Published TUESDAY March 5, 2024: 'WATCH YOUR SIX' by ZUMA Press photojournalists Madeleine Kelly, Svet Jacqueline and Hector Adolfo Quintanar Perez: When Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago, the resistance mounted by the country's military and overwhelming Western support for Kyiv, along with some military overreach by Moscow, raised hopes that Ukraine's outnumbered and outgunned army could fight back the invading forces. Fast forward two years and hopes of a Ukrainian victory look diminished and increasingly hollow, as do Western pledges to support Ukraine ''for as long as it takes.'' On the battlefield the front-lines have been static for months, save for recent gains that have been made by Russian troops in the east. While the fortunes of war are unpredictable, some political analysts note that Russia holds a lot of the cards as to what happens next, as does the West. Welcome to 'WATCH YOUR SIX'
© zReportage.com Issue #929 Story of the Week: Published TUESDAY March 5, 2024: 'WATCH YOUR SIX' by ZUMA Press photojournalists Madeleine Kelly, Svet Jacqueline and Hector Adolfo Quintanar Perez: When Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago, the resistance mounted by the country's military and overwhelming Western support for Kyiv, along with some military overreach by Moscow, raised hopes that Ukraine's outnumbered and outgunned army could fight back the invading forces. Fast forward two years and hopes of a Ukrainian victory look diminished and increasingly hollow, as do Western pledges to support Ukraine ''for as long as it takes.'' On the battlefield the front-lines have been static for months, save for recent gains that have been made by Russian troops in the east. While the fortunes of war are unpredictable, some political analysts note that Russia holds a lot of the cards as to what happens next, as does the West. Welcome to 'WATCH YOUR SIX'

Kyiv resident SERGHII looks out the window of his destroyed apartment after a massive missile attack struck Kyiv, as Putin vows to intensify attacks. Soldiers and civilians fear what comes next as Russia gains momentum in eastern Ukraine.
© Svet Jacqueline/ZUMA Press Wire

Kyiv, Ukraine: Civilians enter their destroyed apartment building to gather belongings after a huge Russian missile attack pounds Kyiv as President Putin vows to intensify attacks.
© Svet Jacqueline/ZUMA Press Wire

A member of the Ukrainian Armed Forces try's to identify recovered dead Russian soldiers, lined up on the ground in body bags, from the frontlines of Donbas.
© Svet Jacqueline/ZUMA Press Wire

Snow blankets the ground as a Ukrainian soldier fires a D-20 Howitzer at Russian forces. Russian assaults continue despite the onset of Winter in Ukraine.
© Madeleine Kelly/ZUMA Press Wire

A Ukrainian soldier smokes a cigarette inside a position along the frontline with Russia. Relatively unchanged since the beginning of the war, fighting in the Horlivka direction continues as winter sets in.
© Madeleine Kelly/ZUMA Press Wire

A soldier stands at the entrance of a bunker under construction as a homemade 'trench candle' lights the way. The city of Chasiv Yar continues to come under heavy fire from nearby Russian positions.
© Madeleine Kelly/ZUMA Press Wire

A mortar is fired at Russian forces in the Bakhmut region. Soldiers with the 56th brigade continue to work on the Bakhmut frontline with Russia as winter approaches.
© Madeleine Kelly/ZUMA Press Wire

Battle weary Ukrainian soldiers discuss the retreat from Avdiivka during a break from fighting outside the city. As the Ukrainian army retreats from Avdiivka, reports of heavy losses continue and Russian forces advance quickly.
© Madeleine Kelly/ZUMA Press Wire

STAS, a commanding officer in the Ukrainian armed forces, sits atop a 2S1 self propelled soviet 'gvozdica' howitzer. As the war continues into its second winter, Ukrainian soldiers complain of ammunition shortages across the frontlines.
© Madeleine Kelly/ZUMA Press Wire

American volunteer and Army veteran, LLOYD, joined the Ukrainian armed forces earlier this year and has been serving in infantry positions along the Bakhmut front. The frontline soldiers of Ukraines 17th brigade prepare for the incoming winter and continued Russian assaults outside the Bakhmut and Soledar regions.
© Madeleine Kelly/ZUMA Press Wire

A tank crew of Ukrainian soldiers with the 42nd battalion waits for a fire order from their command HQ outside the city of Chasiv Yar.
© Madeleine Kelly/ZUMA Press Wire

A Valentine's Day funeral at St. Michael's Church in Kyiv, for Diana Savita Wagner, a German volunteer combat medic known by the call sign 'Snake' who died on a mission in Eastern Ukraine. Diana was killed near Svatovo while rescuing Ukrainian soldiers. Military personnel from her unit and family members bid her farewell.
© Svet Jacqueline/ZUMA Press Wire

A woman peers tearfully out the window after boarding an evacuation train. Many residents of the city of Prokovsk are leaving after constant Russian attacks in the Avdivka region.
© Hector Adolfo Quintanar Perez/ZUMA Press Wire

Ukrainian soldiers hold a baby as residents of the city of Prokovsk are assisted to board the train during evacuations after constant Russian attacks in the Avdivka region.
© Hector Adolfo Quintanar Perez/ZUMA Press Wire

A young boy peers out the compartment window watching as families board an evacuation train in Prokovsk. The wars frontline with Russia inches closer in the East.
© Svet Jacqueline/ZUMA Press Wire

A Ukrainian soldier and his girlfriend hold hands and kiss at the platform, as family members say goodbye to their loved ones at Kramatorsk train station in the Donetsk region of Ukraine.
© Svet Jacqueline/ZUMA Press Wire

Ukrainian armored vehicle is seen in a SUV's rear view mirror at sunset on the eastern front of Donetsk during the Russian war with Ukraine.
© Hector Adolfo Quintanar Perez/ZUMA Press Wire

At dusk a Ukrainian army tank rolls down a street near the east frontlines of the war with Russia in Donestk.
© Hector Adolfo Quintanar Perez/ZUMA Press Wire

A soldier fires a heavy machine gun as members of the Ukrainian army carry out tactical exercises and training ahead of their battle operations.
© Hector Adolfo Quintanar Perez/ZUMA Press Wire

Ukrainian artillery troops on the eastern front of Donetsk launch missiles towards Russian fighters from a mobile rocket launcher.
© Hector Adolfo Quintanar Perez/ZUMA Press Wire

A elderly lady walks down a muddy street carrying bags of donated goods as inhabitants of the Prokovsk military front region receive items of food from a voluntary humanitarian aid group. This town is located just 4 kilometers from the frontline fighting between Ukrainian and Russia.
© Hector Adolfo Quintanar Perez/ZUMA Press Wire

A elderly woman reacts in front of a partially destroyed home in Prokovsk not far from the front lines in the war with Russia. Inhabitants of this military front region survive by receiving items of food from a voluntary humanitarian aid group.
© Hector Adolfo Quintanar Perez/ZUMA Press Wire

A soldier closes the hatch to his tank, as members of a Ukrainian artillery brigade carry out their daily attack routine very close to the Chasiv Yar front.
© Hector Adolfo Quintanar Perez/ZUMA Press Wire