TOPSHOT-UKRAINE-RUSSIA-CONFLICT-WAR

TOPSHOT - Servicemen of the Alkatraz special rifle battalion, former prisoners who volunteered to defend Ukraine, of the 93rd Motorized Brigade take part in a military drills in an undisclosed location in the Donetsk region on February 13, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. They dreamed of opening a business, starting a family, buying an apartment or climbing mountains. Instead, these Ukrainians are fighting to hold off Russia's army in a war they never asked for. Three years after the start of Russia's invasion on February 24, 2022, AFP asked soldiers to recount the hopes the conflict has stolen from them. (Photo by Genya SAVILOV / AFP) (Photo by GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images)