Yet, as the conflict reaches its fourth year, many now struggle to comprehend how long it has lasted, and how distant the prospect of peace remains.
Russia’s full‑scale invasion on February 24 2022, was a violation of the United Nations (UN) Charter and international law. Since then, more than 15 000 civilians have been killed, and the overall damage is estimated at more than $195 billion.
UN Secretary‑General António Guterres, speaking ahead of the anniversary, described the war as “a stain on our collective consciousness” and warned that it continues to pose a grave threat to regional and global security.
“The longer the war continues, the deadlier it becomes,” he said, emphasising that civilians “bear the brunt of this conflict”. Last year alone, 2 514 people were killed, the highest annual toll since the invasion began, which he called “simply unacceptable”.
The suffering is widespread. Older generations still recall the devastating battles along the eastern front during the Second World War, yet today’s conflict has already lasted longer than what the Soviets termed the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945.
Across Ukraine, the tragedy is made up of countless individual stories of loss. Some have lost family members; others have seen their homes reduced to rubble. For many who fled abroad, returning remains impossible due to continuing hostilities.
In the frontline city of Kherson, which has changed hands twice during the conflict, air‑raid sirens sound almost daily. Schools and nurseries are closed, forcing parents to bring their children to underground centres where they can learn, play, or simply keep warm.
Victoria, who visits one such shelter every day with her five‑year‑old daughter, Myroslava, tried twice to flee to nearby Mykolaiv but eventually returned. “It’s still easier at home, despite all the difficulties,” she said.
She works part‑time online and receives social support while humanitarian organisations help the family with essential supplies, support she describes as invaluable.
Yet she is deeply frustrated with political leaders. “Nobody wants to end the war; they are not interested in it,” she said. Her greatest wish is that her daughter will grow up in a peaceful Ukraine, one where “if anything explodes, it won’t be bombs, but fireworks.”
Kherson’s central heating barely functions, leaving families reliant on small space heaters that offer limited protection from freezing temperatures. This winter has been especially bitter across Ukraine, with temperatures plunging below minus 20 degrees Celsius. Russian strikes on energy infrastructure have left hundreds of thousands without heat or electricity, and frontline communities face chronic shortages of generators and repair materials.
“Children can’t leave their flats,” said Kenan Madi, UN Children’s Fund Head of Field Operations in Ukraine. “But even indoors, temperatures fall to two or three degrees, and there’s no heating. This poses serious risks to their health.”
–UN/ChannelAfrica–
