War has brought the world to the brink of a food crisis - CNN

London (CNN Business) Svein Tore Holsether says the world is careening toward a food crisis that could affect millions of people.

Record high natural gas prices have forced the company he runs, fertilizer producer Yara International , to curtail its production of ammonia and urea in Europe to 45% of capacity. With less of those two essential agricultural ingredients, he expects knock-on effects for global food supplies

"It's not whether we are going to have a food crisis. It's how large that crisis will be," Holsether told CNN Business.

Two weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, the prices of key agricultural products produced in the region have skyrocketed. The biggest problem is wheat , a pantry staple. Supplies from Russia and Ukraine, which together account for almost 30% of global wheat trade, are now at risk. Global wheat prices hit an all-time high earlier this week.

Another major problem is access to fertilizer. Essential for farmers to hit their production targets for crops, it's never been more expensive, as exports from Russia grind to a halt. Output in Europe has also plunged thanks to the surging price of natural gas, a key ingredient in nitrogen-based fertilizers like urea.

The situation is ringing alarm bells for global health experts. The cost of corn, soybeans and vegetable oils has been jumping, too.

Agriculture ministers from the G7 countries said Friday they "remain determined to do what is necessary to prevent and respond to a food crisis."

But fearing shortages, countries are already turning inward, which could ultimately leave less food for those in need.

Egypt just banned the export of wheat, flour, lentils and beans amid growing concerns over food reserves in the Arab world's most populous state. Indonesia has also tightened export restrictions on palm oil, which is a component in cooking oil as well as in cosmetics and some packaged goods like chocolate. It's the world's top producer of the product.

The G7 ministers called on countries to "keep their food and agricultural markets open and to guard against any unjustified restrictive measures on their exports."

"Any further increase in food price levels and volatility in international markets could threaten food security and nutrition at a global scale, especially among the most vulnerable living in environments of low food security," they said in a statement.

Western countries with more access to agriculture will be hurt, too. Consumers there have already been stung by higher prices, and the situation is poised to deteriorate further.

Russia, Ukraine and global food supplies

Even before Russia launched a war in Ukraine, the global food system was strained. Snarled supply chains and unpredictable weather patterns — often the result of climate change — had already pushed food prices to their highest level in about a decade. Affordability was also an issue after the pandemic left millions out of work.

The number of people on the edge of famine has jumped to 44 million from 27 million in 2019, the UN's World Food Programme said this month.

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which both play crucial roles in the carefully calibrated system of global food production, stands to make the situation worse.

Global wheat prices have fallen from record highs in recent days, but remain elevated. They're expected to stay that way for some time, according to Rabobank commodity analyst Carlos Mera.

The wheat planting season, which is about to begin in Ukraine, will be disrupted by fighting. It's not clear there will be enough farmers to till the land, as people in the country take up arms — or whether they'll be able to access machinery and other essential products that would typically arrive through Black Sea ports.

"It's anyone's guess if Ukraine will be able to export anything for the rest of this year, or next year, or in the foreseeable future," Mera said. The country also accounts for half of all exports of sunflower oil

Getting products from Russia onto the world market has also gotten more difficult, because businesses don't want to risk running afoul of sanctions or deal with the logistics of traveling near a war zone.

Russia and Ukraine serve as the breadbasket for countries in the Middle East and North Africa that depend on imports. Many will be hit hard as a result. The United States and Europe will feel the pain, too, since the run-up in prices for important agricultural goods will affect businesses that produce food in every market.

"Any serious disruption of production and exports from these suppliers will no doubt drive up prices further and erode food security for millions of people," the Agricultural Market Information System said in a recent report

Fertilizer costs soar

The brewing crisis goes beyond wheat and oils. Russia, along with its ally Belarus, is also a major exporter of the fertilizers needed to plant a wide range of crops. But right now, everyone is shunning their stock.

"Nobody wants to touch a Russian product right now," said Deepika Thapliyal, a fertilizer expert at Independent Commodity Intelligence Services. "If you look at all of the traders, all of the buyers, they're very scared."

The price of natural gas is exacerbating the issue. Fertilizer producers outside of Russia and Belarus need gas to make nitrogen-based products like urea, which is used when sowing crops to boost yield and even promotes their deep-green color.

But Holsether, the CEO of Yara, said costs have gotten too high to keep operations running at scale. He's not sure when European production will be at full capacity again.

"There's a large part of the industry that's at risk of not being able to deliver products to the farmers, and that will have an impact on the crop yields quite rapidly," he said.

Farmers have the incentive right now to pay what they need to get fertilizer, since prices for their products are going up, too. Not everyone has this option, however. Urea has been trading near $1,000 per metric ton, about four times the price at the start of 2021, according to Chris Lawson, the head of fertilizers at CRU Group, a market intelligence firm.

Countries without domestic fertilizer production may also struggle to access it, with huge consequences for the global food system.

"You can't grow massive fields of wheat, barley or soy without fertilizer," said Johanna Mendelson Forman, a professor at American University who specializes in war and food. Farmers in Mexico, Colombia and Brazil are already worried about shortages, she added.

The consequences

On Monday, Russian fertilizer and coal billionaire Andrey Melnichenko broke with President Vladimir Putin and called for peace in Ukraine, noting that a global food crisis looms.

The war "has already led to soaring prices in fertilizers which are no longer affordable to farmers," Melnichenko told Reuters. "Now it will lead to even higher food inflation in Europe and likely food shortages in the world's poorest countries," he added.

The G7 agriculture ministers said Friday that their countries would leverage humanitarian aid where they can to mitigate fallout from the war. But they may also be hamstrung by a dearth of supplies and rising prices.

"If Ukrainian fields lie fallow this year, aid agencies such as ours will be forced to source new markets to compensate for the loss of some of the world's best wheat," David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Programme, said in an op-ed published in the Washington Post this week. "Doing so will come at a vastly inflated cost."

Beasley noted that Ukrainian wheat has also been essential to feeding populations in other countries facing conflict, including Afghanistan, Sudan and Yemen.

"The vast majority of wheat is used for human consumption, and that's irreplaceable," Rabobank's Mera said.

And it won't just be countries grappling with famine or war that feel the effects.

The affordability of food is a problem for lower-income shoppers everywhere, Mendelson Forman emphasized. In April 2021, about one in seven American adults experienced food insecurity over the past 30 days, according to the Urban Institute.

"We're used to a globalized system of trade to get all kinds of varieties of food," she said. "People will see it in their pocketbooks, and they'll see it in the grocery stores."

— Mostafa Salem contributed reporting.

Elon Musk says his deal to buy Twitter is on hold - CNN

London (CNN Business) Elon Musk said he is putting his bid to acquire Twitter ( TWTR ) on hold, weeks after agreeing to take the company private in a $44 billion deal.

"Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users," Musk tweeted on Friday.

The news initially sent Twitter shares down more than 20% in pre-market trading before the stock rebounded somewhat. Two hours after his first tweet, Musk posted that he is "still committed to acquisition."

In his tweet about putting the deal on hold, Musk linked to a May 2 Reuters report about Twitter's most recent disclosure about its spam and fake account problem.

In its quarterly financial report , released on April 28, Twitter estimated that fake or spam accounts made up fewer than 5% of the platform's active users during the first three months of the year. Twitter noted that the estimates were based on a review of sample accounts and it believed the numbers to be "reasonable."

But it acknowledged that the measurements were not independently verified and the actual number of fake or spam accounts could be higher.

Twitter has had a spam problem for years, and the company has previously acknowledged that reducing fake and malicious accounts would play a key factor in its ability to keep growing. It's unclear why Musk would back away from the deal because of the latest disclosure.

A 'circus'

Musk turned "this Twitter circus show into a Friday the 13th horror show," wrote tech analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities in a note to clients early Friday.

Musk would owe Twitter a $1 billion breakup fee if he were to cancel the deal.

"The Street will view this deal as 1) likely falling apart, 2) Musk negotiating for a lower deal price, or 3) Musk simply walking away from the deal with a $1 billion breakup fee," Ives wrote. "Many will view this as Musk using this Twitter filing/spam accounts as a way to get out of this deal in a vastly changing market."

Stocks — tech in particular — have been sharply lower since Musk and Twitter reached a deal on a purchase of the the company nearly three weeks ago.

Flouting convention

The manner in which Musk announced the deal's pause — in a tweet -— was also unusual, at least by normal corporate merger and acquisition standards.

Acquirers of a company typically conduct due diligence, a review of the firm's finances and proprietary information, before a deal closes. In that process, they may come across information that causes them to rethink the deal or its valuation, but typically such a revelation would be disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"Usually we'd see some sort of filing that would come first, an amendment to previous filings on the deal, that says, 'we've uncovered some information in the process of due diligence and we're reconsidering our acquisition,'" said Josh White, an assistant professor of finance at Vanderbilt University and a former financial economist for the SEC.

"This happens as you get access to the books and access to proprietary information. What doesn't normally happen is a tweet," White said.

The unusual move may not be significant enough to warrant SEC action, White said, but it could draw the attention of Twitter's lawyers. As part of the deal, Musk agreed to consult with Twitter before making any public statements about the deal, and to avoid making any tweets that "disparage the company," according to filings with the SEC. Still, Twitter's board will likely prefer the deal to go through because of its strong valuation compared to the company's current stock price.

But if the deal falls apart, "I would expect Twitter's current shareholders to potentially bring a lawsuit" saying Musk's actions had damaged them by tanking the stock price, White added.

Twitter did not return a request for comment on Musk's Friday tweets.

Skepticism from the start

Even as Musk has worked to secure financing for the takeover, skepticism about whether the deal would go through has been swirling since Twitter's board agreed to the offer on April 26.

Musk said he would buy Twitter for $54.20 a share. But Twitter's stock never approached that price , hovering below $50 for weeks. That was a sign investors were skeptical that Musk would ultimately make good on his offer.

Wall Street analysts weren't convinced of Musk's ability to buy Twitter, either — at least not at $54.20 a share. The consensus target price was below $52, and the vast majority put a "hold" rating on the company's stock.

Tesla's TSLA Part of the problem has been Twitter's connection tofate. Musk, Tesla's CEO, was planning to borrow against part of his Tesla stake to finance the deal, but Tesla's stock has been sinking fast alongside most other stocks this year.

Musk's sale of a significant number of Tesla shares to help finance his Twitter deal had also put pressure on the carmaker's stock. Having already committed a big chunk of his Tesla shares elsewhere, he wasn't left with much of a cushion should he need to pony up more funds to complete the Twitter takeover.

Tesla TSLA Ives said the news about the Twitter deal was good forshares, which roared 6% higher in premarket trading Friday. Shares of Tesla, the world's most valuable automaker, have lost about a third of their value since Musk disclosed he had taken a stake in Twitter.

In addition to selling $8.5 billion of his Tesla shares last month, or about 6% of his holdings, Musk was using his shares of Tesla as part of the collateral he needed to raise cash for the Twitter purchase. But the drop in the value of Tesla shares had raised doubts if he would be able to move forward with the financing of the Twitter deal.

The Wall Street Journal has also reported that the SEC and the Federal Trade Commission were both looking Musk's purchases of Twitter earlier this year and whether he properly disclosed them.

Musk's plans for Twitter

Musk had offered few details about his plans for the social media company, though he has often spoken out about bot accounts that promoted spam content. He also says the company has been too quick to remove accounts that violate its content-moderation rules.

On Tuesday, Musk made headlines by saying he would allow former President Donald Trump to return to Twitter once the takeover was complete. Trump's account was permanently removed after his followers' attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Earlier this week Twitter confirmed that it is pausing most hiring and backfills, except for "business critical" roles, and pulling back on other non-labor costs. It also confirmed that two top executives, general manager of consumer Kayvon Beykpour, and revenue product lead Bruce Falck, were leaving the company.

Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal sent a series of tweets Friday afternoon acknowledging the leadership shakeup at the company the previous day.

"Some have been asking why a 'lame-duck' CEO would make these changes if we're getting acquired anyway," Agrawal said. "While I expect the deal to close, we need to be prepared for all scenarios and always do what's right for Twitter. I'm accountable for leading and operating Twitter, and our job is to build a stronger Twitter every day."

-— CNN Business' Clare Duffy and Allison Morrow contributed to this article.

Bitcoin tumbles more than 50% below its all-time high as crypto ...

New York (CNN Business) So much for bitcoin being digital gold.

The world's most valuable cryptocurrency was down 10% Monday after plunging again over the weekend. Bitcoin prices have now plummeted nearly 20% in the past week. At a price of just below $31,000, bitcoin is more than 50% below its record high of near $69,000 from late last year and at its lowest point since July 2021.

Other cryptocurrencies, sometimes referred to as altcoins , have been hit hard too. Ethereum, binance, solana and cardano are all down about 15% in the past week, while Elon Musk's beloved dogecoin has tumbled 10%.

Cryptocurrencies are proving to be just as risky as stocks and susceptible to the same concerns that are dragging down the Dow S&P 500 and Nasdaq

"Volatile trading in digital assets has not been that unusual in previous years," said Michael Kamerman, CEO of trading platform Skilling. "Cryptocurrencies are increasingly moving in sync with tech stocks with investors treating both as risk assets and often retreating to safer corners of the market during bouts of market volatility."

