Thu | Jul 2, 2026

Russia-Ukraine war reaches 500-day mark

Published:Sunday | July 9, 2023 | 12:11 AM
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Ukrainians crowd under a destroyed bridge as they try to flee by crossing the Irpin River on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 5, 2022.
AP
Ukrainians crowd under a destroyed bridge as they try to flee by crossing the Irpin River on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 5, 2022.
Volunteer military medics, code names Nikita and Polka, wearing national clothes, share a kiss during their wedding ceremony at their position on the front line in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Thursday, June 29, 2023.
AP
Volunteer military medics, code names Nikita and Polka, wearing national clothes, share a kiss during their wedding ceremony at their position on the front line in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Thursday, June 29, 2023.
A woman walks amid destroyed Russian tanks in Bucha, in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 3, 2022.
AP
A woman walks amid destroyed Russian tanks in Bucha, in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 3, 2022.
A Ukrainian soldier eyes a football during a pick-up game in Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday, April 2, 2022.
AP
A Ukrainian soldier eyes a football during a pick-up game in Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday, April 2, 2022.
A sniper unit aims toward Russian positions during an operation, Kherson region, southern Ukraine, on November 19, 2022.
AP
A sniper unit aims toward Russian positions during an operation, Kherson region, southern Ukraine, on November 19, 2022.
A man runs while recovering items from a burning shop following a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on March 25, 2022.
AP
A man runs while recovering items from a burning shop following a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on March 25, 2022.
A woman looks as Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) servicemen enter a building during an operation to arrest suspected Russian collaborators in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on April 14, 2022.
AP
A woman looks as Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) servicemen enter a building during an operation to arrest suspected Russian collaborators in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on April 14, 2022.
Young cadets sing the national anthem during a graduation ceremony in a cadet lyceum in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 13, 2023.
AP
Young cadets sing the national anthem during a graduation ceremony in a cadet lyceum in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 13, 2023.
Streets are flooded in Kherson, Ukraine, on June 7, 2023 after the walls of the Kakhovka dam collapsed.
AP
Streets are flooded in Kherson, Ukraine, on June 7, 2023 after the walls of the Kakhovka dam collapsed.
Funeral workers carry a coffin with an unidentified civilian body, who died on the territory of the Bucha community during the Russian occupation period in February-March 2022, during a funeral in Bucha, near Kyiv, Ukraine, on September 2, 2022.
AP
Funeral workers carry a coffin with an unidentified civilian body, who died on the territory of the Bucha community during the Russian occupation period in February-March 2022, during a funeral in Bucha, near Kyiv, Ukraine, on September 2, 2022.
Ukrainian soldiers fire an artillery at Russian positions near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on November 20, 2022.
AP
Ukrainian soldiers fire an artillery at Russian positions near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on November 20, 2022.
Smoke rises from a building in Bakhmut, the site of the heaviest battles with the Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, on April 26, 2023.
AP
Smoke rises from a building in Bakhmut, the site of the heaviest battles with the Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, on April 26, 2023.
Ruslan Mishanin, 36, right, bids farewell to his nine-year-old daughter as the train with his family leaving for Poland, at the train station in Odesa, Ukraine, on April 4, 2022.
AP
Ruslan Mishanin, 36, right, bids farewell to his nine-year-old daughter as the train with his family leaving for Poland, at the train station in Odesa, Ukraine, on April 4, 2022.
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KYIV, Ukraine (AP):

Russia’s war in Ukraine reached the 500-day mark this weekend, a grim milestone for a conflict that rages with no end in sight.

While the fighting had fallen largely into a stalemate, Ukraine’s government and it’s Western supporters hope a broad counteroffensive launched last month will change the battle lines and return Russian-occupied areas to Ukrainian control.

In the meantime, the war continues to take a heavy toll on the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people. And the stakes are only getting higher.

A month ago, a major dam that Russia controls in southern Ukraine collapsed, flooding an entire region with a toxic torrent that left death and destruction in its wake as well as long-term environmental consequences.

Fears of a nuclear disaster have increased, particularly last week after Ukraine and Russia accused each other of planning to attack one of the world’s largest atomic power plants.

Long-range missiles fired by Russia to deplete Ukraine’s air defences have killed dozens of civilians. Many were killed or wounded while dining in a pizza restaurant in the east and 10 died last Thursday when their apartment building in the western city of Lviv was struck while they slept.

An attempted mutiny by a Russian mercenary chief brought a taste of the war’s chaos to Moscow and exposed cracks in Russia’s military leadership, further raising the stakes.

Saturday marks 500 days since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Peace talks are a long way off as both sides look to improve their hand, with Ukraine’s forces trying to recapture as much territory as they can and Russia intent on holding illegally annexed regions.

This selection of photographs shows some of the impact the war.