NPR News

Photos: Fighting near Kyiv intensifies, as many are still displaced

By Virginia Lozano,

Marco Storel

Published March 23, 2022 at 5:38 AM PDT

<strong>March 25:</strong> Tatiana Rurak kneels as she holds her daughter, Oleksandra Rurak, as they watch Ukrainian military members carry the casket of her husband Volodymy Rurak into the Church of the Most Holy Apostles Peter and Paul for his funeral in Lviv, Ukraine. Mr. Rurak was killed in the eastern part of Ukraine fighting against the Russian military. — **March 25:** Tatiana Rurak kneels as she holds her daughter, Oleksandra Rurak, as they watch Ukrainian military members carry the casket of her husband Volodymy Rurak into the Church of the Most Holy Apostles Peter and Paul for his funeral in Lviv, Ukraine. Mr. Rurak was killed in the eastern part of Ukraine fighting against the Russian military.

As Russia's invasion of Ukraine entered its second month, the U.N. says more than 3.7 million people have fled to neighboring countries and another 6.4 million have been displaced within the country.

Updated March 22, 2022 at 2:06 PM ET

Editor's note: Graphic content

In the fourth week of the war, 6.5 million people have been displaced within Ukraine and another 3.5 million people have fled for neighboring countries, according to the United Nations.

Ukrainian officials say Russian troops bombed an art school on Sunday where an estimated 400 people had taken shelter in the besieged city of Mariupol. And new curfew restrictions were imposed in Kyiv as Russian forces attacked a shopping center and several apartment buildings Sunday night, leaving eight dead.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed Israeli lawmakers Sunday, urging them to do more to aid his people. He plans to address the Japanese Parliament on Wednesday.

Japan's unusually tough stance toward Russia's invasion has triggered retaliation from Moscow, though: On Monday, Russian officials announced a decision to discontinue talks with Japan over the disputed Kuril islands, citing Tokyo's sanctions against Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Here's a look at the situation on the ground in Ukraine this week:

<strong>March 21:</strong> An unexploded rocket sits wedged in a cemetery road in Mykolaiv, in southern Ukraine. — **March 21:** An unexploded rocket sits wedged in a cemetery road in Mykolaiv, in southern Ukraine.

<strong>March 21:</strong> Iryna Miroshnychenko cooks in the basement of a residential building in Kyiv, where residents shelter from Russian air strikes and shelling. — **March 21:** Iryna Miroshnychenko cooks in the basement of a residential building in Kyiv, where residents shelter from Russian air strikes and shelling.

<strong>March 22:</strong> Military service members remove the body of a Ukrainian serviceman killed near one of the Ukraine's National Academy of Science's research institutes after a strike in northwestern Kyiv. — **March 22:** Military service members remove the body of a Ukrainian serviceman killed near one of the Ukraine's National Academy of Science's research institutes after a strike in northwestern Kyiv.

<strong>March 21:</strong> Ruslan Trishchuk, 40, smokes a cigarette while taking a break outside the Baikave cemetery's crematorium in Kyiv. — **March 21:** Ruslan Trishchuk, 40, smokes a cigarette while taking a break outside the Baikave cemetery's crematorium in Kyiv.

<strong>March 21:</strong> Volunteers attend a Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces training camp in Brovary, northeast of Kyiv. — **March 21:** Volunteers attend a Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces training camp in Brovary, northeast of Kyiv.

<strong>March 21:</strong> Ukrainian soldiers put blue tape on their uniforms in Kyiv. — **March 21:** Ukrainian soldiers put blue tape on their uniforms in Kyiv.

<strong>March 21:</strong> A woman measures a window before covering it with plastic sheets in a building damaged by bombing Sunday in Kyiv. — **March 21:** A woman measures a window before covering it with plastic sheets in a building damaged by bombing Sunday in Kyiv.

<strong>March 21:</strong> Daryna Kovalenko, 19, holds her dog, Tim, at Kyiv's train station after leaving her home in Chernihiv, Ukraine, through a humanitarian corridor. — **March 21:** Daryna Kovalenko, 19, holds her dog, Tim, at Kyiv's train station after leaving her home in Chernihiv, Ukraine, through a humanitarian corridor.

<strong>March 18:</strong> Air-defense systems are activated at times due to Russia's attacks on Kyiv. — **March 18:** Air-defense systems are activated at times due to Russia's attacks on Kyiv.

<strong>March 21:</strong> Ukraine Army Chaplain Mikola Madenski walks through debris outside the destroyed Retroville shopping mall in a residential district in Kyiv after a Russian attack on the capital. At least six people were killed in the overnight bombing. — **March 21:** Ukraine Army Chaplain Mikola Madenski walks through debris outside the destroyed Retroville shopping mall in a residential district in Kyiv after a Russian attack on the capital. At least six people were killed in the overnight bombing.

<strong>March 20:</strong> A Ukrainian bomb squad inspects the site of an explosion after bombing in Kyiv. — **March 20:** A Ukrainian bomb squad inspects the site of an explosion after bombing in Kyiv.

<strong>March 20:</strong> Family members and Ukrainian servicemen attend the funeral of marine Alexandr Khovtun. Khovtun died in combat in the town of Huta-Mezhyhirska, north of Kyiv. — **March 20:** Family members and Ukrainian servicemen attend the funeral of marine Alexandr Khovtun. Khovtun died in combat in the town of Huta-Mezhyhirska, north of Kyiv.

<strong>March 20:</strong> A refugee cries on a bus while waiting for Ukrainian police to check papers and belongings in Brovary, Ukraine, after being evacuated from the village of Bobrik, reportedly under Russian military control. — **March 20:** A refugee cries on a bus while waiting for Ukrainian police to check papers and belongings in Brovary, Ukraine, after being evacuated from the village of Bobrik, reportedly under Russian military control.