Kamerman said he is still bullish on bitcoin for the long term. More hedge funds and other big institutions are starting to invest in crypto, and some global central banks are beginning to embrace it too.

But he added that "bitcoin is not immune to the global inflation risk spreading across most other asset classes. Therefore we should expect to see the downward trend continue."

Bitcoin hit by the same problems dragging down stocks

The 10-year Treasury bond yield is now hovering just above 3.1%, having more than doubled this year. Long-term bond yields are now at their highest level since November 2018.

The surge in yields has also helped lift the value of the dollar , which tends tor rise in tandem with interest rates. The US Dollar Index is now trading near its highest level in twenty years. That's bad news for bitcoin too, as many crypto backers point to dollar weakness as a bullish sign for digital currencies.

As rates (and the dollar) continue to climb, some crypto skeptics think the selling in bitcoin has only just begun. The Federal Reserve is starting to pull back on monthly bond purchases and other stimulus which could be bad news for all sorts of speculative assets.

"The dramatic reversal of Fed liquidity ... will collapse the pandemic era bubble in crypto currencies, money losing tech companies and meme stocks," said Jay Hatfield, chief investment officer of Infrastructure Capital Management and manager of the InfraCap Equity Income ETF.

Hatfield said he thinks bitcoin could plunge as low as $20,000 by the end of the year.

The crypto collapse is also hurting several stocks with exposure to the industry. Broker Coinbase plummeted 17% Monday and is down more than 65% this year. Robinhood , which also lets people buy and sell some cryptocurrencies, has fallen more than 45% in 2022.

Hive Blockchain HVBTF Marathon Digital Holdings MARA Riot Blockchain RIOT And shares of several cryptocurrency miners, the companies that run servers which solve the complex mathematical puzzles needed to generate new bitcoin and other cryptos, have tanked too.andare all down between 50% and 60% this year.

The massive pullback in these and other momentum tech stocks is yet another sign of the rapid shift in the market's mood this year. The CNN Business Fear & Greed Index , which measures seven indicators of market sentiment, is in Extreme Fear territory.

Investors may continue to shun volatile cryptos in favor of safe havens, such as dividend-paying blue chip stocks.

Traders are "more reluctant to adopt the additional risk associated with the crypto sphere," said Tammy Da Costa, an analyst at DailyFX, in a report.

She added that "the future of individual coins or tokens remains dubious" and that "interest rate hikes are likely to jeopardize the short-term potential for profits" in bitcoin, ethereum and other established cryptos.

Oil tops $100: When will you see $4 gas in your state? - CNN

New York (CNN Business) Gas prices were rising rapidly even before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but with the current shock to the oil market, $4 a gallon gas is now likely to be widespread across the country in a matter of weeks — if not sooner.

The average price of a gallon of regular stood at $3.54 nationwide Thursday, according to figures AAA collected from US gas stations. But wholesale gasoline prices soared 14 cents a gallon, or 5%, in trading Thursday, pushing oil futures above $100 a barrel for the benchmark Brent crude for the first time since 2014.

The jump in wholesale gas prices will likely be passed on to consumers at the pump within days, said Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis for the Oil Price Information Service, the firm that tracks gas data for AAA.

"Every single distributor and retailer will look to get filled up today," he said Thursday morning. "They'll be paying $3 for wholesale gas, but they're worried about paying $4 a gallon next time."

Kloza believes the national average will likely reach $4 a gallon by mid-March. That would be the first time gas hits a level that high since the summer of 2008, when prices reached a record average of $4.11 a gallon. Kloza expects that record to fall sometime between mid-April and Memorial Day.

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Elon Musk and brother reportedly face insider trading probe - CNN

New York (CNN Business) Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his brother are under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for possibly violating insider trading rules, according to media reports.

The Wall Street Journal , citing unnamed people familiar with the probe, said the investor watchdog agency is looking into sales of Tesla shares by Kimbal Musk, a member of the Tesla board, just before his brother, Elon, announced on Twitter that he would sell 10% of his own Tesla holdings, a move that sentshares sharply lower in the days that followed.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment on the reports, and CNN Business hasn't independently confirmed the investigation.

The Financial Times reported that Musk denied wrongdoing, telling the paper that the investigation is "simply more evidence of Stevie grinding his very tiny axe yet again."

The reference is apparently to Steven Buchholz, an SEC staffer in the agency's San Francisco office, who is involved in SEC enforcement cases involving Musk and Tesla.

Musk's lawyers also filed a complaint Monday charging that there had been leaks by the SEC of its probe into Musk, without detailing what those leaks revealed. The Journal story that disclosed the the probe was published on Thursday.

The investigation reportedly centers on Kimbal Musk's sale of 88,500 Tesla shares in November, for which he received nearly $109 million.

The shares represented about 15% of his stake in Tesla at the time. Unlike his brother Elon who has rarely sold stock, Kimbal Musk has regularly sold shares in the company.

Musk gets no cash salary or bonus from Tesla and is compensated through lucrative stock options that become taxable only when he uses them to purchase shares.

JUST WATCHED Tesla shares fall after Elon Musk's Twitter poll Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Tesla shares fall after Elon Musk's Twitter poll 01:38

His Twitter followers voted strongly in favor of the sale in a poll. Elon Musk began selling shares on Monday, November 8. Tesla's stock fell 5% that day , both because Musk's decision to sell was seen by some as a lack of faith, and because the large sale put downward pressure on its price. By itself Musk's sales that day — 934,000 shares valued at $1.1 billion — amounted to about 3% of Tesla shares traded.

If Kimbal Musk had waited and sold his shares after his brother did, he would have received $5.8 million less. Company insiders, such as executives and members of the board of directors, are not allowed to trade when they have material information that is not yet public that could affect the value of the stock.

It is not clear whether Elon Musk's decision to exercise the options and sell shares, or his plans to have a Twitter poll, would constitute company information and be subject to insider trading rules.

In his comments to the Financial Times, Elon Musk said "Kimbal had no idea I was going to do a Twitter poll." He added: "The idea that I would care about whether my brother might sell shares for a few million dollars less when my Twitter poll caused my own share sale to be over a billion dollars less is utterly absurd."

Between November 8 and the end of the year, Musk exercised options to acquire 22.9 million shares and sell a total of 15.7 million shares for $16.4 billion. Most of those sales were used to pay withholding taxes on the exercise of options. He also donated shares worth about $5.7 billion to an unidentified charity.

Musk eventually dropped plans to take the company private . Today, shares of Tesla are worth nearly 10 times the price at which Musk was proposing to pay to take it private.

The 2018 agreement, known as a consent decree , forced Musk to give up his title as Tesla chairman, though he retained the CEO title. He and Tesla were each forced to pay a $20 million fine, and Musk was ordered to have his tweets about material information related to the company reviewed before he posted them. In his comment to the Financial Times, he said company lawyers were aware he was going to conduct the Twitter poll about a sale of his shares.

