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.
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- The main terminal of Donetsk Sergey Prokofiev International Airport hit by shelling during fighting between pro-Russian rebels and Ukrainian government forces in the town of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, on October 8, 2014 #Dmitry Lovetsky/AP
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
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