When cities become battlegrounds
Kyiv, Ukraine -
As the war in Ukraine intensifies, Russia has been repeatedly accused of bombing civilian and non-military targets.
Atlanta, USA -
The Battle of Atlanta laid waste to a once thriving city. Its fall on September 2, 1864 to Union forces left over 9,000 dead, with many more wounded.
Richmond, USA -
Richmond in Virginia was the capital of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War, and therefore a prime target for the Union Army.
First civilian target -
The first civilian target to be bombed from the air was the Belgian city of Antwerp during the First World War.
Cambrai, France -
Two battles for Cambrai, in 1917 and 1918, left the French city in near ruins.
Guernica, Spain -
One of the most infamous air assaults on a city during the 20th century was the attack on Guernica during the Spanish Civil War.
London, England -
The Blitz bombing campaign lasted from September 7, 1940 to May 11, 1941, during which numerous strategic cities across Britain were targeted.
Birmingham, England -
Britain's second city was another obvious target. Air raids on Birmingham on the nights of April 9-10, 1941 were especially brutal.
Warsaw, Poland -
Poland was an early victim of Nazi Germany aggression. By the end of the war, Polish cities were little more than piles of broken bricks.
Nuremberg, Germany -
Towards the end of the Second World War, much of Europe lay in ruins. This is bombed-out Nuremberg, pictured in June 1945.
Wesel, Germany -
Pictured: the remains of the German town of Wesel after intensive Allied area bombing in 1945.
Berlin, Germany -
By April 1945, Berlin as a functioning city ceased to exist. The capital of the Third Reich had crumbled under relentless attacks by Allied forces.
Hiroshima, Japan -
The Hiroshima atomic bomb of August 6, 1945 exploded with an energy of approximately 15 kilotons of TNT.
Wansan, Korea -
Conflict once again reared its ugly head in the Asia-Pacific region after North Korea, supplied and advised by the Soviet Union, invaded the South in 1950.
Hanoi, Vietnam -
In 1966, restrictions against bombing North Vietnam's capital city Hanoi and the country's largest port, Haiphong, were lifted.
Beirut, Lebanon -
Beirut was the epicenter of the long drawn-out Lebanese Civil War, which lasted from 1975 to 1990.
Grozny, Chechnya -
The Russian Army's invasion and subsequent conquest of Grozny during the First Chechan War left the capital city lifeless and in fragments.
Baghdad, Iraq -
The 2003 invasion of Iraq by coalition forces led by the United States included sustained bombardment of the capital Baghdad