Skip to main content
A home on fire in the city of Irpin, just outside Kyiv.
stories

Homes ablaze, schools in ruins, and utter catastrophe Photos from the war in Ukraine, where Russia’s military has turned life upside down

Source: Meduza
A home on fire in the city of Irpin, just outside Kyiv.
A home on fire in the city of Irpin, just outside Kyiv.
Aris Messinis / AFP / Scanpix / LETA

According to United Nations estimates, more than 1.5 million Ukrainian have become refugees since Russia invaded. In cities still under bombardment, the situation is becoming a humanitarian catastrophe. During the second round of Russian-Ukrainian talks on March 3, the parties agreed to establish humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians and the delivery of medicines and food. UN officials also say the war has killed at least 330 civilians and injured at least 675. These images are from the ninth day of the war.

Warning: Some of these photos contain scenes of cruelty, violence, and death. This is what war looks like. View discretion is advised.
Russian artillery fire destroyed this school in Zhytomyr.
Viacheslav Ratynskyi / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA
Civilians flee Kyiv.
Sergei Supinsky / AFP / Scanpix / LETA
A Ukrainian soldier attempts crowd control at a train station in Lviv.
Emilio Morenatti / AP / Scanpix / LETA
Empty shelves at a grocery store in Skvyra, just outside Kyiv.
Thomas Peter / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA
A Ukrainian family as a refugee camp in Vyšné Nemecké, Slovakia.
Christopher Furlong / Getty Images
A residential building that came under artillery fire in Chernihiv.
Dimitar Dilkoff / AFP / Scanpix / LETA
A soldier’s body abandoned on the roadside near the town of Sytnyaky, outside Zhytomyr.
Maksim Levin / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA
A soldier in Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces at a checkpoint in Kyiv.
Mikhail Palinchak / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA
Russian POWs reportedly held captive near Zhytomyr.
Vyacheslav Ratynsky / UNIAN
Local residents fill sandbags for fortifications at checkpoints in Kyiv.
Dmytro Smolyenko / Ukrinform / Zuma / Scanpix / LETA
The ruins of recreation center in the town of Byshiv, outside Kyiv, after Russian bombardment.
Maksim Levin / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA
Destroyed war machines litter the streets of Bucha, just outside Kyiv.
Aris Messinis / AFP / Scanpix / LETA

Meduza survived 2024 thanks to its readers!

Let’s stick together for 2025.

The world is at a crossroads today, and quality journalism will help shape the decades to come. Real stories must be told at any cost. Please support Meduza by signing up for a recurring donation.

Any amount