Two years ago today, Russia shocked the world by invading neighboring Ukraine in a massive military operation not seen in Europe since World War II.
More than 100,000 Russian troops massed on Ukraine’s borders in the days leading up to the invasion on February 24, 2022.
Analysts made dire predictions that Moscow’s armies would emerge victorious within days, but Ukraine’s armed forces have surprised the world and heroically defended their country.
But it cost many of them their lives. It is estimated that 30,000 Ukrainian soldiers and 10,000 civilians have been killed in the past two years.
However, there are fears that the war is slipping away from Ukraine as the country loses more territory and runs out of ammunition as the world begins to focus on Israel and Gaza.
In addition to killing thousands of people, the war has also completely destroyed entire villages, towns and landscapes in Ukraine.
As Russia’s brutal invasion marks its second anniversary, MailOnline looks at the devastation the war has wrought on the country over the past 730 days in a series of extraordinary satellite photos.
Satellite images released by Maxar Technologies show the eastern city of Petrivka, Donetsk Oblast, on August 24, 2022 (left), and then after heavy artillery shelling during the Russian military invasion of Ukraine in February 2023 (right)
Satellite photos released by Maxar Technologies show school No. 12 and apartment buildings in the eastern city of Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, on May 8, 2022 (left) and on May 15, 2023 (right)
A western neighborhood of the eastern city of Avdiivka, Donetsk Oblast, on October 16, 2021 (left) prior to the Russian military invasion of Ukraine and on February 17, 2024 (right) during the war
The eastern city of Avdiivka, Donetsk Oblast, on October 16, 2021 (left) prior to the Russian military invasion of Ukraine and on February 17, 2024 (right), amid the invasion
The Makiivka school on November 1, 2022 (left) and after a strike on January 8, 2023 (right)
An overview of the Black Sea Fleet headquarters before an attack, in Sevastopol Bay, on September 20, 2023 (left) and after an attack, on September 23, 2023 (right)
A Ropucha landing ship, before an attack, in Feodosia harbor on December 5, 2023 (left) and after being sunk after an attack, on December 26, 2023 (right)
An area of the southern city of Oleshky Kherson Oblast, on May 15, 2023 (left), and with flooding on June 7, 2023 (right), after the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka Dam, amid the Russian military invasion of Ukraine
The southern town of Oleshky along the Dnipro River, Kherson Oblast, on May 15, 2023 (left), and with flooding on June 7, 2023 (right) after the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam, amid the Russian military invasion of Ukraine
The Nova Kakhovka Dam, Southern Kherson Oblast, on May 28, 2022 (left) and on June 16, 2023 (right) after the collapse
A school and apartment buildings in the eastern city of Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, on May 8, 2022 (left) and on May 15, 2023 (right), amid the Russian military invasion of Ukraine