Four years ago today, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, upending the post-World War II security order in Europe and plunging Ukraine into what many in the country describe as a fight for its survival as an independent state.
In the years since, scenes of mourning, destroyed buildings, explosions, power outages, makeshift memorials and Ukrainian cities reduced to rubble have all become commonplace.
Meanwhile, peace negotiations have yielded scant progress, with delegations once again failing to reach an agreement at last week’s talks in Geneva.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said afterward that a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin could be the most effective way to resolve the issue of occupied territory. Yet the Kremlin has shown little interest in pursuing this possibility.
These photos show scenes from the full-scale war as it moves into its fifth year:
