AP PHOTOS: First day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine captured in images

AP PHOTOS: First day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine captured in images

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A woman and child peer out of the window of a bus as they leave Sievierodonetsk, the Luhansk region, in eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

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A woman reacts as she waits for a train trying to leave Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

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Cars line the highway as people leave the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

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Smoke rises from an air defence base in the aftermath of a Russian airstrike in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

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People rest in the Kyiv subway, using it as a bomb shelter in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

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A man holds a dog as he walks past a damaged house following Russian shelling, in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

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A woman holds her baby as she gets on a bus leaving Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

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People walk in a subway to get a train as they leave the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

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Police officers inspect an area after an apparent Russian airstrike in Kyiv Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

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Smoke and flame rise near a military building after an apparent Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

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In this handout photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, attends an urgent meeting with the leadership of the government, representatives of the defense sector and the economic block in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

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A police officer takes a photo of the consequences of a Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

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People gather in a shelter during Russian shelling, in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

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Ukrainian servicemen sit atop armored personnel carriers driving on a road in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

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A man throws debris from a burning barn following Russian shelling outside outside Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

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Svyatoslav, 6, plays with his tablet in a public basement used as a bomb shelter in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

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A woman is reflected in a mirror as she stands with her children in a shelter during Russian shelling, in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

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Children hold hands as they arrive to board a Kyiv bound train, on a platform in Kramatorsk, the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

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A woman holds her daughter as they sit in a basement used as a bomb shelter in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

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A woman walks past debris in the aftermath of Russian shelling, in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)

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Ukrainian Emergency Situation employees stand in a shelter during Russian shelling, in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

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A woman holds her baby inside a bus as they leave Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The deafening booms of the first airstrikes. Buildings bursting into flames, reduced to rubble. Terrified people hiding in basements. Cries of despair and hugs of support.

This was the reality of Feb. 24, 2022, the first day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

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From the first explosions on the morning of that fateful day, Ukraine was forever changed. By nightfall, Ukrainians were counting their first dead and in many parts of the country found themselves under Russian occupation.

Others crammed into overcrowded trains, rushing to escape rapidly advancing Russian forces.

Uncertainty and dread hung in the air. No one knew whether Ukraine could withstand the onslaught of a far larger and better-equipped Russian army.

Three years on, the constant fear — for one’s own life, for loved ones — is just as unrelenting as it was that first day.

Europe’s biggest armed conflict since World War II has claimed tens of thousands of lives on both sides. Thousands of Ukrainian civilians have been killed in the fighting. Millions have fled their country, many unlikely to return.

Countless families have been decimated, forced to bury loved ones, their homes and livelihoods shattered. A fifth of Ukraine remains under Russian occupation, with no signs that Kyiv will be able to regain control of the territories.

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Those who have taken up arms to fight for Ukraine and who have survived this far don’t know what tomorrow will bring and when — and if — they can go back to their civilian lives.

And while Ukrainians have adapted to life at war, that first day remains seared in their memory, forever dividing life to “before” and “after.”

This photo gallery, curated by photo editor Tony Hicks, highlights some of the most compelling images by The Associated Press from that first day of the war.

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