A couple look towards a burning building damaged as a result of a missile attack in Odesa, on April 29, 2024. A Russian missile strike killed at least five people and wounded twenty-seven. Photo: OLEKSANDR GIMANOV/AFP via Getty Images

“Alive, contused, happy”. What April 2024 was like in Ukraine — a chronicle in photos

Zaborona’s editorial team has selected photos of the most important events of the war in Ukraine in April 2024. Among them are the continuous shelling of civilian and critical infrastructure, fragments from the everyday life of Ukrainians in the war, peaceful demonstrations for the demobilization of the military and the release of the war prisoners, the presentation of new Ukrainian weapons, and the situation at the front.

The material contains photos that may be shocking.

Shelling of peaceful cities: April 2024

In April 2024, the Russian Federation fired dozens of times at all regional centers of Ukraine’s frontline territories using various types of weapons. In addition to the destruction of civilian objects in Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Poltava, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Odesa, critical infrastructure in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Kyiv regions has been damaged. For example, on April 11, the enemy completely destroyed the Trypillia thermal power plant, which was the largest supplier of electricity to Kyiv, Cherkasy, and Zhytomyr regions, and on April 17, three Russian Iskander missiles killed 18 people in Chernihiv.

An aerial view of the destroyed engine room of Trypilska Thermal Power Plant after rocket fire on April 11, 2024, in Ukrainka, Kyiv district, Ukraine. After a Russian missile attack on Thursday night, Trypilska Thermal Power Plant, Ukraine’s largest power-generating plant in the Kyiv region, was reported completely destroyed. It supplied electricity to the regions of Kyiv, Cherkasy, and Zhytomyr. Photo: Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images

An object of social infrastructure destroyed as a result of missile attack on April 17, 2024, in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Russian forces launched three missile strikes on Chernihiv, not far from the city center. A social infrastructure object was hit. A Russian missile strike killed at least 18 people and wounded 89. Photo: Valentyna Polishchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
Rescuers stand amid rubble during search and rescue operation in front of object of social infrastructure destroyed as result of Russian missile attack on April 17, 2024, in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Photo: Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

An injured woman wrapped in a blanket stands in the street after a Russian missile attack on April 9, 2024, in Poltava, Ukraine. On the night of April 8, the Russian army attacked Poltava with missiles. The strike hit a two-story dormitory housing 30 people. As a result of the attack, 12 people were injured, among them two children. Three multistory residential buildings and about 10 cars were also hit because of the shelling. Photo: Ihor Lukyanenko/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

A column of smoke rises into the sky after a second Russian missile attack on April 5, 2024, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. The Russian army attacked the city twice with missiles. One of the strikes occurred while police, rescue workers and journalists were working at the scene. A total of five missiles were launched at Zaporizhzhia. Photo: Vladyslav Kiyashchuk/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Firefighters and rescuers work at the site of Russian missile strike, extinguishing a fire and rescuing people from the rubble of a residential building damaged by Russian shelling on April 19, 2024, in Dnipro, Ukraine. On the morning of April 19 several explosions hit Dnipro as the Russian army attacked the city with missiles. A five-story residential building caught fire and was partially destroyed. As a result of the massive missile attack on Dnipro and the region, people were killed or wounded and the civilian infrastructure facilities of the Ukrainian Railways were damaged. Photo: Denys Poliakov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Local resident Iryna shows her damaged apartment after Russian shelling on April 5, 2024, in Kherson, Ukraine. In the morning, the Russian army shelled the Dniprovskyi District. As a result of the attack, residential houses and transportation were damaged. Three people were injured. Photo: Tanya Dzafarowa/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Ruslan (31 years old) and Christina (23 years old) together with their children Vadim (9 years old) and Andriana (1 year old) show their destroyed apartment, which was hit on April 23 by the Russian kamikaze drone Shahed-136, on April 24, 2024, in Odesa, Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities said that at least nine people were injured in the attack that damaged several dozen residences. Photo: Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images

Among the regional centers, Kharkiv continues to suffer the most intense shelling. A massive attack on the energy sector on April 11 left 200,000 city residents without electricity. On April 22, Russians hit a 250-meter TV tower in Kharkiv with an X-59 missile, and on the night of April 27, Russia fired at a psychiatric hospital with an S-300 system.

In April, the enemy continued to drop modified UMPB D-30 bombs on the city.

