After months of military buildup and brinkmanship, Russia has launched an unprecedented military assault on Ukraine.
Explosions rang through a number of Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv, in a broad attack that began before dawn on Thursday.
Earlier in the week, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into separatist-held parts of eastern Ukraine in what the Kremlin called a "peacekeeping" mission, just hours after he signed decrees recognizing the independence of the Moscow-backed regions.
European countries and the United States have begun rolling out sanctions in response to Russia's actions.
Here are some of the stories that made headlines over the past week, as well as some photos that caught our eye.

Protesters and police face each other as police move in to clear downtown Ottawa on Saturday, February 19. Protesters and their trucks and cars had been blockading streets in Canada's capital to demonstrate against a Covid-19 mandate that requires all Canadian truckers crossing the US-Canadian border to be fully vaccinated or quarantine in their homes for two weeks when they return.
Cole Burston/The Canadian Press/AP

Firefighters work to extinguish the flames coming from the Italian-flagged Euroferry Olympia off the coast of Corfu, Greece, on Saturday, February 19. The ferry was sailing from Greece to Italy early on Friday when it caught fire. The cause of the blaze is being investigated.
Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters

A scuffle breaks out after the Wisconsin Badgers' game against the Michigan Wolverines on Sunday, February 20. Michigan head coach Juwan Howard is out for the rest of the regular season after throwing a punch toward Wisconsin's coaching staff following the Wolverines' loss.
David Stluka/AP

Models prepare backstage during London Fashion Week on Saturday, February 19.
Henry Nicholls/Reuters

Fireworks burst over the Beijing National Stadium at the end of the Winter Olympics closing ceremony on Sunday, February 20.
James Hill/The New York Times/Redux

A wounded woman stands outside a hospital after an attack on the eastern Ukrainian town of Chuhuiv, outside of Kharkiv, on Thursday, February 24.
Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images

Firefighters burn a field in an attempt to fight wildfires near Ibera National Park in Corrientes, Argentina, on Tuesday, February 22. Burning parts of the land on purpose has historically prevented larger, more destructive fires. Indigenous people have been applying this preventative method, known as controlled or prescribed burns, for thousands of years.
Juan Mabromata/AFP/Getty Images

Abortion rights supporters celebrate in front of Colombia's Constitutional Court in Bogota, which ruled to partially decriminalize abortion on Monday, February 21. The ruling marked a major victory for the nation's feminist movements and reflects a wider shift in views across the region.
Nathalia Angarita/The New York Times/Redux

People who left a separatist-held region in eastern Ukraine watch an address by Russian President Vladimir Putin from their hotel room in Taganrog, Russia, on Monday, February 21. Putin blasted Kyiv's growing security ties with the West, and in lengthy remarks about the history of the USSR and the formation of the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic, he appeared to cast doubt on Ukraine's right to self-determination.
Sergey Ponomarev/The New York Times/Redux

Icelandic horses are seen at a stud farm in Wehrheim, Germany, on Monday, February 21.
Michael Probst/AP

Residents line up at a Covid-19 testing site in Hong Kong on Thursday, February 17. Hong Kong, along with mainland China, is one of the few places in the world still pursuing a zero-Covid policy.
Louise Delmontte/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Americans Elana Meyers Taylor and Sylvia Hoffman celebrate after winning bronze in the two-woman bobsled event in Beijing on Saturday, February 19. It was Meyers Taylor's fifth Olympic medal, making her the most decorated Black athlete in Winter Olympics history.
Julian Finney/Getty Images

Protesters opposing a proposed US-funded infrastructure program clash with police in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Sunday, February 20. A US government aid agency agreed in 2017 to provide $500 million in grants to fund a 300 kilometer (187 mile) electricity transmission line and a road improvement project in Nepal. Government officials said the grant will not have to be repaid and has no conditions attached, but opponents say the agreement would undermine Nepal's laws and sovereignty as lawmakers would have insufficient oversight of the board directing the infrastructure project.
Niranjan Shrestha/AP

