Lives lost, cities leveled: A visual look at the war in Ukraine one year later

Throughout the first year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, satellite images have revealed the widespread damage of the war.  These before-and-after images provided by Maxar Technologies show the devastation of Russia’s bombing of buildings across the country.

Shopping center destroyed in Chernihiv

Russian forces attacked the city of Chernihiv, 70 miles northeast of Kyiv, early on in the war. The Russians withdrew at the start of April 2022, leaving the city in ruins. This satellite image shows a destroyed Chernihiv shopping center on March 10, 2022, and the area before the attacks on Feb. 28, 2022. 

Destroyed homes in Sumy

A satellite image of Sumy in northeastern Ukraine on March 14, 2022, in the first month of the Russia’s invasion shows destroyed homes and buildings compared with an image of the same area on July 18, 2021. 

Mariupol Drama Theater, where hundreds of civilians, including children, were killed

On March 16, 2022, Russia bombed the Mariupol Drama Theater, a shelter for civilians, and killed hundreds of people, many of them family members, in one of the war’s deadliest attacks. The Associated Press reported 600 people were killed. Imagery provided by Maxar showed the Russian word for "children" was written on the ground in front of and behind the theater.

Homes and a Ukrainian monastery destroyed in Mykilske

These satellite images taken by Maxar Technologies show a housing area in August 2022 before the battle in Bakhmut, Ukraine, and then the area destroyed on Jan. 4, 2023.

These images, provided by Maxar Technologies, show the Svyato-Uspensky Mykolo-Vasilyivsky monastery in Mykilske, Ukraine, on June 20, 2022, and damage to the same monastery on Feb. 10, 2023.

Extensive damage in the eastern Donbas region

The city of Bakhmut in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region is on the front line Jan. 4, 2023, as Russian forces fight for control of the area.

Schools destroyed in Soledar

According to The Associated Press in January 2023, there were conflicting reports over who controlled Soledar in Ukraine's Donetsk province.  A satellite image taken on Jan. 10 by Maxar Technologies shows destroyed schools and buildings that were intact in August 2022. 

The Donetsk region has seen extensive damage

This combination of satellite images shows the village of  Petrivka in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine on Aug. 24, 2022, and the same area after heavy artillery shelling on Feb. 10, 2023.