A thousand days of war in Ukraine have been captured in stunning images, many of them harrowing, some poignant, some uplifting.
Ever since Russia attacked its little neighbor on Feb. 24, 2022, Europe’s largest armed conflict since World War II has killed tens of thousands of people on both sides. Thousands of Ukrainian citizens have been killed in this war. Others have lost their families, homes and livelihoods.
The Russian military has repeatedly used missiles, drones and weapons to bomb civilian targets across Ukraine with devastating results. The loss of homes and possessions, taken away in an instant, is heartbreaking.
In all the towns and cities of Ukraine, communities are suddenly thrown into strange and confusing situations.
Russian destruction of Ukraine’s public infrastructure, including the national electricity grid, adds to the sense of vulnerability. At night, candles may provide the only light.
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have left and moved abroad.
Those who stayed often had to improve. That sometimes meant digging more graves, as in the besieged port city of Mariupol in 2022 when heavy Russian shelling prevented proper burials and brought despair.
The terrible pain of war can be seen in the funerals of soldiers and civilians, including children, and the grief of those who attended.
For nearly three years, Associated Press photographers have been covering the war.
The AP photo of a wounded pregnant woman being carried on a gurney into devastated Mariupol, only for her and her baby to die soon after, is one of the most poignant and heartbreaking images of the war.
In 2023, the AP won two Pulitzer Prizes for covering the war in Ukraine, gaining recognition for its breaking news coverage and a prestigious public service award for its special coverage from Mariupol.
Earlier this year, AP video journalist Mustyslav Chernov’s “20 Days in Mariupol,” a harrowing first-person account of the first days of the Russian invasion, won the best documentary Oscar.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at
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