From March 3 to 8, 2025, Russian troops did not stop devastating attacks on peaceful cities in Ukraine, causing civilian deaths and large-scale destruction of infrastructure. The worst hit was Odessa — the city suffered almost daily from drone strikes and missiles. Oleksandr Gimanov, a local documentary filmmaker and member of the UAFF, did not sleep with the residents — every night and every morning he recorded the consequences of the next Russian strikes. Kharkiv was also under fire: photojournalist Georgy Ivanchenko documented the destruction of a civilian house and an infrastructure object after the strike of the Russian Iskander missile.

Discrediting Ukraine's defenders has been one of the constant tasks of Kremlin propaganda since the Anti-Terrorist Operation in eastern Ukraine. In order to stop the advance of the Ukrainian army near the borders of Donetsk in 2014, Russia was forced to send its regular troops to help the separatists. And with the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian Armed Forces finally destroyed the narrative of the invincibility of the “second army of the world.” The Russians suffered huge losses in equipment and manpower near Soledar, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and other Ukrainian fortress cities.

Russia continues to terrorize Ukrainian civilians with constant attacks on cities and villages. This week, Russian attacks have targeted both civilians and people who have dedicated their lives to saving others. Among the dead are journalist Tatiana Kulyk and her husband, oncologist Pavlo Ivanchov, who were killed by a kamikaze drone in their home in the Bucha district. Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, and many other cities are once again in the crosshairs of Russian weapons.

On March 16, 2022, the Russian military dropped two air bombs on the Donetsk Academic Regional Drama Theater in Mariupol, where hundreds of civilians were hiding. This attack was one of the most massive war crimes during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.