KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainians have now lived with four years of war. They have lost limbs, loved ones, livelihoods and homes, but not hope.
Photos of violence in Mexico after the army killed cartel boss Nemesio 'El Mencho' OsegueraHuge snowstorm in the Northeast forces millions to stay home, disrupts flights and closes schoolsTrump threatens countries to abide by tariff deals despite Supreme Court decisionDuke rises to No.
1 in AP Top 25 men's hoops poll for record 148th time; Florida, Alabama make leapsRob Reiner’s son pleads not guilty to murder in the killing of his parentsUS stocks drop after Trump ramps up his tariffs and investors dump potential AI losers6 planets will parade across the night sky at the end of FebruaryOtters enjoy a snow day in Maryland during winter stormRaccoon goes on drunken rampage in Virginia liquor store and passes out on bathroom floorWhy adults pursuing career growth or personal interests are the 'new majority' studentDemocrats are becoming a force in traditionally conservative The VillagesGalápagos park releases 158 juvenile hybrid tortoises on Floreana to restore the ecosystem‘I lost a lot of hope’: Nevada pays $100K to woman convicted for miscarriage under 1911 lawColorectal cancer is rising in younger adults. Here's who is most at risk and symptoms to watch forWhy adults pursuing career growth or personal interests are the 'new majority' studentThe bones of St. Francis are going on public display, a mixed blessing for AssisiCinco países europeos invertirán millones para usar tecnología ucraniana en defensa antidrones 1 in AP Top 25 men's hoops poll for record 148th time; Florida, Alabama make leapsRob Reiner’s son pleads not guilty to murder in the killing of his parentsUS stocks drop after Trump ramps up his tariffs and investors dump potential AI losers6 planets will parade across the night sky at the end of FebruaryOtters enjoy a snow day in Maryland during winter stormRaccoon goes on drunken rampage in Virginia liquor store and passes out on bathroom floorWhy adults pursuing career growth or personal interests are the 'new majority' studentDemocrats are becoming a force in traditionally conservative The VillagesGalápagos park releases 158 juvenile hybrid tortoises on Floreana to restore the ecosystem‘I lost a lot of hope’: Nevada pays $100K to woman convicted for miscarriage under 1911 lawColorectal cancer is rising in younger adults. Here's who is most at risk and symptoms to watch forWhy adults pursuing career growth or personal interests are the 'new majority' studentThe bones of St. Francis are going on public display, a mixed blessing for AssisiCinco países europeos invertirán millones para usar tecnología ucraniana en defensa antidronesUkrainian servicewoman Tetiana Khimion, 47, poses with her sniper rifle and a photograph of herself as a ballet teacher before the full-scale invasion in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. Former ballet teacher, now Ukrainian servicewoman Tetiana Khimion, 47, shops for groceries in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 22, 2026. Ukrainian servicewoman Tetiana Khimion, 47, poses with her sniper rifle and a photograph of herself as a ballet teacher before the full-scale invasion in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. Former ballet teacher, now Ukrainian servicewoman Tetiana Khimion, 47, shops for groceries in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 22, 2026. . They have lost limbs, loved ones, livelihoods and homes, but not hope. Here are some of their stories. All but one posed with photos taken by relatives or friends before Russia’s full-scale invasion.Khimion had practiced ballroom dancing since the age of 6. She became an international-level judge and taught children at her studio in the city of Sloviansk in the Donetsk region. Competitions, not conflict, shaped her routine.Now she is a sniper in the Ukrainian army. Her white-blond curls spilled over an olive-green jacket as she posed in a forest on the outskirts of Kyiv. Her husband had enlisted right away and urged her to delay making the same decision, “but once I decide something, it’s very hard to turn me from that path.” She trained in Europe and moved among several units before reaching a combat position. “Sniping is a very creative profession, and I’m a creative person,” she said. “At the same time, it’s very mathematical, and I love math.”Oksana Osypenko, 43, her sons Davyd, right, and Hlib, 5, pose with a photograph, Feb. 19, 2026, in Kyiv, Ukraine, taken before Russia's full-scale invasion showing her husband, Oleksandr, who was killed in an airstrike. Davyd Osypenko, right, plays with his brother Hlib, 5, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 19, 