Two years ago today, Russia shocked the world by invading neighboring Ukraine in a massive military operation not seen in Europe since World War II.
More than 100,000 Russian troops massed on Ukraine’s borders in the days leading up to the invasion on February 24, 2022.
Analysts made dire predictions that Moscow’s armies would emerge victorious within days, but Ukraine’s armed forces have surprised the world and heroically defended their country.
But it cost many of them their lives. It is estimated that 30,000 Ukrainian soldiers and 10,000 civilians have been killed in the past two years.
However, there are fears that the war is slipping away from Ukraine as the country loses more territory and runs out of ammunition as the world begins to focus on Israel and Gaza.
In addition to killing thousands of people, the war has also completely destroyed entire villages, towns and landscapes in Ukraine.
As Russia’s brutal invasion marks its second anniversary, the devastation the war has wrought on the country over the past 730 days in a series of extraordinary satellite photos (above).