Russian howitzers are loaded onto train cars near Taganrog, Russia, on Tuesday, February 22. Russia has been tightening its military grip around Ukraine since last year, amassing tens of thousands of soldiers, as well as equipment and artillery, on the country's doorstep.
The New York Times/Redux

Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, goes down a slide during a visit to the LEGO Foundation PlayLab in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Tuesday, February 22.
John Sibley/Pool/Reuters

Harrison Burton flips as he wrecks on the backstretch as Christopher Bell, left, and Ross Chastain try but are unable to avoid the crash during the NASCAR Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 20.
Chuck McQuinn/AP

Texan supporters of former US President Donald Trump are seen at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, on Thursday, February 24.
Damon Winter/The New York Times/Redux

Storks gather at the Tovlan landfill in the West Bank on Friday, February 18.
Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images

People watch as waves crash against the sea wall in Porthcawl, Wales, on Friday, February 18. Storm Eunice brought high winds across the region.
Geoff Caddick/AFP/Getty Images

US President Joe Biden arrives in the East Room of the White House to address the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, February 24. "Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences," Biden said, laying out a set of measures that will "impose severe cost on the Russian economy, both immediately and over time."
Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Austin Cindric celebrates in victory lane after winning the 64th annual Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 20. The 23-year-old Cindric slightly beat out Bubba Wallace to win his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory.
Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Poland's Magdalena Czyszczoń and Belarus' Maryna Zuyeva lead the pack during the speedskating mass start final during the Winter Olympics in Beijing on Saturday, February 19.
Jeff Pachoud/AFP/Getty Images

Sviatoslav Fursin, left, and Yaryna Arieva kneel during their wedding ceremony at St. Michael's cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, February 24. They had planned on getting married in May, but rushed to tie the knot due to the attacks by Russian forces. "We maybe can die, and we just wanted to be together before all of that," Arieva said.
Christian Streib/CNN

Volcanic ashes rising from the Mt. Etna volcano are seen from Pedara, Italy, on Monday, February 21. Mt. Etna is Europe's highest and most active volcano.
Salvatore Allegra/AP

American figure skating duo Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc skate in the pairs short program on Friday, February 18. LeDuc became the first openly nonbinary athlete to compete at a Winter Olympics.
Bernat Armangue/AP

Sandbar sharks swim next to a snorkler in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Hadera, Israel, on Wednesday, February 23. The hot water gushing from a nearby industrial plant attracts these sharks that are not considered to be dangerous to people, but are increasingly endangered by overfishing.
Ariel Schalit/AP

Mourners gather at a church in Kyiv on Tuesday, February 22, for the funeral of Ukrainian Army Capt. Anton Sydorov. The Ukrainian military said he was killed by a shrapnel wound on February 19 after several rounds of artillery fire were directed at Ukrainian positions near Myronivske.
Timothy Fadek/Redux for CNN

Lightning strikes during a thunderstorm in Montevideo, Uruguay, on Sunday, February 20.
Mariana Suarez/AFP/Getty Images

A woman cries during a pro-Ukrainian demonstration near Downing Street in London on Thursday, February 24.
Peter Cziborra/Reuters

A fire burns at the Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, on Thursday, February 17. Authorities said no one was injured.
Daniel Mears/Detroit News/AP

RB Leipzig's Emil Forsberg, left, celebrates after scoring during the Europa League playoff game against Real Sociedad in San Sebastian, Spain, on Thursday, February 24. Leipzig won 3-1.
Alvaro Barrientos/AP

A young boy plays with his tablet in a public basement used as a bomb shelter in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, February 24.
Emilio Morenatti/AP

Finnish hockey players celebrate after they defeated the Russian Olympic Committee team 2-1 in the gold-medal game during the Winter Olympics in Beijing on Sunday, February 20. It's the first Olympic gold for Finland in men's hockey.
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Newlyweds Alexandra Tabashnenko and Pavel Tabashnenko kiss after getting married in Odessa, Ukraine, on Friday, February 18.
Emilio Morenatti/AP