Almost two years have passed since the roar of Russian tank engines and the scream of fighter jets shattered the tranquility of the Ukrainian streets on that fateful day of February 24, 2022.
Streets that were once vibrant and filled with the rhythm of daily life were shattered by the brutality of the first major armed conflict in Europe since the end of the Second World War.
Russian forces attacked from three sides, using missiles, airstrikes and ground troops to overwhelm the Ukrainian military and occupy large areas of the country, displacing millions from their homes and causing a humanitarian crisis in the process.
As Russian missiles and kamikaze drones bombed cities and towns across the country, new apartment blocks were reduced to rubble and quiet village roads were transformed into dystopian infernos..
From the capital, kyiv, and the second city, Kharkiv, where warning sirens sound and buildings battered by relentless shelling lie in ruins, to the small towns of Borodyanka and Bucha, where the bodies of civilians lie rotting in shallow graves , the images below capture the scale and horror. from the war.
They also show the resilience and courage of the Ukrainian people, who continue to cling to freedom and dignity in the face of Moscow’s aggression.
Despite overwhelming difficulties, the Ukrainian army and volunteers have counterattacked the invaders, using weapons and ammunition supplied by the West with great success.
But the war is far from over and aAs the conflict moves into its third year, it remains to be seen whether Ukraine will be able to survive and recover from the devastating attack.
Here, MailOnline shows in a series of shocking images the stark reality of the conflict and how it has irrevocably altered the fabric of Ukrainian society.
General view of the damaged Kharkiv local town hall on March 1, 2022, destroyed as a result of shelling by Russian troops (right) and people pass by the same town hall, in Kharkiv on February 6, 2024 (left)
Rescuers stand in front of an apartment building partially destroyed by a missile attack in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on July 6, 2023 (right) and a photo taken on February 10, 2024, which shows the reconstruction of the house that was partially destroyed (left). )
A Ukrainian police officer leans over bodies lying on the ground and covered with a tarp after a rocket attack that killed at least 35 people on April 8, 2022 at a train station in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, which was being used for civilian evacuations (right) and a man standing next to a food stall at the same location on January 25, 2024 (left)
Ukrainian soldiers carry the coffins of Andriy Vertiev and Serhiy Evtushenko, Ukrainian servicemen, killed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, at the Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, on May 25, 2022 (left) and a photograph taken on February 8, 2024, showing the graves. of Ukrainian soldiers in the same cemetery (right)
A photograph taken on March 13, 2022, shows anti-tank obstacles placed on a street in Odessa (right) and people walking on the same street in Odessa, on February 9, 2024 (left).
Police experts examine a crater after a missile attack in a village near Lviv, November 16, 2022 (right) and a man walking on a road at the same location in Lviv, February 10, 2024 ( left).
The body of an unidentified soldier lying near a burning Russian armored personnel carrier during fighting with Ukrainian armed forces in Kharkiv, February 27, 2022 (right) and cars driving on the same road on February 8 February 2024 (left)
Priests praying next to body bags at a mass grave in the grounds surrounding St Andrew’s Church in Bucha, April 7, 2022 (right) and a woman clearing snow at the site of the same mass grave on April 10, 2022. February 2024 (left)
People walk past destroyed buildings in the town of Borodianka, northwest of Kiev, on April 4, 2022 (right) and a woman walking on the street in the same location on February 8, 2024 (left).
A resident stands next to a sandbag barricade in Odessa on March 13, 2022 (left) and people walking on the same street on February 9, 2024 (right)
A car driving on an unlit street in Lviv during a blackout on December 18, 2022 (right) and a car driving on the same street on February 6, 2024 (left)
Evacuees staying at Les Kurbas Theater in Lviv on February 28, 2022 (left) and spectators watching a play at the theater on February 9, 2024 (right)
People wait for a train to Poland at the Lviv train station on February 26, 2022 (left) and people walk on the same platform on February 6, 2024 (right).
Newly excavated graves in the cemetery in the village of Hroza, Kharkiv region, on October 7, 2023, two days after a Russian attack killed at least 50 people in a shop and cafe in a village in eastern Ukraine ( left) and a photograph taken on January 23, 2024 showing the same location in the cemetery (Right)
People cross a destroyed bridge as they evacuate the city of Irpin, northwest of kyiv, on March 5, 2022 (left) and a photograph taken on February 8, 2024 shows the same destroyed bridge (right)