---
title: "Photo Essay: Fear, panic and terror as Russia attacks Ukraine"
description: "Europe is bracing for what could be an exodus of more than a million refugees after Russia launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine, as officials say any initial strain will be borne by member states on the bloc’s eastern frontier. The photos below show the horrific and frightening impact, fear and terror on people."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "WAR IN EUROPE"
author: "Bloomberg"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/bloomberg/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-02-24-photo-essay-fear-panic-and-terror-as-russia-attacks-ukraine/"
published: "2022-02-24T16:45:13"
updated: "2022-02-24T20:15:03"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 244
---

# Photo Essay: Fear, panic and terror as Russia attacks Ukraine

> Europe is bracing for what could be an exodus of more than a million refugees after Russia launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine, as officials say any initial strain will be borne by member states on the bloc’s eastern frontier. The photos below show the horrific and frightening impact, fear and terror on people.

By Bloomberg · Published 24 February 2022, 18:45 SAST · Updated 24 February 2022, 22:15 SAST

## Content

The order of a full-scale invasion from President Vladimir Putin, triggering one of the worst security crises in Europe since World War II, has intensified preparations by eastern European Union states for an influx of refugees. Poland especially, already home to well more than a million Ukrainians, would be the first point of escape for many seeking to escape the violence.

Lines of cars already clogged highways leading out of the capital Kyiv, with the Ukrainian government saying Russian forces had entered the region around the city of 2.9 million. Polish authorities said they are beginning to see an increase in passenger traffic over the border. © 2022 Bloomberg L.P.

![CHUHUIV, UKRAINE - FEBRUARY 24: Ukrainian security forces accompany a wounded man after an airstrike hit an apartment complex in Chuhuiv, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine on February 24, 2022. (Photo by Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/VGeHTbSO0PKBhaNyCWNxy07SnhY=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Ukraine3.jpg)

*CHUHUIV, UKRAINE - FEBRUARY 24: Ukrainian security forces accompany a wounded man after an airstrike hit an apartment complex in Chuhuiv, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine on February 24, 2022. (Photo by Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)*

![CHUHUIV, UKRAINE - FEBRUARY 24: Ukrainian firefighters arrive to rescue civilians after an airstrike hit an apartment complex in Chuhuiv, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine on February 24, 2022. (Photo by Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/yqV0bc-tTYpr4ZMs8F0tfoQ1NW4=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Ukraine2.jpg)

*CHUHUIV, UKRAINE - FEBRUARY 24: Ukrainian firefighters arrive to rescue civilians after an airstrike hit an apartment complex in Chuhuiv, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine on February 24, 2022. (Photo by Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)*

![A group of people from separatist-controlled regions in eastern Ukraine crosses the border into Russia at the checkpoint in Avilo-Uspenka on 24 February 2022, after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a military operation in Ukraine. (Photo: Olga Maltseva / AFP)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/I1cwUORgTOV8iSKr6aqNQ8zbOkQ=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/OD-Brooks-Ukraine-firstTake2.jpg)

*A group of people from separatist-controlled regions in eastern Ukraine crosses the border into Russia at the checkpoint in Avilo-Uspenka on 24 February 2022. (Photo: Olga Maltseva / AFP)*

![Cars line up at a gas station in Kiev, Ukraine, 24 February 2022. Russian troops entered Ukraine while the country's President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the nation to announce the imposition of martial law.  (Photo: EPA-EFE/SERGEY DOLZHENKO)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/dLXFXt_gXSFM1m6jar1Q4A67-Sw=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Ukraine_60.jpg)

*Cars line up at a gas station in Kiev, Ukraine, 24 February 2022. (Photo: EPA-EFE/SERGEY DOLZHENKO)*

![People stand in line outside a grocery store in Kiev (Kyiv), Ukraine, 24 February 2022. Russian troops entered Ukraine while the country's President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the nation to announce the imposition of martial law.  (Photo: EPA-EFE/SERGEY DOLZHENKO)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/jkFwpQTvizyD9IhFFhpHsoDsMYQ=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Ukraine_59.jpg)

*People stand in line outside a grocery store in Kiev (Kyiv), Ukraine, 24 February 2022. (Photo: EPA-EFE/SERGEY DOLZHENKO)*