A charred tree stands in front of a residential building damaged by Russian shelling on April 24, 2024, in Kharkiv, Ukraine. On the night of April 23-24, the Russian army fired two S-300 missiles at a residential district of the city. The strikes hit the ground in the middle of civilian buildings. 6 people were injured, three high-rise residential buildings, a café, 33 civilian cars, and a gas pipeline were damaged. Photo: Ivan Samoilov/Gwara Media/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Men remove the body of a dead man in a black bag on April 4, 2024, in Kharkiv, Ukraine. At night, the Russian army attacked Kharkiv with kamikaze drones. One of the drones hit a 14-story apartment building. During the second attack, a 3-story building was damaged. According to the police, 4 people were killed and 11 injured. Photo: Yevhen Titov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
A police officer shows members of the media fragments of a Russian UMPB D-30 glide munition found at the site of an aerial bombing of the city’s residential area on April 6, 2024, in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Russia intensifies attacks on Kharkiv’s civilian targets using the retrofitted UMPB D-30 glide bombs. After a night missile strike, Russian forces hit the center of the city with a glide munition, leaving one person killed and four wounded, and damaging an educational institution, residential high-rise buildings and vehicles. Photo: Ivan Samoilov/Gwara Media/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Two young residents of the Shevchenkivskyi district hide in the basement of a residential building, used as a bomb shelter, during a Russian missile strike on April 6, 2024, in Kharkiv, Ukraine. The Russian army hit the Shevchenkivskyi district at night with S-300 missiles. As a result of the attack, 6 people were killed and 11 injured. Photo: Serhiy Prokopenko/Gwara Media/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Cars drive on a dark street after Russian missile strike on April 11, 2024, in Kharkiv, Ukraine. On April 11, Russian army struck Kharkiv again, firing more than 10 S-300 and S-400 missiles. The objects of the city’s critical energy infrastructure have again become a target of the Russians. After this night attack, 200,000 residents of Kharkiv were left without electricity. Street lighting is completely absent and at dusk people move around the city with flashlights. Photo: Yevhenii Vasyliev/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Rescuers stand in the morning line-up during the changing of the guard at a fire station on April 13, 2024, in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Kharkiv is constantly bombarded from Russian territory. Recently, the Russian army has been using the tactic of double bombing one point, when drones and rockets are fired at rescue workers as they work at the site of the hit. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 91 rescuers have died and another 351 have been injured. Photo: Oleksandr Magula/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

TV tower remains partially destroyed by Russian missile attack on April 22, 2024, in Kharkiv, Ukraine. On April 22, around 4:35 p.m., the Russian army hit the TV tower in a residential area of the city with a Kh-59 missile. As a result of the impact, the upper part of the tower collapsed. Photo: Eugene Hertnier/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

City authorities stand on the edge of a shell crater in front of a residential building damaged by Russian shelling on April 24, 2024, in Kharkiv, Ukraine. On the night of April 23-24, the Russian army fired two S-300 missiles at a residential district of the city. The strikes hit the ground in the middle of civilian buildings. 6 people were injured, three high-rise residential buildings, a café, 33 civilian cars, and a gas pipeline were damaged. Photo: Viacheslav Mavrychev/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
A view of the damaged psychiatric hospital premises on April 27, 2024, in Kharkiv, Ukraine. According to Ukraine’s media Suspilne, the Russian army attacked civilian objects with missiles. The attack damaged the building of a psychiatric hospital. Medics did not manage to get all patients to shelter in time. Photo: Viacheslav Mavrychev/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

The enemy continues to kill civilians and destroy towns in Sumy (Bilopillia, Krasnopillia), Kharkiv (Dergachi, Kupiansk), Dnipro (Synelnykove) and Donetsk (Lyman, Sloviansk, Druzhkivka, Pokrovsk, Kostiantynivka and Selydove) regions.

An employee of enterprise stands amid ruins of a warehouse with product after night Russian air attack on April 3, 2024, in Sumy Oblast, Ukraine. Russian army is increasingly using guided aerial bombs when bombing border settlements in the Sumy Oblast. Photo: Larysa Dudchenko/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Residents clean up debris after Russian shelling that damaged their house the day before, on April 24, 2024, in Bilopillia, Ukraine. On April 23, the Russian army attacked the civilian infrastructure of Bilopillia in Sumy Oblast from a multiple launch rocket system. A 45-year-old man was injured. At least 20 residential houses and a gas pipeline were damaged. Photo: Larysa Dudchenko/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
A dead body of a civilian covered with blanket next to a damaged store after Russian shelling on April 3, 2024, in Sumy Oblast, Ukraine. A man died in the Krasnopillia community due to shelling by Russian army. Twenty houses, a school, kindergarten, village council and a dispensary were also damaged. Photo: Kateryna Gladenko/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

