Russia-Ukraine war: Three years of fighting in satellite images - Iqraa news

In the early hours of February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. After failing to achieve a quick victory, the conflict has dragged on for three years, evolving into a war of attrition marked by heavy casualties, widespread destruction, shifting front lines and the fastest-growing refugee crisis.

According to estimates from the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE), Ukraine’s infrastructure has suffered more than $170bn in direct damage since the war began. The hardest-hit sectors include housing, energy and transport, with the most devastation concentrated in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Kyiv, Chernihiv and Kherson regions.

Using before and after satellite imagery, Al Jazeera documents the destruction across Ukraine since the war began.

In the war’s early weeks, Russia advanced from the north, east, and south, rapidly seizing vast areas of Ukrainian territory.

Kyiv, Irpin and Bucha

Russian forces heavily shelled Irpin, a key gateway to Kyiv, in an attempt to breach the capital’s defences, leaving much of the city’s residential areas and infrastructure in ruins.

On February 25, Ukrainian forces deliberately destroyed the bridge over the Irpin River to hinder the Russian advance towards Kyiv.

Meanwhile, in Bucha, the Russian occupation lasted several weeks. It was only after Russian forces retreated from the area that the true extent of what happened in Bucha was revealed, with streets strewn with the bodies of killed civilians, many with their hands bound.

Mariupol

The siege of Mariupol, a key southern port and industrial hub, began on the first day of Russia’s full-scale invasion. By early March, the city was completely encircled, trapping civilians and defenders. The Mariupol Drama Theatre, a designated shelter for civilians, was destroyed in a March 16 air attack. Ukrainian forces mounted a last stand at the Azovstal steel plant as Russian troops intensified their assault, besieging the sprawling industrial complex with heavy artillery and air attacks before finally seizing control in May 2022.

The siege of Mariupol was one of the deadliest and most destructive battles of the war. Ukrainian officials estimated tens of thousands of civilian deaths, while Ukraine, the United Nations, and other international organisations accused Russia of war crimes.

Zaporizhia

Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the largest in Europe, in the Zaporizhia region in March 2022 after intense fighting. On March 4, 2022, Russian troops attacked the plant, leading to international fears of a nuclear disaster. Though the reactors were not hit, shelling caused fires and damage to auxiliary buildings.

Since then, Russia has maintained control over the plant, turning it into a military stronghold. Despite repeated calls from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), safety concerns persist, as shelling and power outages continue to threaten nuclear stability in the region.

By April, Russia controlled 27 percent of Ukraine, yet fierce resistance stalled its advance, turning the war into a prolonged conflict.

As the war entered into the spring and summer months of 2022, Russia’s territorial gains quickly became untenable as a determined Ukrainian counteroffensive, strengthened by Western military aid, steadily pushed back the invasion.

Kharkiv

One of Ukraine’s most successful counteroffensives took place in Kharkiv. Beginning in early September 2022, Ukrainian forces launched a rapid, coordinated assault, overwhelming Russian troops. Within days, Ukraine had liberated Izyum and Kupiansk, key logistical hubs. This counterattack forced Russia into a hasty retreat and led to one of the most significant territorial gains in the war up to that point.

Kherson

Ukraine launched a counteroffensive in August 2022 to retake Kherson, the first important city Russia had captured. After months of attacks on Russian supply lines, Russia announced its withdrawal on November 9, completing the retreat by November 11. The victory was both strategic and symbolic, as Kherson was the only regional capital Russia had seized.

In June 2023, footage showed water gushing from the Nova Kakhovka dam in Russian-controlled southern Ukraine, with images suggesting an explosion had damaged its structure. Located 30 km east of Kherson, the dam supplied water to southeastern Ukraine, Crimea, and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, crucial for cooling its reactors.

Odesa

A key naval base and export hub, Odesa was an early Russian target. But Ukraine’s coastal defences, including Neptune missiles, thwarted an amphibious assault. By April 2022, Ukraine sank the Moskva, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet flagship, deterring further naval advances.

Failing to seize the city, Russia imposed a naval blockade, crippling Ukraine’s grain exports and disrupting global food supplies.

Major attacks included the July 2023 port of Odesa bombing after Russia withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and missile attacks on Transfiguration Cathedral, a UNESCO site, in July 2023.

Bakhmut

After Russian forces captured the cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk in the Luhansk region in June and July 2022, Moscow began a ruthless offensive on Bakhmut in the neighbouring Donetsk region.

By November 2022, Ukraine had reclaimed 54 percent of the land Russia had captured since the beginning of the war, according to data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), reducing Russian-occupied land to just 18 percent of the country.

By late 2024 and into 2025, the war had settled into a grinding impasse, with both sides suffering heavy losses.

Kursk, Russia

In August 2024, Ukraine launched a significant incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast, marking a notable escalation in the conflict. This offensive saw Ukrainian forces advancing approximately 10km (6 miles) into Russian territory, seizing control over an estimated 250sq km (96.5sq miles).

As it stands now, Russia controls 18 percent of Ukraine, holding key parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions.

As of November 2024, 236,000 residential buildings have been damaged or destroyed, of which 209,000 are private houses, 27,000 are apartment buildings, and another 600 are dormitories.

Diplomatic efforts are advancing as US-Russia talks explore an end to the war, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insists on Ukraine’s role and Western security guarantees, while military clashes persist into the war’s fourth year.