-- Matt McFarland contributed to this report.

A Chinese vlogger shared videos of war-torn Ukraine. He's been ...

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Oleksiy Chernyshov, Ukrainian President Zelensky's special envoy for EU accession, walks with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian PM Mario Draghi past destroyed buildings in Irpin, Ukraine, on June 16. Hide Caption 1 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Young people swing in front of destroyed residential buildings in Borodyanka, Ukraine, on June 15. Hide Caption 2 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A Ukrainian bomb disposal expert looks at an ordnance shell during a mine clearance operation in Solonytsivka, near Kharkiv, Ukraine, on June 15. Hide Caption 3 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian servicemen fire a French 155mm CAESAR self-propelled howitzer towards Russian positions in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas on June 15. Hide Caption 4 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A forensic technician inspects a mass grave near the village of Vorzel in the Bucha district near Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 13. Hide Caption 5 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Russian servicemen guard an area of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine, on June 13. Hide Caption 6 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Local residents walk along an empty street as smoke rises in the background in the town of Lysychansk, Ukraine, on June 10. Hide Caption 7 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A Ukrainian soldier takes cover during heavy fighting at the front line in Severodonetsk , Ukraine, on Wednesday, June 8. Hide Caption 8 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian troops fire surface-to-surface rockets from MLRS towards Russian positions at the front line in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas on June 7. Hide Caption 9 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A Ukrainian soldier holds a next generation light anti-tank weapon (NLAW) at a position on the front line near Bakhmut in the Donbas region of Ukraine on June 5. Hide Caption 10 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, left, listens to Ukraine's Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktov during a tour of Borodyanka, Ukraine, on June 4. Hide Caption 11 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Local residents examine a destroyed Russian tank outside of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday, May 31. It has now been 100 days since Russia invaded. Hide Caption 12 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, third from left, visits front-line positions during a trip to the Kharkiv region on Sunday, May 29. Hide Caption 13 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Russian soldier Vadim Shishimarin, 21, is sentenced to life in prison by a Ukrainian court in Kyiv on May 23. He was convicted of killing an unarmed civilian. It was the first war crimes trial arising from Russia's invasion. Hide Caption 14 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Buses with Ukrainian servicemen evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant wait near a prison in Olyonivka on May 17. The steel plant was the last holdout in Mariupol, a city that had become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance under relentless Russian bombardment. Hide Caption 15 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian servicemen fire mortars toward Russian positions in the east Kharkiv region of Ukraine on May 17. Hide Caption 16 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A woman named Tatyana searches for her husband's grave in the settlement of Staryi Krym, outside Mariupol, on May 15. Hide Caption 17 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian service personnel work inside a basement used as a command post in the Kharkiv region on May 15. Hide Caption 18 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Grieving relatives attend the funeral of Pankratov Oleksandr, a Ukrainian military serviceman, in Lviv, Ukraine, on May 14. Hide Caption 19 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian people evacuated from Mariupol arrive on buses at a registration and processing area for internally displaced people in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on May 8. Hide Caption 20 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian serviceman and emergency workers carry the body of a Russian soldier into a refrigerated train in Kharkiv on May 5. The bodies of more than 40 Russian soldiers were being stored in the refrigerated car. Hide Caption 21 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Smoke rises from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol on May 5. Hide Caption 22 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian soldiers clear mines at the Antonov Airport in Hostomel, Ukraine, on May 5. Hide Caption 23 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Vehicles are on fire at an oil depot in Makiivka, Ukraine, after missiles struck a facility in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces on May 4. Hide Caption 24 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Natalia Pototska cries next to her grandson Matviy as they arrive at a center for displaced people in Zaporizhzhia on May 2. Hide Caption 25 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Pro-Russian troops stand guard next to a bus transporting evacuees near a temporary accommodation center in the Ukrainian village of Bezimenne on May 1. Hide Caption 26 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, center, meets with US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as a congressional delegation visited Kyiv on April 30. Pelosi is the most senior US official to meet with Zelensky since Russia invaded Ukraine. Hide Caption 27 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A man stands on the balcony of his apartment after a missile strike damaged a residential building in Ukraine's Donetsk region on April 30. Hide Caption 28 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A woman walks through the site of an explosion in Kyiv on April 29. Russia struck the Ukrainian capital shortly after a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Hide Caption 29 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Guterres speaks during his meeting with Zelensky on April 28. Hide Caption 30 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A team member with the International Atomic Energy Agency arrives at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine, on April 26. Russian forces withdrew from Chernobyl, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster, in March. Hide Caption 31 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Maria, 13, holds a photograph of her father, Yurii Alekseev, as she and her godfather, Igor Tarkovskii, attend Alekseev's funeral in Bucha, Ukraine, on April 26. Alekseev, 50, was a territorial defense member who was killed by Russian soldiers, according to his family. Hide Caption 32 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin attend a meeting in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on April 24. Hide Caption 33 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A couple looks at a memorial wall in Lviv on April 24. The wall shows Ukrainian civilians who have been killed during the Russian invasion. Hide Caption 34 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine People pray during an Easter church service at St. Michael's Cathedral in Kyiv on April 24. Hide Caption 35 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Women walk between sandbags and anti-tank barricades in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, to attend a blessing of traditional Easter food baskets on April 23. Hide Caption 36 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Members of the Ukrainian Red Cross talk before moving an elderly woman to an ambulance in a bunker under a factory in Severodonetsk, Ukraine, on April 22. Hide Caption 37 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A woman who recently evacuated Mariupol cries after arriving at a registration center for internally displaced people in Zaporizhzhia on April 21. Hide Caption 38 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Emergency workers remove the body of a person killed during the Russian attack on Mariupol. Hide Caption 39 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Vova, 10, looks at the body of his mother, Maryna, lying in a coffin as his father, Ivan, prays during her funeral in Bucha on April 20. She died during Russia's occupation of the city, as the family sheltered in a cold basement for more than a month. Hide Caption 40 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, right, speaks with European Council President Charles Michel during a meeting in Kyiv on April 20. Hide Caption 41 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A Ukrainian serviceman stands next to a multiple rocket-launch system in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine on April 20. Hide Caption 42 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Firefighters work in Lviv after a civilian building was hit by a Russian missile on April 18. Hide Caption 43 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Smoke rises above Mariupol on April 18. Hide Caption 44 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Women clean inside a damaged building at the Vizar company military-industrial complex in Vyshneve, Ukraine, on April 15. The site, on the outskirts of Kyiv, was hit by Russian strikes. Hide Caption 45 