine. AP

A Ukrainian woman in the basement of a building used as bomb shelter in Soledar, Donetsk region. AP

Residents live in a subway station used as temporary shelter in Kharkiv. AP

Men with salvageable material from damaged buildings after Russian bombing in Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine. AP

A cuddly toy adorns a destroyed Russian battle tank near damaged homes in Hostomel, Ukraine. Getty Images

A mortar explodes next to a road leading to the city of Lysychansk, in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. AFP

A Ukrainian army vehicle moves towards the front line at a checkpoint near Lysychansk. AFP

A boy looks at flags honouring soldiers killed while fighting Russian troops, in Kyiv city centre. AP

A mannequin with a fake gun is placed as bait on a roadside in the Nord Saltivka district of Kharkiv. EPA

A man looks at a destroyed Russian tank placed as a symbol of war, in central Kyiv. AP

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on a screen at the opening ceremony for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Reuters

Smoke billows from an oil refinery after an attack outside the city of Lysychansk, in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. AFP

A woman walks by a destroyed apartment building in Bakhmut, Donbas region. AFP

An elderly woman stands inside her heavily damaged house after it was hit by a missile in Bakhmut. AFP

A mother with her daughter sit inside a bus as they leave Bakhmut. AFP

A Ukrainian soldier prepares coffee as he takes a break near an artillery position in the breakaway enclave of Donetsk, in the Donbas region. Reuters

A Ukrainian soldier exercises near Donetsk. Reuters

A woman displaced by incessant Russian shelling leaves a metro station where people had been living underground for months in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Getty

A heavily damaged home spa near Ruski Tyshky village in Ukraine. Getty

The wreckage of a Ukrainian military helicopter is transported in Kharkiv. Getty

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Polish President Andrzej Duda in Kyiv. EPA

Two Ukrainian national guard soldiers pay their respects at a cemetery in Kharkiv. AP

A man pushes a wheelbarrow past a heavily damaged apartment building near Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol. Reuters

The burnt out shells of cars in a residential area near Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol. Reuters

Pro-Russian troops drive a tank in Ukraine's Donetsk region. Reuters

A Russian soldier takes a break during an operation to demine the territory of Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Reuters

Relatives and friends attend the funeral of a Ukrainian soldier killed in action, in the Odessa region city of Rozdilna. EPA

Ukrainians wearing traditional clothing listen to their national anthem as they take part in the celebration of 'Vyshyvanka Day', an annual celebration of Ukrainian folk traditions, in Athens. AFP