In front of a shell-destroyed bridge with the inscription ‘Alive, Contused, Happy’, created by Hamlet Zinkivskyi, Ukrainian street artist from Kharkiv, stands a car on April 7, 2024, in Kupiansk, Ukraine. After retreating from Kupiansk in September 2022, Russian military repeatedly shelled the city. Photo: Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Municipal service workers eliminate consequences of a missile strike on a five-story residential building on April 15, 2024, in Sloviansk, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Russian troops launched a missile attack on the city’s central part, resulting in damage to five-story residential buildings, stores, civilian vehicles and a gas pipeline. Photo: Artem Stepanov/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Rubble and debris remain in an apartment destroyed by Russian shelling on April 9, 2024, in Selydove, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. On April 8, Russian military shelled Selydove. As a result, a nine-story apartment building was damaged. There are wounded. The type of weapon used by the Russian army to attack the city is being established, the regional prosecutor’s office reported. Selydove is located more than 30 kilometers west of Russian-occupied Avdiivka. Photo: Oleksandr Buriak/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Men repair the roof of a private residential building damaged by a Russian missile strike on April 19, 2024, in Synelnykove, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine. A mass missile attack of the Russian army on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast resulted in the damage or destruction of about 60 private residential buildings, a House of Culture, a solar power plant, and an enterprise. In the city of Synelnykove, 6 people were killed, including a family with two children, and 7 people were injured. Photo: Dmytro Solodovnyk/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

A woman carries a cat in her arms on April 26, 2024, in Derhachi, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. According to the Main Department of the National Police of Ukraine in Kharkiv Oblast, the attack injured four people, including three children. The Russian army hit the city with UMPB D-30 Glide Bombs. Photo: Denys Klymenko/Gwara Media/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Workers of a store damaged by a Russian aerial bombing carry out salvaged goods on April 10, 2024, in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. On April 9, the Russian army dropped three 500-kilogram guided aerial bombs on the city, one of which hit a private residential building, where two adults and a child were killed. Another bomb hit a residential area near the railroad station, leaving high-rise residential buildings, a church and stores damaged. Photo: Andriy Reznikov/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

A resident gathers her personal belongings salvaged after a Russian aerial bombardment on April 17, 2024, in Lyman, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. In the early morning, Russian forces dropped three UMPB D-30 glide bombs on the town of Lyman, leaving four private households and a store destroyed. Photo: Artem Stepanov/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Women clean up the aftermath of a Russian missile strike on April 5, 2024, in Pokrovsk, Ukraine. At night, the Russian army attacked the city with two S-300 missiles. A family of 4 people and a local resident were injured as a result of the shelling. 6 residential apartment buildings and 17 private houses were damaged in the city. Photo: Andriy Reznikov/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

City utility workers remove debris from blown out windows after a Russian missile attack on April 9, 2024, in Druzhkivka, Ukraine. On the night of April 9, the Russian army hit the town of Druzhkivka with four S-400 missiles. As a result of the attack, the administrative building of the factory, the city hall, the building of the music school were destroyed, streetcar tracks were damaged, windows and doors in residential buildings were blown out. Photo: Andriy Reznikov/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Everyday life in wartime

To honor the memory of his fellow rescuers, a fully uniformed SES officer ran a half-marathon in Kyiv. And a Paralympian with an amputation ran a charity obstacle course to raise money for drones.

A participant, rescuer of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, takes part in the charity race Kyiv Unbroken Half Marathon, honoring the memory of three colleagues who were killed by a Russian kamikaze drone in Kharkiv on April 14, 2024, in Kyiv, Ukraine. The Kyiv Half Marathon is a large-scale running event that has been gathering athletes and running enthusiasts from all over Ukraine and the world since 2011. 50% of the proceeds will be donated to purchase equipment for the Hospitallers Medical Battalion, which has been participating in the Russian-Ukrainian war since 2014. Photo: Serhii Mykhalchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

A para athlete with an amputation is overcoming an obstacle course during the ‘Spartan KYIV 2024’ charity race with obstacles in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 20, 2024. The race aims to raise funds for FPV drones for the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine and prosthetics for a wounded soldier. Photo: Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Mykola Kravchenko is displaying a part of a Russian Uragan rocket that fell near his house in the village last spring and which he has installed in his yard, in Kyiv Region, Ukraine, on April 25, 2024. Photo: Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Farewell ceremonies to military medic Nazariy Lavrovsky and military and civic activist Pavlo Petrychenko took place in Kyiv.

