Participants of the civil-defense training train with wooden makeshift weapon in Kyiv, Ukraine on February 6, 2022.
Reservist of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces (most are from the 130th battalion and a few from other units) participate in the counterinsurgency military exercise on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine on December 4, 2021.
Mykhailo Hiraldo-Ramires, 38, combat engineer within the territorial defense and lawyer in his civil life, left, shows the dummies of the anti-tank mines as part of the training of the NGO Ukrainian Legion on Sunday, December 12, 2021 in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Reservists of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces (mostly from the 130th battalion and a few from other units) participate in the counterinsurgency military exercise on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine on December 4, 2021.
Reservists of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces (mostly from the 130th battalion and a few from other units) walk to the location for the military exercises on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine on December 4, 2021.
Oleksiy Bida, 45, reservist of the 130th battalion of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces, trains in Kyiv, Ukraine on January 22, 2022.
A couple Sofia Chygyryn, 19, and Vadym Beilakh, 19, pose for a portrait during the territorial defense training in Kyiv, Ukraine on February 5, 2022. Sofia, student in business psychology, and Vadym, student in management, both also work on the side, came to the training for the first time in order to prepare while the situation is still peaceful. They said “Prepare for the worse, believe in the best”. They said they are lucky that they didn’t see people in the military uniforms 8 years ago. They packed emergency bag few days ago and they worry most to lose somene. They added that "every citizen is responsible for the situation and for his family".
Young man conscripted to the military service in the regular army goes through the medical check at the Kyiv city recruiting center and assembly point in Kyiv, Ukraine on December 1, 2021.
Cadets of the Odesa National Maritime Academy stand during the ceremony of raising a Ukrainian flag on the newly-created Day of Unity, announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a response to a rumored Russian invasion date, in Odesa, Odesa region, Ukraine on February 16, 2022.
Students of the Odesa Professional Lyceum of Maritime Transport hold Ukrainian flags before the march dedicated to the newly-created Day of Unity, announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a response to a rumored at that time Russian full-scale invasion date, in Odesa, Odesa region, Ukraine on February 16, 2022.
Local resident smokes at the checkpoint that was just put together in Hushchyntsi, Vinnytsia region, Ukraine on February 27, 2022.
Teachers at School Number 5 make dumplings with meat to feed soldiers, volunteers, and displaced people in Vinnytsia, Ukraine on March 1, 2022. Around 35 people, many of them teachers and their families, are currently living at the school because it has a basement bomb shelter.
Myroslava Dudar receives a hug from a fellow mourner after the burial of her son Viktor Dudar, who was killed on March 2 in the war launched by Russia, at Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine on March 8, 2022. Fellow soldier Ivan Koverznev was burried at the same time.
Kateryna, 16, plays with Dominika, 3, at the temporary shelter organized at the Lviv Regional Academic Puppet Theater in Lviv, Ukraine on March 11, 2022. Kateryna left Kryvyi Rih with her older sister and her mom and staying in this shelter temporarily before going to Romania.
Fellow soldiers carry in the coffin containing the body of Taras Diduh killed on February 26 in a war launched by Russia during the funeral ceremony held at the Church of the Most Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Lviv, Ukraine on March 11, 2022.
Sand bags protect the first floor of the Lviv State Regional Clinical Perinatal Center in Lviv, Ukraine on March 14, 2022. Russia launched a full scale war on Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Olena Kuzmenkova, 32, sits on her bed in the Lviv State Regional Clinical Perinatal Center a day after giving birth to her first son Danylo, in Lviv, Ukraine. in Lviv, Ukraine on March 14, 2022. Olena is from Shchaslyve, Kyiv region, and fled her home to Lviv due to the war and danger.
She wasn’t sure that the hospital would be working, and her labor started at night, she would need to be accompanied by the territorial defense to the maternity ward.
