As the largest and deadliest war in Europe since the end of World War II enters its third year, the scale of the devastation caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine continues to increase.
The front line is a place of horrific violence where hundreds of thousands of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or wounded, according to conservative Western estimates. The list of Ukrainian cities and towns largely leveled by Russian bombs and artillery grows with each passing month.
Russian forces have advanced in small increments, suffering staggering casualties to take towns like Avdiivka, which Moscow captured in February.
Far from the front, millions of Ukrainians have spent hours in bomb shelters as Russia continues to launch missiles and drones against military and civilian units across the country. Ukraine’s energy grid is severely damaged and works but sporadically. Thousands of schools, hospitals and cultural institutions have been damaged or destroyed. Millions have lost their homes.
All the while, photographers from the New York Times and other news organizations have chronicled the war, capturing a piece of how soldiers and civilians have experienced it. Some images, our photographers say, will never leave them.
This gallery contains graphic images.
