War in Ukraine. The horrors of war by Chernihiv

An injured man walks in Krasna square with the Taras Shevchenko Chernihiv Regional Academic Music and Drama Theatre in the background, after a Russian attack, in Chernihiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023.

An Orthodox priest sprays holy water on believers outside a church damaged by a Russian attack in the village of Lukashivka in Chernihiv Oblast, 16, 2023.

Surrounded by shards of broken glass and rubble 14-year-old Sofia Zhyr, sits at her desk in the remains of her classroom in the Chernihiv School #21, which was bombed by Russian forces on March 3, in Chernihiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Aug. 30 , 2022. "I was scared to come to the school the first time after it was bombed. For a long time, I was just looking at it from afar. At those moments, it seemed like nothing ever happened." Sofia said. Scraping through the rubble of the classroom they last saw on February 24 – at the start of the Russian invasion -- one group of children returned to the remains of their bombarded school on Tuesday to check the condition of their school.

Vladimir, 66, stands next to the wreckage of his house after being bombed by Russians in Chernihiv, Ukraine, Monday, Aug. 29, 2022. On May 3, witnesses heard a plane approaching and dropping bombs that destroyed a large number of houses, including his own, killing five of his relatives who were sleeping at the time.

Russian ordinance on the ground of a concert hall damaged by strikes, in Yahidne village, northern Chernihiv region, Ukraine, Wednesday, June 29, 2022. A few months after Russian troops retreated from Yahidne, the village has gradually returned to life. People are repairing their homes, and a strong wind occasionally picks up the bitter smell of ashes.

In the Chernihiv region, graduates make photo shoots against the backdrop of the ruins.

A man carries his belongings past a destroyed car next to a heavily damaged apartment building on May 28, 2022, in Chernihiv, Ukraine.

Oleksandr, 36, worked to repair the roof of his house, in Novoselivka village, Chernihiv Region, Ukraine, on Tuesday. The house was badly damaged by a Russian airstrike in early March.

This April 24, 2022 photo provided by Inna Levchenko shows damage from Russian shelling to School No. 21, in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Levchenko opened the school as a shelter to hundreds of frightened families. Though she didn’t know it yet, 70 children she’d ordered to shelter in the basement would survive the blast. But at least nine people, including one of her students — a 13-year-old boy — would not.

The village of Novoselivka, near Chernihiv, Ukraine has been heavily bombed.

School official Iryna Homenko walks in the hall of a school damaged by an airstrike from Russian forces in Chernihiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 13, 2022. In Chernihiv alone, the city council said only seven of the city’s 35 schools were unscathed. Three were reduced to rubble.

Residents of Chernihiv at the destroyed hotel 'Ukraine'. The mayor of the city stated that the city was destroyed by 70%.

More destruction seen outside of the Chernihiv stadium in Ukraine on April 5, 2022.

A funeral service worker uncovers a civilian's body as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in the village of Nova Basan, Chernihiv region, April 1.

Destroyed residential buildings in Chernihiv, which remains under Russian occupation at March 31, 2022.

Firefighters try to extinguish a fire after a Russian attack in Chernihiv.

Chernihiv has come under heavy bombardment since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.

A huge crater from Russian shelling at the former Yuri Gagarin stadium.

A non exploded Russian aviation bomb FAB-500 is seen next to a home in Chernihiv, Ukraine, March 5, 2022.