That is why they decided to leave to Lviv, and they were on the road for 2 days in their car. Olena was scared to give birth in the bombshelter, since medics could just be limited in how much help they can provide to her newborn.
She was scared to be on the road for so long being 38 weeks pregnant, but she had no choice.
Olena Kuzmenkova, 32, sits on her bed in the Lviv State Regional Clinical Perinatal Center a day after giving birth to her first son Danylo, in Lviv, Ukraine. in Lviv, Ukraine on March 14, 2022. Olena is from Shchaslyve, Kyiv region, and fled her home to Lviv due to the war and danger.
She wasn’t sure that the hospital would be working, and her labor started at night, she would need to be accompanied by the territorial defense to the maternity ward.
That is why they decided to leave to Lviv, and they were on the road for 2 days in their car. Olena was scared to give birth in the bombshelter, since medics could just be limited in how much help they can provide to her newborn.
She was scared to be on the road for so long being 38 weeks pregnant, but she had no choice.
“Of course you understand that at home you have a child bed that you picked, a dresser for the baby that you picked..”
“And you are driving with one suitcase of things for a baby and enough clothes for us, hoping we could go home soon. What else we can do?”
Talking about the war she said “I learned about the war when I woke up from 4 explosions. Some were only 8 km from our home. I woke up an I didn’t understand what happened, we turned on TV and then friends started calling”.
“We were scared when Brovary were shelled, the windows were shaken, when Borsypil was bombed first time, when you wake up at 5am and think what just happened. When in Vasylkiv they hit the oil base, we could see it from a window. It’s a scary. You understand we need to hold on cause of a baby, but it blows your mind”.
She burst into tears when talking about her parents “My parents are in Nizhyn in Chernihiv region, and one can’t leave or enter the city. They stayed there. But a lot of military move past the city, and it’s ho outside of the city and it’s recommended to go in or out because everything might be mined”.
Tymofii Shapoval, 10, a Ukrainian patient who has brain tumour, waits in the ambulance while medics plan his evacuation from the Medyka border crossing via helicopter in Medyka, Poland on March 30, 2022. Russia invaded Ukraine in late February creating a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, and shortly after St. Jude teamed up with foundations in Poland to evacuate children with cancer from the war zone.
First-grade children walk out from the undeground school after the first day of school festivities and classes for their parents to meet them in Kharkiv, Ukraine on September 2, 2024. Schools in Kharkiv have been mostly teaching children online since the start of Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022. This school was first purpose-built school in the bunker on the depth of 6 meters and offers in-person lessons.
A young woman mourns someone she knew at the Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen Defenders of Ukraine near the St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv, Ukraine on September 7, 2023.
Vlad Yeshchenko, 25, a Ukrainian veteran, poses for a portrait at home in Kyiv, Ukraine on April 4, 2024. Vlad lost both of his eyes and partly hearing due to injuries sustained on the frontline. Vlad is a сo-founder and CEO of the charity fund "Let's See the Victory" that helps other veterans and civilians who lost their vision due to the Russian agression.
Anna Lysenko, 39, physical therapist at the Adonis medical center straightens the bones of Oleksandr Didur's arm, which is a very painful procedure, in Bucha, Kyiv region, Ukraine on September 27, 2023. His arm injury wasn't properly treated while in captivity by Russians and that is why he had to undergo surgeries and has to do a lot of rehabilitation procedures. Oleksandr, marine and defender of Mariupol, served in the army since 2015 and was fighting in Mariupol as part of the Mykolaiv 36th Separate Marine Brigade suffered severe injuries in Mariupol in April 2022 on the battlefield and then was held in captivity for almost fifteen months and has been released in July this year. He is going through a process of rehabilitation during a week at the Adonis medical center and weekends he spends with his wife and their two children.
Mariia Myskiv, 26, gives birth to her daughter Sofiia at the Kyiv Perinatal Center in Kyiv, Ukraine on October 9, 2023. Mariia's husband is in the military, they got married 1 month after the full-scale invasion haven known each other only for 2 months. Her husband has an amputated leg.
