{"id":24190,"date":"2026-02-24T16:12:05","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T14:12:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jhb-webdevelopers\/channelafrica\/news\/ukraine-marks-four-years-of-full-scale-war-as-civilians-endure-unrelenting-hardship\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T16:34:54","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T14:34:54","slug":"ukraine-marks-four-years-of-full-scale-war-as-civilians-endure-unrelenting-hardship","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/ukraine-marks-four-years-of-full-scale-war-as-civilians-endure-unrelenting-hardship\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine marks four years of full\u2011scale war as civilians endure unrelenting hardship"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">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.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Russia\u2019s full\u2011scale 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>UN Secretary\u2011General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, speaking ahead of the anniversary, described the war as \u201ca stain on our collective consciousness\u201d and warned that it continues to pose a grave threat to regional and global security.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\u201cThe longer the war continues, the deadlier it becomes,\u201d he said, emphasising that civilians \u201cbear the brunt of this conflict\u201d. Last year alone, 2 514 people were killed, the highest annual toll since the invasion began, which he called \u201csimply unacceptable\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The suffering is widespread. Older generations still recall the devastating battles along the eastern front during the Second World War, yet today\u2019s conflict has already lasted longer than what the Soviets termed the Great Patriotic War of 1941\u20131945.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>In the frontline city of Kherson, which has changed hands twice during the conflict, air\u2011raid 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Victoria, who visits one such shelter every day with her five\u2011year\u2011old daughter, Myroslava, tried twice to flee to nearby Mykolaiv but eventually returned. \u201cIt\u2019s still easier at home, despite all the difficulties,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>She works part\u2011time online and receives social support while humanitarian organisations help the family with essential supplies, support she describes as invaluable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Yet she is deeply frustrated with political leaders. \u201cNobody wants to end the war; they are not interested in it,\u201d she said. Her greatest wish is that her daughter will grow up in a peaceful Ukraine, one where \u201cif anything explodes, it won\u2019t be bombs, but fireworks.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Kherson\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\u201cChildren can\u2019t leave their flats,\u201d said Kenan Madi, UN Children&#8217;s Fund Head of Field Operations in Ukraine. \u201cBut even indoors, temperatures fall to two or three degrees, and there\u2019s no heating. This poses serious risks to their health.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&#8211;UN\/ChannelAfrica&#8211;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":16402,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-24190","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Although fighting had continued in eastern Ukraine since Russia\u2019s annexation of Crimea in 2014, few Ukrainians believed that a full\u2011scale war would ever engulf the country.","published_date":null,"news_description":"Although fighting had continued in eastern Ukraine since Russia\u2019s annexation of Crimea in 2014, few Ukrainians believed that a full\u2011scale war would ever engulf the country.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/24190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/24190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26946,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/24190\/revisions\/26946"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=24190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}