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Firefighters work at a burning building in Kharkiv following a missile attack near the Kharkiv International Airport on April 12. Hide Caption 46 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Mourners react in Stebnyk, Ukraine, during the funeral ceremony of Ukrainian serviceman Roman Tiaka. Tiaka was 47. Hide Caption 47 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian forces fire rockets toward Russian positions in Ukraine's Donbas region on April 10. Hide Caption 48 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A man works to catalog some of the bodies of civilians who were killed in and around Bucha. Shocking images showing the bodies of civilians scattered across the suburb of Kyiv sparked international outrage and raised the urgency of ongoing investigations into alleged Russian war crimes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Russian leaders to be held accountable for the actions of the nation's military. The Russian Ministry of Defense, without evidence, claimed the extensive footage of Bucha was "fake." Hide Caption 49 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Search-and-rescue teams remove debris after the Ukrainian army regained control of Borodianka, Ukraine, on April 6. Hide Caption 50 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine People wait to board a train as they flee Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on April 5. Hide Caption 51 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Destruction is seen in Borodianka on April 5. Borodianka was home to 13,000 people before the war, but most fled after Russia's invasion. What was left of the town, after intense shelling and devastating airstrikes, was then occupied by Russian forces. Hide Caption 52 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to the media about the alleged atrocities in Bucha on April 4. "It's very difficult to negotiate when you see what (the Russians) have done here," Zelensky emphasized as he stood in the town, surrounded by security. Hide Caption 53 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Anna Zhelisko touches the casket of her grandson, Ukrainian soldier Dmitry Zhelisko, as it arrives for his funeral in Chervonohrad, Ukraine, on April 3. He died fighting the Russian army near Kharkiv. Hide Caption 54 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Smoke rises over Odesa, Ukraine, on April 3. The Russian defense ministry confirmed a strike on an oil refinery and fuel storage facilities in the port city. Hide Caption 55 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Bodies lie on a street in Bucha on April 2. Images captured by Agence France-Presse showed at least 20 civilian men dead. Hide Caption 56 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A Ukrainian serviceman stands with a handcuffed Russian soldier in Kharkiv on March 31. Hide Caption 57 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A satellite image shows a shelled warehouse that was being used by the Red Cross in Mariupol on March 29. Hide Caption 58 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Russian and Ukrainian delegations meet in Istanbul for talks on March 29. Russia said it would "drastically reduce" its military assault on the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Chernihiv. The announcement came after Ukrainian and Western intelligence assessments recently suggested that Russia's advance on Kyiv was stalling. The talks also covered other important issues, including the future of the eastern Donbas region, the fate of Crimea, a broad alliance of security guarantors and a potential meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Hide Caption 59 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A woman named Julia cries next to her 6-year-old daughter, Veronika, while talking to the press in Brovary, Ukraine, on March 29. Hide Caption 60 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine The regional government headquarters of Mykolaiv, Ukraine, is damaged following a Russian attack on March 29. At least nine people were killed, according to the Mykolaiv regional media office's Telegram channel. Hide Caption 61 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine An armored convoy of pro-Russian troops travel on a road leading to Mariupol on March 28. Hide Caption 62 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A volunteer weaves a bulletproof vest in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on March 28. Hide Caption 63 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A woman lights a candle during the Sunday service at a monastery in Odesa on March 27. Hide Caption 64 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A Ukrainian serviceman stands in a heavily damaged building in Stoyanka, Ukraine, on March 27. Hide Caption 65 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Orphaned children travel by train after fleeing the Russian-controlled town of Polohy, Ukraine, on March 26. Hide Caption 66 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A man recovers items from a burning shop following a Russian attack in Kharkiv on March 25. Hide Caption 67 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses world leaders via video at the NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium, on March 24. Zelensky stopped short of issuing his usual request for a no-fly zone, but he did say Ukraine needs fighter jets, tanks and better air defenses. Hide Caption 68 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A child holds a Ukrainian flag in front of the Taras Shevchenko monument as members of the Ukrainian National Guard band perform in Lviv on March 24. Hide Caption 69 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A firefighter sprays water inside a house that was destroyed by shelling in Kyiv on March 23. Hide Caption 70 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Svetlana Ilyuhina looks at the wreckage of her home in Kyiv following a Russian rocket attack on March 23. "First there was smoke, and then everything went black," she said. Hide Caption 71 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Pictures lie amid the rubble of a house in Kyiv on March 23. Hide Caption 72 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A woman cleans up a room March 21 in a building that was damaged by bombing in Kyiv. Hide Caption 73 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine The Retroville shopping mall is seen in Kyiv after Russian shelling on March 21. Hide Caption 74 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine People share dinner and sing "Happy Birthday" during a celebration in Kyiv on March 20. This studio space has turned into a bomb shelter for approximately 25 artists who are volunteering to help the war effort. Hide Caption 75 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Former Ukrainian Parliament member Tetiana Chornovol, now a service member and operator of an anti-tank guided missile system, examines a Russian tank she destroyed in a recent battle in the Kyiv region. Hide Caption 76 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A Ukrainian serviceman stands among debris after shelling in a residential area in Kyiv on March 18. Hide Caption 77 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine US President Joe Biden holds a virtual meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in this photo that was released by the White House on March 18. Biden sought to use the 110-minute call to dissuade Xi from assisting Russia in its war on Ukraine. Hide Caption 78 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Staff members attend to a child at a children's hospital in Zaporizhzhia on March 18. Hide Caption 79 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a rally at a stadium in Moscow on March 18. Speaking from a stage in front of a banner that read "for a world without Nazism," Putin said Russia "will definitely implement all our plans" in Ukraine. He insisted that national unity was the strongest in a long time, even as many people flee Russia or protest against war in the streets. State workers were told by authorities to attend the celebration, which commemorated the eighth year of Russia's annexation of Crimea. Hide Caption 80 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky receives a standing ovation as he virtually addresses the US Congress on March 16. The historic speech occurred as the United States is under pressure to provide more military assistance to the embattled country. Hide Caption 81 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine An elderly woman is helped by police officers after she was rescued from an apartment that was hit by shelling in Kyiv on March 15. Hide Caption 82 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Firefighters work to extinguish flames at an apartment building in Kyiv on March 15. Hide Caption 83 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Military cadets attend a funeral ceremony at a church in Lviv on March 15. The funeral was for four of the Ukrainian servicemen who were killed during an airstrike on the Yavoriv military base near the Polish border. Local authorities say 35 people were killed. Hide Caption 84 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A woman walks past a damaged window to lay flowers at a makeshift memorial for victims in Donetsk, Ukraine, on March 15. Hide Caption 85 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian soldiers take cover from incoming artillery fire in Irpin, Ukraine, on March 13. Hide Caption 86 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A Ukrainian soldier surveys a destroyed government building in Kharkiv on March 13. Hide Caption 87 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A