2026, nearly four years after their father was killed in a Russian airstrike. Davyd Osypenko, right, plays with his brother Hlib, 5, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 19, 2026, nearly four years after their father was killed in a Russian airstrike. Liliia, 30, whose boyfriend is a prisoner of war, walks through a city park in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 21, 2026. Liliia, 30, holds a photograph of her with her boyfriend Bohdan, now a prisoner of war, as she poses for a portrait in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 21, 2026. Liliia, 30, whose boyfriend is a prisoner of war, walks through a city park in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 21, 2026. Before the war, Liliia devoted herself to dance and theater. She met her boyfriend Bohdan in January 2019 on a dating app. “I didn’t think it would turn into anything really serious,” she recalled. Bohdan had voluntarily joined the Azov Brigade in 2015 to combat Russia’s aggression in eastern Ukraine. When Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, he was among the first to respond. Then he was captured.“It’s a constant fear for someone you love, for his life above all, and for his health, which is deteriorating every day in captivity, in inhumane conditions,” said Liliia, who did not disclose her last name due to security concerns.“It’s hard for me to function and to give people beauty on stage while dancing in the theater when inside I feel empty,” she said.Ruslan Knysh, 20, a war veteran, sits in a wheelchair with a photograph of himself taken before he lost his limbs in a drone attack last year, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 22, 2026. Ruslan Knysh, 20, a war veteran, looks at a tablet, after losing his arms and legs in a drone attack last year, in a hospital bed in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 22, 2026. Ruslan Knysh, 20, a war veteran, sits in a wheelchair with a photograph of himself taken before he lost his limbs in a drone attack last year, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 22, 2026. Ruslan Knysh, 20, a war veteran, looks at a tablet, after losing his arms and legs in a drone attack last year, in a hospital bed in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 22, 2026. Knysh was 16 when he stepped onto the balcony of his apartment in the city of Selydove in the Donetsk region at dawn on Feb. 24, 2022, as Russian forces began their full-scale invasion. He said the sky seemed dark and unsettling.Now 20, he is a veteran of the war. In February 2024 he applied to join Ukraine’s army, following tensions at home over his pro-Ukrainian views in a region where some residents have Russian sympathies.As he goes through rehabilitation and plans to travel to the United States for prostheses, he uses dark humor, quotes Ukrainian poets from memory and emphasizes the importance of historical awareness. “There are moments when it really overwhelms you, when you start thinking about ending your life,” he said. “But I realize that maybe fate has its own plans.”Yaroslav Nehoda, 40, holds a photograph of his niece, from left, wife and daughter, who were killed in a Russian drone attack on their house, as he sits in a temporary home, Feb. 19, 2026, in Kyiv region, Ukraine. Yaroslav Nehoda, 40, stands next to the site where his wife, daughter and niece were killed in a drone strike, in the Kyiv region of Ukraine, Feb. 19, 2026. Yaroslav Nehoda, 40, holds a photograph of his niece, from left, wife and daughter, who were killed in a Russian drone attack on their house, as he sits in a temporary home, Feb. 19, 2026, in Kyiv region, Ukraine. Yaroslav Nehoda, 40, stands next to the site where his wife, daughter and niece were killed in a drone strike, in the Kyiv region of Ukraine, Feb. 19, 2026. Nehoda and his wife, Antonina, had tried for about 20 years to have a child. Their daughter, Adelina, was born healthy last April. The family often gathered at the house built by Nehoda’s grandfather after World War II in the village of Pohreby in the Kyiv region. The suburb seemed safer than the capital. And Nehoda knew his parents would help Antonina care for the baby. A Russian Shahed drone struck the house early on Oct. 22. Nehoda’s wife, their 6-month-old daughter and his niece were in the room that was hit. All three were killed. “If it had hit half a meter to the side, they would all be alive,” said Nehoda, who had stayed in Kyiv that night. Now he says he lives two lives — one of memories and another to build for the future. But it is difficult.Ivan Khmelnytskyi, 25, holds a photograph of himself at work taken before the full-scale invasion in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 21, 2026. Ivan Khmelnytski, 