Thursday, February 26, 2015

A Year of War Completely Destroyed the Donetsk Airport - The Atlantic

Devastating! What a Shame !  
Very, very sad !!


A Year of War Completely Destroyed the Donetsk Airport

In Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine, the Sergey Prokofiev International Airport has been reduced from a modern transportation hub to piles of scorched rubble in less than a year of warfare. As recently as last May, the airport was still operating and in good condition, though international flights had slowed due to the growing unrest. On May 26, Russian-backed separatist forces of the Donetsk People's Republic seized the airport, losing it to Ukrainian government forces after a brief fight. For months after, battles raged as both sides struggled to hold or retake the facilities, their bombs and rockets destroying practically everything, from buildings and aircraft to roads and trees. This week, as a cease-fire held, rebels (now in control of the ruins) brought Ukrainian war prisoners to the airport to recover bodies of their fellow troops from the rubble, and photojournalists were able to come along and document the scene.
HINTS: View this page full screen. Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.
  • This is an aerial view of the Donetsk Airport on June 27, 2012. The airport was one of several showcase buildings constructed for the Euro 2012 Championship hosted by Ukraine. 
    Irina Gorbaseva/AP
  • Passengers wait for information at Donetsk airport on May 6, 2014, as all flights in and out of the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk were suspended amid rising tensions in the region. 
    Alexander Khudoteply/AFP/Getty Images
  • A June 27, 2012 photo shows the control tower of the airport in Donetsk. 
    Irina Gorbaseva/AP
  • Passengers queue at a desk to return their tickets on May 6, 2014 at Donetsk airport, as all flights in and out of the city were suspended. 
    Alexander Khudoteply/AFP/Getty Images
  • A June 27, 2012, aerial shot of the airport in Donetsk 
    Irina Gorbaseva/AP
  • On May 26, 2014, a pro-Russian militant takes position on the roof of the Donetsk airport terminal. The airport was rocked by explosions and heavy shooting after armed rebels seized the facility. 
    Alexander Khudoteply/AFP/Getty Images
  • Pro-Russian militants take positions inside the airport in Donetsk on May 26, 2014. 
    Alexander Khudoteply/AFP/Getty Images
  • Pro-Russian militants take positions on the roof of the Donetsk airport on May 26, 2014. 
    Alexander Khudoteply/AFP/Getty Images
  • An armed pro-Russian militant inside the airport on May 26, 2014 
    Alexander Khudoteply/AFP/Getty Images
  • A Ukrainian military helicopter gunship flies above areas where pro-Russian militias had taken position around the airport, outside Donetsk, on May 26, 2014. 
    Vadim Ghirda/AP
  • Black smoke billows from Donetsk international airport, seen behind a cemetery, during heavy gun battles between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian militants on May 26, 2014. 
    Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images
  • A pro-Russian separatist soldier fires through a window in the Donetsk airport during shelling between Ukrainian army forces and pro-Russian separatist soldiers on October 16, 2014. 
    Dominique Faget/AFP/Getty Images
  • Flames engulf a vehicle during shelling of the Donetsk airport on October 16, 2014. 
    Dominique Faget/AFP/Getty Images
  • Pro-Russian separatist fighters take a break in a damaged part of the Donetsk airport on October 16, 2014. 
    Dominique Faget/AFP/Getty Images
  • This photo taken by a drone on January 15, 2015 shows the destroyed control tower surrounded by craters and debris at the airport in Donetsk. 
    ArmySOS/AP
  • Destroyed commercial airplanes sit scattered at the Donetsk airport on February 26, 2015. 
    Andrew Burton/Getty Images
  • Shattered and burnt tree trunks stand outside a section of a destroyed airport building in Donetsk on February 26, 2015. 
    Vasily MaximovAFP/Getty Images
  • A Ukrainian national flag flies at top of a badly damaged traffic control tower as smoke rises after shelling at the Donetsk airport on October 12, 2014. 
    Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters
  • Debris covers part of the Donetsk airport, damaged by months of fighting, on February 26, 2015. 
    Baz Ratner/Reuters
  • A picture taken on Febuary 7, 2015 shows a destroyed tank and plane at the Donetsk airport. 
    Dominique Faget/AFP/Getty Images
  • A sports bar sits among the wreckage of the destroyed Donetsk airport on February 26, 2015. 
    Andrew Burton/Getty Images
  • Destroyed cars sit near the Donetsk airport on February 26, 2015. 
    Andrew Burton/Getty Images
  • Inside the destroyed airport in Donetsk on January 21, 2015 
    Igor Ivanov/AP
  • A sign riddled with shrapnel holes stands outside the hulk of the Donetsk airport terminal, damaged by months of fighting, on February 26, 2015 
    Baz Ratner/Reuters
  • The carcass of a destroyed airplane on the tarmac of the Donetsk airport on October 16, 2014 
    Dominique Faget/AFP/Getty Images
  • A picture taken on October 16, 2014 shows part of the destroyed terminal at the Donetsk airport during shelling between Ukrainian army forces and pro-Russian separatist soldiers. 
    Dominique Faget/AFP/Getty Images
  • Remains of the Donetsk airport, seen on January 21, 2015 
    Igor Ivanov/AP
  • Russian-backed rebels sit on an armored transporter driving to the destroyed airport, background, outside Donetsk, on February 25, 2015. Ukrainian troops held captive in the separatist stronghold of Donetsk were brought along to dig through the rubble to retrieve the bodies of fellow soldiers killed last month in a bitter battle for the city's airport. 
    Vadim Ghirda/AP
  • Ukrainian soldier prisoners-of-war are lined up before being forced by pro-Russian rebels to search through the wreckage of the destroyed Donetsk airport for weaponry and dead bodies on February 26, 2015 in Donetsk, Ukraine. 
    Andrew Burton/Getty Images
  • Ukrainian soldier prisoners-of-war are forced by pro-Russian rebels to search through the wreckage of the destroyed Donetsk airport for weaponry and dead bodies on February 26, 2015. 
    Andrew Burton/Getty Images
  • Russian-backed separatists stand next to bodies of Ukrainian servicemen retrieved from the rubble of the airport building outside Donetsk on February 25, 2015. 
    Vadim Ghirda/AP
  • A belt bearing the coat of arms of Ukraine on the body of a Ukrainian serviceman lying in the destroyed terminal after it was removed from the rubble of the airport building outside Donetsk on February 25, 2015 
    Vadim Ghirda/AP
  • A section of the destroyed airport in Donetsk on February 26, 2015 
    Vasily MaximovAFP/Getty Images

No comments:

Post a Comment