mother and son rest in Lviv, Ukraine, while waiting to board a train to Poland on March 12. Hide Caption 88 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine An explosion is seen at an apartment building in Mariupol on March 11. The city in southeastern Ukraine has been besieged by Russian forces. Hide Caption 89 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Mariana Vishegirskaya's husband, Yuri, holds their newborn daughter, Veronika, at a hospital in Mariupol on March 11. Vishegirskaya survived the maternity hospital bombing in the city earlier in the week. Hide Caption 90 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine People pay their respects during a funeral service for three Ukrainian soldiers in Lviv on March 11. Senior Soldier Andrii Stefanyshyn, 39; Senior Lt. Taras Didukh, 25; and Sgt. Dmytro Kabakov, 58, were laid to rest at the Saints Peter and Paul Garrison Church. Even in this sacred space, the sounds of war intruded: an air raid siren audible under the sound of prayer and weeping. Yet no one stirred. Residents are now inured to the near-daily warnings of an air attack. Hide Caption 91 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov gives a news conference after meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Antalya, Turkey, on March 10. Two weeks into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Lavrov falsely claimed that his country "did not attack" its neighbor. Hide Caption 92 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A resident takes shelter in a basement in Irpin on March 10. Due to heavy fighting, Irpin has been without heat, water or electricity for several days. Hide Caption 93 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Emergency workers carry an injured pregnant woman outside of a bombed maternity hospital in Mariupol on March 9. The woman and her baby later died, a surgeon who was treating her confirmed. The attack came despite Russia agreeing to a 12-hour pause in hostilities to allow refugees to evacuate. Hide Caption 94 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Dead bodies are placed into a mass grave on the outskirts of Mariupol on March 9. With overflowing morgues and repeated shelling, the city has been unable to hold proper burials. Hide Caption 95 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Cars drive past a destroyed Russian tank as civilians leave Irpin on March 9. A Ukrainian official said lines of vehicles stretched for miles as people tried to escape fighting in districts to the north and northwest of Kyiv. Hide Caption 96 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is displayed on a screen as he addresses British lawmakers via video on March 8. "We will not give up and we will not lose. We will fight until the end at sea, in the air. We will continue fighting for our land, whatever the cost," he said in his comments translated by an interpreter. The House of Commons gave Zelensky a standing ovation at the end of his address. Hide Caption 97 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A firefighter works to extinguish flames after a chemical warehouse was reportedly hit by Russian shelling near Kalynivka, Ukraine, on March 8. Hide Caption 98 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Members of the Red Cross help people fleeing the Kyiv suburb of Irpin on March 7. Hide Caption 99 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine The dead bodies of civilians killed while trying to flee are covered by sheets in Irpin on March 6. CNN determined they were killed in a Russian military strike. Hide Caption 100 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Civilians seek protection in a basement bomb shelter in Kyiv on March 6. Hide Caption 101 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Local residents help clear the rubble of a home that was destroyed by a suspected Russian airstrike in Markhalivka, Ukraine, on March 5. Hide Caption 102 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine George Keburia says goodbye to his wife and children as they board a train in Odesa on March 5. They were heading to Lviv. Hide Caption 103 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian officials say several people were injured in a Russian missile attack on Kyiv on Thursday, April 28, which occurred as the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres was finishing a visit to the Ukrainian capital. Hide Caption 104 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomes UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres before their meeting , in Kyiv, on April 28. Hide Caption 105 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A statue is covered in Lviv on March 5. Residents wrapped statues in protective sheets to try to safeguard historic monuments across the city. Hide Caption 106 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainians crowd under a destroyed bridge as they try to flee across the Irpin River on the outskirts of Kyiv on March 5. Hide Caption 107 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Marina Yatsko runs behind her boyfriend, Fedor, as they arrive at the hospital with her 18-month-old son, Kirill, who was wounded by shelling in Mariupol on March 4. Medical workers frantically tried to save the boy's life, but he didn't survive. Hide Caption 108 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine People remove personal belongings from a burning house after shelling in Irpin on March 4. Hide Caption 109 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Oksana and her son Dmytro stand over the open casket of her husband, Volodymyr Nezhenets, during his funeral in Kyiv on March 4. According to the Washington Post, he was a member of Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces, which is comprised mostly of volunteers. Hide Caption 110 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine People crowd on a platform as they try to board a westbound train in Kyiv on March 4. Hide Caption 111 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A bullet-ridden bus is seen after an ambush in Kyiv on March 4. Hide Caption 112 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine People take shelter on the floor of a hospital during shelling in Mariupol on March 4. Hide Caption 113 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A member of the Ukrainian military gives instructions to civilians in Irpin on March 4. They were about to board an evacuation train headed to Kyiv. Hide Caption 114 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Surveillance camera footage shows a flare landing at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Enerhodar, Ukraine, during shelling on March 4. Ukrainian authorities said Russian forces have "occupied" the power plant. Hide Caption 115 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A Ukrainian child rests on a bed at a temporary refugee center in Záhony, Hungary, on March 4. Hide Caption 116 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A residential building destroyed by shelling is seen in Borodyanka, Ukraine, on March 3. Russian forces have shown a "willingness to hit civilian infrastructure on purpose," a senior US defense official told reporters. Hide Caption 117 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Leos Leonid recovers at a hospital in Kyiv on March 3. The 64-year-old survived being crushed when an armored vehicle drove over his car. Video of the incident was widely shared on social media. Hide Caption 118 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A Ukrainian soldier carries a baby across a destroyed bridge on the outskirts of Kyiv on March 3. Hide Caption 119 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Residents react in front of a burning building after shelling in Kharkiv on March 3. Hide Caption 120 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A Ukrainian soldier who says he was shot three times in the opening days of the invasion sits on a hospital bed in Kyiv on March 3. Hide Caption 121 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine People form a human chain to transfer supplies into Kyiv on March 3. Hide Caption 122 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A cemetery worker digs graves for Ukrainian soldiers in Kyiv on March 3. Hide Caption 123 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A mother cares for her two infant sons in the underground shelter of a maternity hospital in Kyiv on March 3. She gave birth a day earlier, and she and her husband haven't yet decided on names for the twins. Hide Caption 124 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A member of Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces sits with a weapon in Kyiv on March 2. Hide Caption 125 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Paramedics treat an elderly woman wounded by shelling before transferring her to a hospital in Mariupol on March 2. Hide Caption 126 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Residents of Zhytomyr work in the remains of a residential building on March 2. The building was destroyed by shelling. Hide Caption 127 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A woman reads a story to children while they take shelter in a subway station in Kyiv on March 2. Hide Caption 128 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A member of Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces inspects damage in the backyard of a house in Gorenka on March 2. Hide Caption 129 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A Ukrainian woman takes her children over the border in Siret, Romania, on March 2. Many Ukrainians are fleeing the country at a pace that could turn into "Europe's largest refugee crisis this century," the United Nations Refugee