The first week of war: How Ukrainian civilians are bearing the burden of Russian invasion
Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24. A nation of 44 million people that is slightly smaller than Texas, Ukraine has sustained land and air attacks across its territory.
A week of fighting has taken a toll on the Ukrainian people. As Russian troops began their attack, many residents sought shelter or fled the country. Others mounted armed resistance. Times reporters have documented the war since its first days. This is what they saw.
On the first day of war, Ukrainians seek shelter
Prompted by the sound of air raid sirens, hundreds of Ukrainians filled a cold underground metro station in the northeastern city of Kharkiv. Then they waited.
They huddled on the platform and crammed into darkened subway cars. Some could only find space on the floor. No one knew if it was safe to go home.
Battling poor reception underground, people checked cellphones for updates while others dozed off or just stared off into space.
Many people brought yoga mats, which parents rolled out on the floor for their children.
Unsure of what was to come, many waited all day underground. This was the first day of the war.
Because Kharkiv is so close to the Russian border, many residents feared that Ukraine’s second most populous city would be the first to fall to Russian forces.
Belarus
Populated areas
Poland
Russia
Kyiv
3 million
Lviv
720,000
Kharkiv
1.4 million
Ukraine
Dnipro
1 million
Romania
Odessa
1 million
Moldova
Crimea was invaded and annexed by Russia in 2014, but the region is not internationally recognized as part of Russia.
Black Sea
Crimea
Belarus
Populated areas
Poland
Russia
Kyiv
3 million
Lviv
720,000
Kharkiv
1.4 million
Ukraine
Dnipro
1 million
Odessa
1 million
Moldova
Romania
Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014, but the region is not internationally recognized as part of Russia.
Crimea
Black Sea
Populated areas
Belarus
Russia
Poland
Kyiv
3M
Lviv
720K
Kharkiv
1.4M
Ukraine
Dnipro
1M
Odessa
1M
Moldova
Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014.
Romania
Crimea
Black Sea
Populated areas
Russia
Kyiv
3M
Lviv
720K
Kharkiv
1.4M
Ukraine
Dnipro
1M
Odessa
1M
Moldova
Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014.
Romania
Crimea
Black Sea
The Russian army first crossed into Ukraine at four areas on the border, striking on the periphery before setting its sights on Kyiv, the capital.
Civilian casualties grow by the day
Six people were wounded Saturday morning when a Russian shell struck an apartment tower on Lobanovsky Avenue in Kyiv. The impact destroyed a chunk of the building between the 16th and 21st floors and covered a parking lot with debris.
A small patch of light illuminated signs of humanity among the rubble, reminders of the lives disrupted by war.
About 80 people were evacuated from the tower, after which people visited to survey the damage.
Despite Moscow’s insistence that it has only targeted Ukrainian military installations, many civilians are being killed.
On Wednesday, a U.N. human rights report said there had been 553 injuries and 249 civilian deaths so far in Ukraine, 17 of them children, though the war’s actual toll is estimated to be much higher.
A resistance mounts
In Kyiv, Ukrainians gathered inside a small business to mount their own resistance to the invasion.
The publishing shop is filled with owner Peter’s collection of knives, old weapons of war and portraits of Ukrainian leaders who fought for independence generations ago.
Here civilians learn how to handle Kalashnikov rifles.
Through the militia’s quiet preparations, the sound of clinking bottles carries across the room. “We’re making Molotov cocktails,” Peter says.
Three floors down in the shop’s basement, the militia members formed an assembly line to craft explosives to help repel Russian tanks and soldiers. Some crumbled Styrofoam into empty beer and wine bottles as a woman tore strips of fabric for wicks.
The people in Peter’s shop, like many Ukrainians around the country, were answering calls from President Volodymyr Zelensky to fight back against the attack.
“It’s our land, our country, our children. And we will defend all of that,” Zelensky said in a video statement Friday.
Last week, Ukrainian authorities distributed 18,000 guns to anyone willing to fight.
More than a million flee the country
With news of a 40-mile Russian military convoy approaching the capital Tuesday, more residents of Kyiv began searching for ways out of the city and country.
Anxious residents poured into one of the many train stations and gathered around a board listing departures.
Many of those fleeing were parents with their children.
Each departure brought with it the sense that this could be the last train out before the Russians arrived.
The violence has forced a mass exodus of more than a million people to neighboring European countries. Some fled by cars and buses, and others walked miles in 30-degree weather while relatives waited at border crossings.
Poland
547,982
Belarus
374
Russia
47,800
More than
1 million
refugees
Slovakia
79,059
Ukraine
Hungary
133,009
Moldova
97,827
Romania
51,261
Crimea
Other European
Countries
88,147
Black Sea
As of March 3
Poland
550K
Belarus
374
Russia
47K
More than
1 million
refugees
Slovakia
80K
Ukraine
Hungary
133K
Moldova
97K
Romania
51K
Crimea
Other European
Countries
88K
As of March 3
Poland
547,982
Belarus
374
Russia
47,800
More than
1 million
refugees
Slovakia
79,059
Ukraine
Hungary
133,009
Moldova
97,827
Romania
51,261
Crimea
Other European
Countries
88,147
Black Sea
As of March 3
Long lines at border crossing
Satellite images captured miles-long lines at border crossings in Slovakia, Hungary and Romania on Feb. 28.
Kyiv
UKRAINE
Poland
Detailed
Slovakia
Hungary
Romania
40 miles
Satellite images ©2022 Maxar Technologies
Kyiv
UKRAINE
Detailed
Poland
Slovakia
Hungary
Romania
40 miles
Satellite images ©2022 Maxar Technologies
Kyiv
UKRAINE
Detailed
Poland
Slovakia
Hungary
Romania
40 miles
Satellite images ©2022 Maxar Technologies
On the seventh day of the war, the Russian military launched more deadly strikes on Kharkiv and the miles-long convoy continued its advance on Kyiv.
Meanwhile, President Biden told reporters “it’s clear” that Russia is deliberately targeting civilians.