25, a rescue worker, plays with his dog after work in Bila Tserkva, Ukraine, Feb. 21, 2026. Ivan Khmelnytskyi, 25, holds a photograph of himself at work taken before the full-scale invasion in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 21, 2026. Ivan Khmelnytski, 25, a rescue worker, plays with his dog after work in Bila Tserkva, Ukraine, Feb. 21, 2026. Khmelnytskyi once handled customer calls for major postal services. On the morning of Feb. 24, 2022, he logged into the work system and saw that no one else was online. Explosions already had been heard near his town in the Kyiv region, but he had slept through them. He soon attempted to enlist but was turned away because he lacked military training. Months later, a friend told him about an opening in the State Emergency Service. Today, Khmelnytskyi is a sergeant in an emergency rescue unit, mostly responding to missile and drone strikes. He says the work has hardened him. At first, he was afraid to step onto unstable debris. Over time, fear gave way to experience. He lives in constant readiness, sleeping with his phone under his pillow. Sometimes he sleeps in vehicles between shifts. Even on days off, he can be called up within an hour. “The hardest thing is that this becomes normal,” he said, adding: “No Ukrainian likes this. People are tired. Tired — but holding on.”Liudmyla Shytik, 77, is kissed by her husband Viktor, 78, while holding a photograph of themselves outside their home, which was destroyed in Russia's full-scale invasion, at their social housing apartment in the Kyiv region of Ukraine, Feb. 18, 2026. Liudmyla Shytik, 77, pours a drink for her husband Viktor, 78, in their social housing apartment in the Kyiv region of Ukraine, Feb. 18, 2026. Liudmyla Shytik, 77, is kissed by her husband Viktor, 78, while holding a photograph of themselves outside their home, which was destroyed in Russia's full-scale invasion, at their social housing apartment in the Kyiv region of Ukraine, Feb. 18, 2026. Liudmyla Shytik, 77, pours a drink for her husband Viktor, 78, in their social housing apartment in the Kyiv region of Ukraine, Feb. 18, 2026. Shytik and her husband Viktor, 78, had built their lives in the city of Vuhledar in the Donetsk region. He worked in construction at a coal mine. She was an accountant. On Feb. 24, 2022, Shytik was standing by her flower bed when a low-flying aircraft roared overhead. Soon, shelling began. Trees were torn from the ground. She and her husband sheltered in the basement for nearly a month before evacuating with only documents in a plastic bag. Their house was later burned. The couple has moved nine times. One apartment in Kyiv was damaged in a missile strike in October 2022, and they and their daughter were injured by debris. Now they are in social housing near Kyiv, where they have lived for two of the five years granted to them. They don’t know where to go after that. “At first I couldn’t bear it,” Shytik said of their uprooting. She eventually forced herself to focus on her daughters and grandson.
Kyiv Ukraine Donetsk Photo Essays Russia-Ukraine War Exclude From Apple News Russia Ukraine War Drones World News Military Occupations World News
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
RocMaidan holds prayer group to remember victims of Ukraine war nearly four years laterIrondequoit, N.Y. Tuesday marks four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Read more »
On 4th anniversary of Ukraine war, Kyiv refuses to cave to Putin’s terror or Trump’s pro-Russia demandsFighting a tech-savvy war for freedom with European help, Ukraine holds the line against Russian threats to the West.
Read more »
Kyiv Mayor Pauses for 13 Seconds When Asked if He Trusts Donald TrumpThe White House special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has said the Russian and Ukrainian leaders could meet in person.
Read more »
Russian Missile and Drone Barrage Hits Kyiv Suburbs, Killing OneSource of breaking news and analysis, insightful commentary and original reporting, curated and written specifically for the new generation of independent and conservative thinkers.
Read more »
Russian missile and drone barrage hits Kyiv suburbs, killing 1Russia launched a major overnight missile and drone attack on Ukraine, killing one person near Kyiv and damaging homes and energy sites. Ukraine’s Emergency Service said on Sunday that responders rescued eight people, including a child, from rubble in Kyiv’s suburbs. Crews worked in Putrivka as fires burned across five districts.
Read more »
Ordinary Ukrainians suffer without negotiation breakthroughs as four-year anniversary approachesMillions of Ukrainians are currently suffering through 'absolutely impossible conditions' with near daily Russian attacks.
Read more »