Agency said. Hide Caption 130 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Militia members set up anti-tank barricades in Kyiv on March 2. Hide Caption 131 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine People wait at a train station in Kyiv on March 2. Hide Caption 132 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine People shelter in a subway station in Kyiv on March 2. Hide Caption 133 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky poses for a picture in a Kyiv bunker after an exclusive interview with CNN and Reuters on March 1. Zelensky said that as long as Moscow's attacks on Ukrainian cities continued, little progress could be made in talks between the two nations. "It's important to stop bombing people, and then we can move on and sit at the negotiation table," he said. Hide Caption 134 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine An explosion is seen at a TV tower in Kyiv on March 1. Russian forces fired rockets near the tower and struck a Holocaust memorial site in Kyiv hours after warning of "high-precision" strikes on other facilities linked to Ukrainian security agencies. Hide Caption 135 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian soldiers attend Mass at an Orthodox monastery in Kyiv on March 1. Hide Caption 136 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Medical workers show a mother her newborn after she gave birth at a maternity hospital in Mariupol on March 1. The hospital is now also used as a medical ward and bomb shelter. Hide Caption 137 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine An administrative building is seen in Kharkiv after Russian shelling on March 1. Russian forces have scaled up their bombardment of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. Hide Caption 138 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian emergency workers carry a body of a victim following shelling that hit the City Hall building in Kharkiv on March 1. Hide Caption 139 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A woman named Helen comforts her 8-year-old daughter, Polina, in the bomb shelter of a Kyiv children's hospital on March 1. The girl was at the hospital being treated for encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain. Hide Caption 140 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian refugees try to stay warm at the Medyka border crossing in Poland on March 1. Hide Caption 141 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Volunteers in Kyiv sign up to join Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces on February 28. Hide Caption 142 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A member of the Territorial Defense Forces loads rifle magazines in Kyiv on February 28. Hide Caption 143 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Delegations from Russia and Ukraine hold talks in Belarus on February 28. Both sides discussed a potential "ceasefire and the end of combat actions on the territory of Ukraine," Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhaylo Podolyak told reporters. Without going into detail, Podolyak said that both sides would return to their capitals for consultations over whether to implement a number of "decisions." Hide Caption 144 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A displaced Ukrainian cradles her child at a temporary shelter set up inside a gymnasium in Beregsurány, Hungary, on February 28. Hide Caption 145 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian forces order a man to the ground on February 28 as they increased security measures amid Russian attacks in Kyiv. Hide Caption 146 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Smoke billows over the Ukrainian city of Vasylkiv, just outside Kyiv on February 27. A fire at an oil storage area was seen raging at the Vasylkiv Air Base. Hide Caption 148 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine People wait on a platform inside the railway station in Lviv on February 27. Thousands of people at Lviv's main train station attempted to board trains that would take them out of Ukraine. Hide Caption 149 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A Russian armored vehicle burns after fighting in Kharkiv on February 27. Street fighting broke out as Russian troops entered Ukraine's second-largest city, and residents were urged to stay in shelters and not travel. Hide Caption 150 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Local residents prepare Molotov cocktails in Uzhhorod, Ukraine, on February 27. Hide Caption 151 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Cars line up on the road outside Mostyska, Ukraine, as people attempt to flee to Poland on February 27. Hide Caption 152 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian troops in Kyiv escort a prisoner February 27 who they suspected of being a Russian agent. Hide Caption 153 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian forces patrol mostly empty streets in Kyiv on February 27. Mayor Vitali Klitschko extended a citywide curfew. Hide Caption 154 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian service members take position at the Vasylkiv Air Base near Kyiv on February 27. Hide Caption 155 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A woman sleeps on chairs February 27 in the underground parking lot of a Kyiv hotel that has been turned into a bomb shelter. Hide Caption 156 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine An apartment building in Kyiv is seen after it was damaged by shelling on February 26. The outer walls of several apartment units appeared to be blown out entirely, with the interiors blackened and debris hanging loose. Hide Caption 157 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine People in Kyiv take cover as an air-raid siren sounds February 26 near an apartment building that was damaged by shelling. Hide Caption 158 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A police vehicle patrols the streets of Kyiv on February 26. Hide Caption 159 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Following a national directive to help complicate the invading Russian Army's attempts to navigate, a road worker removes signs near Pisarivka, Ukraine, on February 26. Hide Caption 160 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A man kneels in front of a Russian tank in Bakhmach, Ukraine, on February 26 as Ukrainian citizens attempted to stop the tank from moving forward. The dramatic scene was captured on video, and CNN confirmed its authenticity. The moment drew comparisons to the iconic "Tank Man" of Tiananmen Square. Hide Caption 161 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine People in Kyiv board a train heading to the west of the country on February 26. Kelly Clements, the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, told CNN that more than 120,000 people had left Ukraine while 850,000 were internally displaced. Hide Caption 162 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian service members look for and collect unexploded shells after fighting in Kyiv on February 26. Hide Caption 163 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Smoke and flames are seen near Kyiv on February 26. Explosions were seen and heard in parts of the capital as Ukrainians battled to hold back advancing Russian troops. Hide Caption 164 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine The body of a Russian soldier lies next to a Russian vehicle outside Kharkiv on February 25. Hide Caption 165 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Newly married couple Yaryna Arieva and Sviatoslav Fursin pose for photo in Kyiv on February 25 after they joined the Territorial Defense Forces. Hide Caption 166 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Members of the Ukrainian National Guard take positions in central Kyiv on February 25. Hide Caption 167 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine People walk past a residential building in Kyiv that was hit in an alleged Russian airstrike on February 25. Hide Caption 168 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine The body of a school employee, who according to locals was killed in recent shelling, lies in the separatist-controlled town of Horlivka in Ukraine's Donetsk region on February 25. Hide Caption 169 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Kyiv residents take shelter in an underground parking garage on February 25. Hide Caption 170 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine The body of a rocket remains in an apartment after shelling on the northern outskirts of Kharkiv on February 24. Hide Caption 171 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A wounded woman stands outside a hospital after an attack on the eastern Ukrainian town of Chuhuiv, outside of Kharkiv, on February 24. Hide Caption 172 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A boy plays with his tablet in a public basement used as a bomb shelter in Kyiv on February 24. Hide Caption 173 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Sviatoslav Fursin, left, and Yaryna Arieva kneel during their wedding ceremony at the St. Michael's Cathedral in Kyiv on February 24. They had planned on getting married in May, but they 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. Hide Caption 174 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian service members sit atop armored vehicles driving in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region on February 24. Hide Caption 175 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine People in Kyiv try to board a bus to travel west toward Poland on February 24. Hide Caption 176 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine US President Joe Biden arrives in the East Room of