After months of military buildup and brinkmanship, Russia launched an unprecedented assault on Ukraine in late February.
Explosions rang through a number of Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv, in a broad invasion that began before dawn on February 24.
However, 100 days later, the invasion has not been the military success Moscow hoped. The bulk of fighting has now moved to the east after failed Russian advances in central Ukraine.
Meanwhile, millions of refugees have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries.
The United States, the European Union, and other Western allies have been rolling out sanctions in response to Russia’s actions. Many people around the world have also been rallying in support of Ukraine.
Russia had been tightening its military grip around Ukraine since last year, amassing tens of thousands of soldiers, as well as equipment and artillery, on its neighbor’s doorstep. This escalation has triggered the greatest security crisis in Europe since the Cold War, leading to an intense showdown between Western powers and Moscow.
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A fireman helps an injured civilian after several explosions hit the Shevchenkivskyi district of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on October 10. Ukrainian State Emergency Service/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesFirefighters conduct work on a damaged building after a Russian missile attack in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on October 10. Jose Colon/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesA huge blast severely damaged the only bridge connecting annexed Crimea to the Russian mainland on October 8. At least three people were killed in the explosion, which caused parts of Europe’s longest bridge to collapse, according to Russian officials. Vera Katkova/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesUkrainian soldiers ride on an armored vehicle near the recently retaken town of Lyman in Donetsk region on October 6, as the Ukrainian military continues to advance into several of the areas Russia now claims as its own. Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty ImagesUkrainian firefighters attend to the site of a missile strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on October 6.
Marina Moiseyenko/AFP/Getty Images
Ukrainian soldiers prepare to fire a BM-21 ‘Grad’ multiple rocket launcher towards Russian positions in the Kharkiv region on October 4.
Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images
Ukrainian servicemen carry a body bag at the site of a missile strike on a convoy of civilian cars that killed at least 30 people near Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on September 30. Genya Savilov/AFP/Getty ImagesHead of the separatist self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Denis Pushilin, left, and Secretary of the United Russia Party’s General Council Andrey Turchak attend a news conference on preliminary results of a referendum on the joining of the DPR to Russia, in Donetsk, Ukraine, on September 27. Alexander Ermochenko/ReutersAnton Krasyvyi rows passengers across the Siverskyi-Donets river in front of a destroyed bridge, so they can visit relatives in Staryi-Saltiv, Ukraine, on September 27.
Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
People wait for food aid distributed by the local branch of Caritas Internationalis, a Catholic charity organisation, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on September 27.
Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images
A man glues a referendum poster reading ‘Yes’ in Berdyansk, Ukraine, on September 26. Russia is attempting to annex up to 18% of Ukrainian territory.Forensic technicians operate at the site of a mass grave in a forest on the outskirts of Izyum, eastern Ukraine on September 18. Ukrainian authorities discovered hundreds of graves outside the formerly Russian-occupied city. Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty ImagesUkrainian State Emergency Service firefighters put out a fire after a Russian rocket attack hit an electric power station in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on September 11.
Kostiantyn Liberov/AP
Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, speaks to the press at his hotel before leaving to inspect the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on September 1.