People pay their last respects near the coffin during a farewell ceremony for Ukrainian combat medic Nazarii Lavrovskyi on Independence Square on April 24, 2024, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Combat medic of the 244th battalion Nazarii Lavrovskyi died while saving the lives of his brothers-in-arms during the evacuation of the wounded on the Kharkiv section of the front. Nazarii Lavrovskyi is the author of the first standards of medical care for the rational use of antibacterial and antifungal drugs for therapeutic and preventive purposes. Photo: Viktor Kovalchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
A man holds the military medals of serviceman Pavlo Petrychenko during funeral ceremony on April 19, 2024, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Petrychenko, 31, was a participant in Euromaidan, an active participant in the initiative ‘Who ordered the murder of Katya Handziuk’ and organizer of actions in support of activist Serhii Sternenko. He died in the Donetsk Oblast during a combat mission. Photo: Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

In Odesa, schoolchildren practiced tourniquet application, and in Lviv, military personnel took part in a simultaneous chess game with grandmasters.

Schoolchildren practice to apply tourniquets to each other on April 19, 2024, in Odesa, Ukraine. A free lesson on first aid was conducted by students of Odesa National Medical University to the schoolchildren of the European Lyceum. The children were able to learn the skills of stopping bleeding and resuscitation. Such lessons are important in connection with the ongoing Russian shelling of Ukrainian territories during the war. Photo: Viacheslav Onyshchenko/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

A medical student teaches schoolchildren how to correctly assess breathing in cases of suspected clinical death on April 19, 2024, in Odesa, Ukraine. Photo: Viacheslav Onyshchenko/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

A boy looks on during a simultaneous chess session with grandmasters on April 4, 2024, in Lviv, Ukraine. A simultaneous chess game session with legendary grandmasters took place in Lviv. Grandmasters Marta Litynska, Oleg Romanyshyn, Oleksandr Belyavskyi, Adrian Mikhalchyshyn, Margeir Petursson took part in the event, their opponents were servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, young pupils of sports schools and ordinary Lviv residents. Photo: Stanislav Ivanov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
People sit at a subway station during an air alert on April 27, 2024, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Residents and visitors of the city take shelter at a subway station during an air alert due to the threat of a missile attack. Photo: Ivan Samoilov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Despite the daily shelling, life in Kherson goes on.

An elderly woman rolls a cart of boxes down the street in front of a ruined building on April 8, 2024, in Kherson, Ukraine. For 8 months, Kherson was under Russian occupation. After November 11, 2022, when Ukrainian soldiers entered the city, the Russian army regularly shelled it. Photo: Tanya Dzafarowa/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Men play chess in the market on April 7, 2024, in Kherson, Ukraine. Photo: Tanya Dzafarowa/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
View of a residential high-rise building with a damaged balcony and wooden plywood-covered windows on April 8, 2024, in Kherson, Ukraine. Photo: Tanya Dzafarowa/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Floodplains on the left bank of Kherson Oblast on fire on April 10, 2024, in Kherson, Ukraine. Due to the extreme heat, on the left bank of Kherson Oblast, floodplains are burning. However, the State Emergency Service cannot put out the fire due to the fact that it originated in a zone with a “red” level of danger. Photo: Tanya Dzafarowa/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Peaceful protests for demobilization and Free Azov actions

In April 2024, relatives of servicemen repeatedly protested about the rights of the military to demobilization. In Kharkiv, Odesa, Lviv, and Kyiv, relatives and friends of the military came to the weekly Free Azov action in support of the military in Russian captivity.

Participants of the action hold placards and flags in support of the marines of the 36th Marine Brigade at Independence Square on April 13, 2024, in Kyiv, Ukraine. During the rally, the inscription ‘Mariupol’ was created in large letters. Mariupol is a city that was defended by Ukrainian marines, and in which, after being surrounded by the Russian military, they were captured in the spring of 2022. Most Ukrainian defenders are still being held captive by the Russians. Photo: Viktor Kovalchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

People stand with placard ‘Freedom for defenders of Mariupol’ during rally ‘Bring the heroes home’ on April 7, 2024, in Odesa, Ukraine. Relatives and friends of captured soldiers of ‘Azov’ brigade came out with the aim of drawing public attention to the captured defenders of Mariupol, who are in Russian captivity. Photo: Viacheslav Onyshchenko/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

