When the invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, some predicted it could take as little as three days for Russian forces to capture the capital, Kyiv. As the war enters its third year, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, appears to be waiting for western support for Ukraine to wither. Though support for Ukraine among Europeans remains broad, barely 10% believe it can defeat Russia, according to an EU-wide survey, with some form of “compromise settlement” seen as the most likely end point.
Firefighters work to contain a fire at the economy department building of Karazin Kharkiv National University in March 2022, and the same location in 2024
Soldiers carry the coffins of service personnel Andriy Vertiev and Serhiy Evtushenko at Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, and the same location in 2024
A car during a blackout in Lviv in December 2022, and the same street in 2024. Photographs by Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP via Getty Images
Evacuees stand under a destroyed bridge as they flee the city of Irpin in March 2022, and the same bridge in 2024. Photographs by Dimitar Dilkoff (2022) and Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images
Police experts examine a crater after a missile strike in a village near Lviv in November 2022, and the same spot in 2024. Photographs by Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP via Getty Images
Firefighters work to clear rubble and extinguish a fire by a heavily damaged building in Kharkiv in March 2022, and the same building in 2024. Photographs by Sergey Bobok/AFP via Getty Images
Priests praying by bodybags at a mass grave in the grounds surrounding St Andrew church in Bucha in April 2022, and a woman clearing snow in the same churchyard in 2024. Photographs by Ronaldo Schemidt (2022) and Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images
Destroyed buildings in the town of Borodianka, north-west of Kyiv, in April 2022; and the same location in 2024. Photographs by Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images
Women walk in a deserted street in Kyiv, in March 2022; and the same street in 2024. Photographs by Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images
Empty walls where paintings were previously hung in one of the galleries of the Potocki Palace, home of Lviv National Art Gallery, in May 2022, and visitors in the same room in 2024. Photographs by Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP via Getty Images
Sandbags barricade a street in Odesa in March 2022, and the same location in 2024. Photographs by Bulent Kilic (2022) and Oleksandr Gimanov/AFP via Getty Images
An apartment building partially destroyed by a missile strike in Lviv in July 2023, and reconstruction work in 2024. Photographs by Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP via Getty Images
Families wait to board a train at Kramatorsk central station as they flee the city in the Donbas region in April 2022, and the same platform in January 2024. Photographs by Fadel Senna (2022) and Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images