Serhiy Kopyschyk, 25, and Svitlana Kopyschyk, 25, pose for a portrait in Pokashchiv village, Volyn region, Ukraine on October 3, 2023. Svitlana and Serhiy got married in January this year and their son Marko was born in August. He joined the army the day after the invasion and he suffered severe injuries on July 27, 2022 in Kherson region, which resulted in him losing both legs, one above the knee, and eyesight in one eye. They live with Svitlana's parents and dream to buy their own house.
Serhiy Kopyschyk, 25, holds his 1 months old son Marko in Pokashchiv village, Volyn region, Ukraine on October 3, 2023. Svitlana and Serhiy got married in January this year and their son Marko was born in August. He joined the army the day after the invasion and he suffered severe injuries on July 27, 2022 in Kherson region, which resulted in him losing both legs, one above the knee, and eyesight in one eye. They live with Svitlana's parents and dream to buy their own house.
A kitchen in one of the apartments destroyed as a result of the Russian drone attack earlier this month as seen on Monday, March 18, 2024 in Odesa, Ukraine. As a result of a drone attack on March 2, part of a residential building collapsed. After two days of searching operations, rescuers retrieved the bodies of 12 dead from under the rubble, including five children. Among those killed were Anna Gaidarzhi and her 4-month-old son Tymofii.
A pacifier of 4-month-old Tymofii Gaidarzhi, that was taken out of his mouth when his body and the body of his mother Anna Gaidarzhi were found under the rubble following the Russian drone strike earlier that month on Monday, March 18, 2024 in Odesa, Ukraine. Serhii Gaidarzhi, who lost his son and his wife in the strike, washed the pacifier from blood and kept it.
Yelyzaveta Gaidarzhi, 2, looks at the photo of her mother Anna Gaidarzhi, who was killed in the Russian drone strike earlier this month together with her 4-month-old son Tymofii, Yelyzaveta's brother on Monday, March 18, 2024 in Odesa, Ukraine. Since the tragedy, little Yelyzaveta and her father Serhii live with Anna's parents and three sisters in their family home.
Volodymyr Dziubynskyi, 27, a war veteran, stands on the dock before getting on the water for rowing training in Dnipro, Ukraine on April 16, 2024. Volodymyr, a war veteran, received his injury in April of 2023 and lost his left leg above the knee. He has been professionally training in rowing before the injury and is now training in the national team and hopefully get selected for the Paralympic team.
Ivan Soroka, 27, a blinded veteran, holds his newborn son Sviatoslav (born just 3 days ago) at the maternity hospital in Kyiv, Ukraine on April 29, 2024. In August of 2022, while Soroka’s unit was retreating from near Bakhmut, a mortar exploded between him and his close friend, Yura, who died. Soroka was badly wounded in his face and legs. He lost sight in both eyes. He married with his wife Vladyslava in September of 2023.
Yevheniya Dukhopelnykova, 47, hugs her husband Mykhailo Chernyk, 44, junior sergeant in the 154th Mechanized Brigade who is serving in the Vovchansk direction, on his bed where he usually sleep on Thursday, November 14, 2024 in Kharkiv region, Ukraine. She came all the way from Kirovohrad region to see him and stay with him for a few days some 10-15 miles from the frontline. Last time she saw him was a few months ago. Yevheniya brought him a lot of home-cooked meals. Yevheniya died a month after this photo was taken.
A grave of Valentyna Makarenko, a Ukrainian defender from Kropyvnytskyi, who was killed while performing a combat mission as seen at the Lisove Cemetery in Kyiv, Ukraine on April 11, 2024. She was 23 years old. Her father was also killed on the frontline which inspired her to voluntarily join the army herself. She was killed on January 9, 2024, a week before her marriage with a soldier she met while serving.