People hold banners during the ‘Free Azov’ rally in support of the captured defenders of Azovstal on April 28, 2024, in Kharkiv, Ukraine. A rally titled ‘Silence Kills! Captivity Kills!’ in support of soldiers still in Russian captivity was held near the University metro station. Relatives and loved ones of the defenders stood with posters and banners calling not to forget about the prisoners of war from Azovstal and other military personnel. Photo: Denys Hlushko/Gwara Media/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

People stand with placard ‘Freedom for defenders of Mariupol’ during rally ‘Bring the heroes home’ on April 7, 2024, in Odesa, Ukraine. Relatives and friends of captured soldiers of ‘Azov’ brigade came out with the aim of drawing public attention to the captured defenders of Mariupol, who are in Russian captivity. Photo: Viacheslav Onyshchenko/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Image
People stand with placards during a rally in support of prisoners of war on April 14, 2024, in Kyiv, Ukraine. The relatives, friends and supporters of the Azov defenders and other POWs demanded the release of the servicemen held by Russia in violation of international humanitarian law. Photo: hurricanehank/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Relatives and friends of Ukrainian soldiers missing in action against Russian troops, specifically in the direction of Bakhmut, hold portraits and placards next to the symbolically placed military shoes during a rally calling for actions from the authorities to find them, at Independence Square on April 13, 2024, in Kyiv, Ukraine. The action is dedicated to the Ukrainian defenders of Soledar and Bakhmut, who resisted the members of the Russian state-funded private military company Wagner Group. Photo: Maksym Polishchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

A dog with a banner that reads ‘Free Azov’ attends the rally organized by Ukrainian POWs relatives near the monument to Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko on April 28, 2024, in Lviv, Ukraine. The participants came out to remind the Ukrainian society about the Ukrainian soldiers who have been held in Russian captivity for more than two years. Photo: Les Kasyanov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

New weapons and the situation at the front in April 2024

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine presented the multipurpose naval drone Magura, and Ukrainian electronic warfare manufacturer Kvertus demonstrated an anti-drone and a portable drone blocking system.

A Ukrainian serviceman of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine launches a naval drone Magura during demonstration for journalists on April 13, 2024, in Ukraine. Magura is a Ukrainian multipurpose overwater drone known for his role against Russian fleet in the Black Sea. Photo: Vitalii Nosach/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Kvertus CEO Yaroslav Filimonov shows KVERTUS AD G-6+ antidrone during the presentation on March 19, 2024, in Ukraine. During the ‘Protect Warrior from Drone’ event, Kvertus showed off electronic warfare systems against enemy drones. Photo: Viktor Fridshon/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
A soldier presents the KVERTUS AD COUNTER FPV BACKPACK, portable unmanned aerial vehicle blocking systems, during a presentation on March 19, 2024, in Ukraine. Photo: Viktor Fridshon/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Since the beginning of April 2024, the Russians have continued to exert pressure in the same areas as in March. In the south of Ukraine, the front line has not changed much, but the intensity of fighting there is also very high. The occupation forces managed to make the most significant advance near the town of Chasiv Yar. However, by the end of the month, the situation escalated along the entire front line, with the Avdiivka sector remaining the most difficult area.

Soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the unit of the mobile air defense group shoot down enemy drones using the ZU-23-2 Soviet 23-mm twin anti-aircraft gun on April 16, 2024, in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. Photo: Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images

A portrait of Ukrainian military member Anatolii on April 7, 2024, in Kupiansk, Ukraine. At the age of 23, he was wounded near Bakhmut and underwent several operations. Now he continues to serve in the 113th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces, which is currently defends Kupiansk and around the city. Photo: Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Members of the 82nd Separate Air Assault Brigade rest in a yard at the place of Brigade’s permanent deployment on April 20, 2024, in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukraine. Photo: Arsen Dzodzaiev/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

The 37th separate brigade of marines performs a combat mission in support of the infantry on the left bank of the Dnipro. Ukrainian soldiers operate a 2S1 Gvozdika (“Carnation”) self-propelled howitzer on April 27, 2024, in Kherson region, Ukraine. The Soviet-era gun uses 122mm shells, which Ukraine procures from abroad. The Ukrainian government has told its Western allies that it is in desperate need of weapons and ammunition as it defends itself from the large-scale attack that Russia launched in February 2022. Photo: Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images