<strong>March 20:</strong> Natacha stands inside her destroyed apartment after Kyiv's Satoya neighborhood was bombed by Russian forces. — **March 20:** Natacha stands inside her destroyed apartment after Kyiv's Satoya neighborhood was bombed by Russian forces.

<strong>March 20:</strong> Ukrainian police officers point their rifles at a possible drone near a warehouse in Kyiv that was hit by the debris of a downed rocket. — **March 20:** Ukrainian police officers point their rifles at a possible drone near a warehouse in Kyiv that was hit by the debris of a downed rocket.

<strong>March 21:</strong> A soldier pushes a shopping cart with items recovered among debris in a damaged shopping center in Kyiv. — **March 21:** A soldier pushes a shopping cart with items recovered among debris in a damaged shopping center in Kyiv.

<strong>March 20:</strong> People walk by a monument in Lviv that's covered by a protective screen in case of shelling. Lviv has served as a stopover and place of shelter for the millions of Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion, either to the safety of nearby countries or the relative security of western Ukraine. — **March 20:** People walk by a monument in Lviv that's covered by a protective screen in case of shelling. Lviv has served as a stopover and place of shelter for the millions of Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion, either to the safety of nearby countries or the relative security of western Ukraine.

A Ukrainian serviceman walks between debris outside the destroyed Retroville shopping mall in a residential district in Kyiv after a Russian attack on the Ukrainian capital.

<strong>March 21:</strong> People rest in a railway station in Lviv. — **March 21:** People rest in a railway station in Lviv.

<strong>March 20:</strong> A woman tends to her newborn baby while sheltering in the basement of a maternity hospital that was damaged in an attack in Zhytomyr. — **March 20:** A woman tends to her newborn baby while sheltering in the basement of a maternity hospital that was damaged in an attack in Zhytomyr.

<strong>March 20:</strong> A volunteer takes position at a checkpoint in a district in Kyiv. A shell exploded outside an apartment block in Kyiv, wounding five people, the mayor said Sunday. The attack was the latest bombardment as Russian forces try to encircle the Ukrainian capital. — **March 20:** A volunteer takes position at a checkpoint in a district in Kyiv. A shell exploded outside an apartment block in Kyiv, wounding five people, the mayor said Sunday. The attack was the latest bombardment as Russian forces try to encircle the Ukrainian capital.

<strong>March 20:</strong> People look at damage at a school that was hit by a Russian attack ten days ago in Zhytomyr, Ukraine. — **March 20:** People look at damage at a school that was hit by a Russian attack ten days ago in Zhytomyr, Ukraine.

<strong>March 20:</strong> An eldery woman stands in front of a destroyed house after bombardments in the village of Krasylivka, east of Kyiv. — **March 20:** An eldery woman stands in front of a destroyed house after bombardments in the village of Krasylivka, east of Kyiv.

<strong>March 20:</strong> Local residents retrieve what is left in their destroyed apartments, located in a 5-story residential building that partially collapsed after shelling the day before by Russian troops in Kyiv. — **March 20:** Local residents retrieve what is left in their destroyed apartments, located in a 5-story residential building that partially collapsed after shelling the day before by Russian troops in Kyiv.

<strong>March 20:</strong> A member of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces stands guard at a checkpoint in Kyiv. — **March 20:** A member of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces stands guard at a checkpoint in Kyiv.

<strong>March 20:</strong> A man walks past Ukrainian tanks in position on the front line near Kyiv. — **March 20:** A man walks past Ukrainian tanks in position on the front line near Kyiv.

<strong>March 20:</strong> An Ukrainian child looks out of a tent while waiting for relocation after crossing the Ukrainian-Romanian border in Siret, northern Romania. — **March 20:** An Ukrainian child looks out of a tent while waiting for relocation after crossing the Ukrainian-Romanian border in Siret, northern Romania.

<strong>March 19: </strong>People gather in a basement, used as a bomb shelter, during an air raid in Lviv, Western Ukraine. — **March 19:** People gather in a basement, used as a bomb shelter, during an air raid in Lviv, Western Ukraine.

<strong>March 19: </strong>Rescuers carry a Ukrainian soldier saved after 30 hours from debris of the military school hit by Russian rockets, in Mykolaiv. — **March 19:** Rescuers carry a Ukrainian soldier saved after 30 hours from debris of the military school hit by Russian rockets, in Mykolaiv.

<strong>March 19:</strong> Ukrainian soldiers and rescue officers search for bodies in the debris at the military school hit by Russian rockets the day before, in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine. — **March 19:** Ukrainian soldiers and rescue officers search for bodies in the debris at the military school hit by Russian rockets the day before, in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine.

<strong>March 19: </strong>Nannie Svitlana Stetsiuk plays with one of the babies in the nursery in Kyiv, Ukraine. Nineteen surrogated babies were born to surrogate mothers, with their biological parents still outside the country due to the war against Russia. — **March 19:** Nannie Svitlana Stetsiuk plays with one of the babies in the nursery in Kyiv, Ukraine. Nineteen surrogated babies were born to surrogate mothers, with their biological parents still outside the country due to the war against Russia.

<strong>March 19: </strong>Ukrainian civilians receive weapons training in Lviv, Western Ukraine. — **March 19:** Ukrainian civilians receive weapons training in Lviv, Western Ukraine.

<strong>March 19: </strong>Smoke rising from the western outskirts of Kyiv. — **March 19:** Smoke rising from the western outskirts of Kyiv.