In Photos: 50 Days of Russia's War in Ukraine
In the early hours of Feb. 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of a what he called a "special military operation" in Ukraine.
In the 50 days since, Russia's military incursion — which the Kremlin denies is an invasion — has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and turned once-peaceful cities into war zones.
Here is a look back at the first 50 days of the war in Ukraine:
In the 50 days since, Russia's military incursion — which the Kremlin denies is an invasion — has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and turned once-peaceful cities into war zones.
Here is a look back at the first 50 days of the war in Ukraine:
A woman holds a dog in a train at a metro station used as a bomb shelter in Kharkiv.
As Ukrainian citizens have been forced to take shelter or flee the country, most people are bringing their cats and dogs along with them.
As Ukrainian citizens have been forced to take shelter or flee the country, most people are bringing their cats and dogs along with them.
Aris Messinis / AFP
Civilians flee from Ukraine to Poland at Lviv railway station.
More than 2.5 million Ukrainian refugees have fled to Poland since the war began.
More than 2.5 million Ukrainian refugees have fled to Poland since the war began.
Zuma / TASS
Diggers working in the rubble of collapsed buildings in the town of Borodyanka, northwest of Kyiv.
In the early weeks of the war, Russian forces moved toward the Ukrainian capital Kyiv but were met with fierce resistance.
In the early weeks of the war, Russian forces moved toward the Ukrainian capital Kyiv but were met with fierce resistance.
Ronaldo Schemidt / AFP
A bust of Ukraine's national poet Taras Shevchenko in the city of Borodyanka.
Celestino Arce Lavin / ZUMA Press Wire / TASS
A resident looks for belongings in an apartment building destroyed in Borodyanka, Ukraine.
Petros Giannakouris / AP / TASS
David Arakhamia (L), Servant of the People Party faction leader at the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada, and Russia's Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky (R) hold a round of Russian-Ukrainian talks at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul on March 29.
Several rounds of peace talks have failed to reach a major breakthrough.
Several rounds of peace talks have failed to reach a major breakthrough.
Sergei Karpukhin / TASS
Carolina Fedorova, 3, sleeps inside a school that is being used as a shelter for people who fled the war in the city of Dnipro, Ukraine.
Carolina fled with her parents and four siblings from the eastern city of Bakhmut.
Carolina fled with her parents and four siblings from the eastern city of Bakhmut.
Petros Giannakouris / AP / TASS
Communal workers carry in a rug the body of a man buried in his yard in the town of Gostomel, Kyiv region.
Fadel Senna / AFP
An aerial view of the city of Mariupol on April 12.
Mariupol, a strategic port city on the Sea of Azov, has been under Russian siege for weeks, with reports of civilians lacking access to food, water and medicines.
As Russia re-focuses its invasion toward eastern Ukraine, analysts believe Moscow is seeking to take Mariupol and connect annexed Crimea with eastern Ukraine's separatist republics by land.
Mariupol, a strategic port city on the Sea of Azov, has been under Russian siege for weeks, with reports of civilians lacking access to food, water and medicines.
As Russia re-focuses its invasion toward eastern Ukraine, analysts believe Moscow is seeking to take Mariupol and connect annexed Crimea with eastern Ukraine's separatist republics by land.
Andrey Borodulin / AFP
The Mariupol drama theater was struck by shelling on March 16 as civilians, including children, were sheltering inside.
Kyiv accused Moscow of war crimes with the strike, while the Russian military blamed Ukrainian far-right militias for the attack.
Kyiv accused Moscow of war crimes with the strike, while the Russian military blamed Ukrainian far-right militias for the attack.
Sergei Bobylev / TASS
A Russian soldier collects weapons found while patrolling at the Mariupol drama theater.
Alexander Nemenov / AFP
A bathtub reading 'corpse' seen in Mariupol.
Valentin Sprinchak / TASS
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the Kyiv suburb of Bucha on April 4.
Zelensky accused Russia of carrying out "war crimes" and "genocide" in Bucha.
Shocking images of civilians apparently executed in the streets emerged from Bucha after occupying Russian troops retreated.
Zelensky accused Russia of carrying out "war crimes" and "genocide" in Bucha.
Shocking images of civilians apparently executed in the streets emerged from Bucha after occupying Russian troops retreated.
president.gov.ua
Civilian cars burned in Bucha.
president.gov.ua
Bodies being exhumed from a mass grave in Bucha.
Roman Pilipey / EPA / TASS
Destroyed tank in Chernihiv, Ukraine.
Evgeniy Maloletka / AP Photo / TASS
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson meets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a surprise visit to Kyiv on April 9.
president.gov.ua
A Ukrainian serviceman walks on a destroyed bridge between the village of Dytiatky and Chernobyl.
Ukrainian officials say Russian troops dug trenches in radioactive soil and even handled nuclear waste with their bare hands while they controlled Chernobyl, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster, last month.
Ukrainian officials say Russian troops dug trenches in radioactive soil and even handled nuclear waste with their bare hands while they controlled Chernobyl, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster, last month.
Oleksandr Ratushniak / AP / TASS
A Ukrainian policeman bends over bodies laid on the ground and covered with tarps after a rocket attack.
Fadel Senna / AFP
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenski during a visit to Kyiv.
president.gov.ua
A Russian serviceman patrols downtown Volnovakha, Ukraine.
Sergei Ilnitsky / EPA / TASS
A woman waits for food distribution in the village of Motyzhyn, Ukraine, which was until recently under Russian military control.
Vadim Ghirda / AP / TASS
Children's shoes are seen during a demonstration in Helsinki organized by the Ukrainian Association in Finland, to honor the memory of the children killed in Mariupol.
Jussi Nukari / Lehtikuva / AFP