Hundreds Bid Farewell to Ukrainian Volunteer Medic Killed on Front Lines, Iryna Tsybukh, known as Cheka, was a 25-year-old paramedic (she was supposed to turn 26 hears old on June 1) who was killed on rotation in Ukraine's northeast region, where Russian forces launched a major ground offensive last month, in Kyiv, Ukraine on June 2, 2024.
Maksym Havryliuk, 27, a man who was injured in a Russian missile strike on Poltava (on September 3), rests in the hospital bed in one of the Poltava hospitals in Poltava, Ukraine on September 5, 2024. He was walking not far from the strike site when it happened, he has spine, head and shrapnel wounds.
Olha Holenko, 38, wife of Oleksandr Udovychenko, a civilian man who was injured in a Russian missile strike on Poltava (on September 3), poses for a portrait in a hospital corridor in Poltava, Ukraine on September 5, 2024.
A yong man comforts a grieving woman in the middle, who burst into tears, when she received things of her relative (we couldn;t talk to her so we don't know the realtionship) killed in a Russian missile strike on Poltava on September 3 as seen outside a morgue in Poltava, Ukraine on September 5, 2024. As of now, there are 55 killed people and 328 injured.
Relatives cry over the coffin of their loved one during the funeral ceremony for six Ukrainian servicemen killed in a Russian rocket attack at a Ukrainian military institute in Poltava, Ukraine on September 7, 2024. According to officials, 55 were killed and 328 injured in the strike.
Yaroslav Bazylevych, 48, visits the grave of his wife Eugenia Bazylevych, 43, and their three daughters Yaryna Bazylevych, 21, Daria Bazylevych, 18, and Emilia Bazylevych, 6 who were killed in a Russian missile attack on September 4 that hit their building at the Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine on September 15, 2024. Today, on September 15, his youngest daughter Emilia was supposed to turn 7, which was the main reason to come to the cemetery on this day. Oksana Paraeniuk for The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/09/29/lviv-family-kinzhal-yaroslav-bazylevych-ukraine-war/
Horodnytskyi's family and friends mourn near the coffin with Petro Horodnytskyi's body near the house where he lived, who was killed in a Russian missile strike on Poltava (September 3) in Velyki Budyshcha village, Poltava region, Ukraine on September 7, 2024. Petro worked as a security guard in the weapons storage.
KHARKIV, UKRAINE - NOVEMBER 16, 2024: Senior combat medic o the 114th brigade with a call sign March, 37, hugs his girlfriend Snizhana at the train station on Saturday, November 16, 2024 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. They met online a few months ago and ot's the first time they see each other in person after Snizahana came on the train to Kharkiv. CREDIT: Oksana Parafeniuk for The New York Times
Oleksandr, head of the production management department of the thermal power plant, enters destroyed by the fire control panel room at the thermal power plant in an undisclosed location in Ukraine on April 2, 2024. This thermal power plant was hit on March 22 during one of the biggest Russian attacks on the country's energy infrastructure since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
Serhii Bolvinov, 42, a head of the investigation department of the Kharkiv National Police, poses for a portrait in the destroyed building of the Kharkiv region National Police in Kharkiv, Ukraine on September 6, 2024. Bolvinov said the buidling was shelled with two Russian missiles on March 2, 2022, which resulted in 9 people being killed and 15 injured.
Participants of the all-female training in firearms practice operating AK-47 during the training in Kyiv, Ukraine on July 6, 2024. Volunteer NGO "Ukrainian Valkiriya" offer trainings for women in self-defence, medical aid and drone operating. Since the volunteer NGO was founded after the Russian full-scale invasion on Ukraine, it trained more than 1500 women. Oksana Parafeniuk for Kyiv Independent. https://kyivindependent.com/ukrainian-valkyries-women-embrace-military-training-to-learn-to-defend-their-homeland/
Snow is falling on the night road on Thursday, November 14, 2024 in Kharkiv region, Ukraine.