the White House to address the Russian invasion on 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." Hide Caption 177 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Smoke rises from a military airport in Chuhuiv on February 24. Airports were also hit in Boryspil, Kharkiv, Ozerne, Kulbakino, Kramatorsk and Chornobaivka. Hide Caption 178 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine People seek shelter inside a subway station in Kharkiv on February 24. Hide Caption 179 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Russian military vehicles are seen at the Chernobyl power plant near Pripyat, Ukraine, on February 24. Russian forces seized control of the the plant, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster. Hide Caption 180 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine People wait after boarding a bus to leave Kyiv on February 24. Hide Caption 181 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian President Zelensky holds an emergency meeting in Kyiv on February 24. In a video address, Zelensky announced that he was introducing martial law. He urged people to remain calm. Hide Caption 182 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Police officers inspect the remains of a missile that landed in Kyiv on February 24. Hide Caption 183 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A staff member of a Kyiv hotel talks on the phone on February 24. Hide Caption 184 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Smoke rises from an air defense base after an apparent Russian strike in Mariupol on February 24. A CNN team in Mariupol reported hearing a barrage of artillery. Hide Caption 185 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine People wait in line to buy train tickets at the central station in Kyiv on February 24. Hide Caption 186 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A long line of cars is seen exiting Kyiv on February 24. Heavy traffic appeared to be heading west, away from where explosions were heard early in the morning. Hide Caption 187 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A photo provided by the Ukrainian President's office appears to show an explosion in Kyiv early on February 24. Hide Caption 188 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine People in Moscow watch a televised address by Russian President Vladimir Putin as he announces a military operation in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine on February 24. "Whoever tries to interfere with us, and even more so to create threats to our country, to our people, should know that Russia's response will be immediate and will lead you to such consequences as you have never experienced in your history," he said. Hide Caption 189 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine An emergency meeting of the UN Security Council is held in New York to discuss the crisis on February 23. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop "attacking Ukraine" and to give peace a chance. Hide Caption 190 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A convoy of Russian military vehicles is seen February 23 in the Rostov region of Russia, which runs along Ukraine's eastern border. Hide Caption 191 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian soldiers talk in a shelter at the front line near Svitlodarsk, Ukraine, on February 23. Hide Caption 192 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Smoke rises from a damaged power plant in Shchastya that Ukrainian authorities say was hit by shelling on February 22. Hide Caption 193 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A damaged house is worked on after shelling near the Ukrainian front-line city of Novoluhanske on February 22. Hide Caption 194 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Mourners gather at a church in Kyiv on 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. Hide Caption 195 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A sign displays conversion rates at a currency exchange kiosk in Kyiv on February 22. Global markets tumbled the day after Putin ordered troops into parts of eastern Ukraine. Hide Caption 196 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Russian howitzers are loaded onto train cars near Taganrog, Russia, on February 22. Hide Caption 197 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine People who left a separatist-held region in eastern Ukraine watch an address by Putin from their hotel room in Taganrog, Russia, on 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. Hide Caption 198 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Putin signs decrees recognizing the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic in a ceremony in Moscow on February 21. Earlier in the day, the heads of the self-proclaimed pro-Russian republics requested the Kremlin leader recognize their independence and sovereignty. Members of Putin's Security Council supported the initiative in a meeting earlier in the day. Hide Caption 199 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Protesters demanding economic sanctions against Russia stand outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kyiv on February 21. Only a small number of protesters showed up to demonstrate. Hide Caption 200 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Activists hold a performance in front of the Russian embassy in Kyiv on February 21 in support of prisoners who were arrested in Crimea. They say the red doors are a symbol of the doors that were kicked in to search and arrest Crimean Tatars, a Muslim ethnic minority. Hide Caption 201 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian servicemen shop in the front-line town of Avdiivka, Ukraine, on February 21. Hide Caption 202 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine People lay flowers at the Motherland Monument in Kyiv on February 21. Hide Caption 203 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A couple arrives at the city council to get married in Odesa on February 20. As Ukrainian authorities reported further ceasefire violations and top Western officials warned about an impending conflict, life went on in other parts of the country. Hide Caption 204 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskiy, left, visits soldiers at a front-line position in Novoluhanske on February 19. Minutes after he left, the position came under fire. No one was injured. Hide Caption 205 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A woman rests in a car near a border checkpoint in Avilo-Uspenka, Russia, on February 19. Hide Caption 206 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A Ukrainian service member walks by a building on February 19 that was hit by mortar fire in the front-line village of Krymske, Ukraine. Hide Caption 207 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Fighter jets fly over Belarus during a joint military exercise the country held with Russia on February 19. Hide Caption 208 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian soldiers stand guard at a military command center in Novoluhanske on February 19. Hide Caption 209 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine People sit on a bus in Donetsk on February 18 after they were ordered to evacuate to Russia by pro-Russian separatists. Hide Caption 210 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine The remains of a military vehicle are seen in a parking lot outside a government building following an explosion in Donetsk on February 18. Ukrainian and US officials said the vehicle explosion was a staged attack designed to stoke tensions in eastern Ukraine. Hide Caption 211 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A memorial service and candlelight vigil is held at the St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv on February 18. They honored those who died in 2014 while protesting against the government of President Viktor Yanukovych, a pro-Russian leader who later fled the country. Hide Caption 212 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A kindergarten that officials say was damaged by shelling is seen in Stanytsia Luhanska, Ukraine, on February 17. No lives were lost, but it was a stark reminder of the stakes for people living near the front lines that separate Ukrainian government forces from Russian-backed separatists. Hide Caption 213 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Children play on old Soviet tanks in front of the Motherland Monument in Kyiv on February 16. Hide Caption 214 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ambassadors of European countries lay roses at the Wall of Remembrance in Kyiv on February 16. The wall contains the names and photographs of military members who have died since the conflict with Russian-backed separatists began in 2014. Hide Caption 215 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine US troops walk on the tarmac at the Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport in southeastern Poland on February 16. US paratroopers landed in Poland as part of a deployment of several thousand sent to bolster NATO's eastern flank in response to tensions with Russia. Hide Caption 216 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A 200-meter-long Ukrainian flag is unfolded at the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv on February 16 to mark a "Day of Unity," an impromptu celebration declared by President Volodymyr Zelensky. Hide Caption 217 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Travelers wait in line to check in to their departing flights February 15 at the Boryspil International Airport outside Kyiv. US President Joe Biden urged Americans in Ukraine to leave the country, warning that "things could go crazy quickly" in the region. Hide Caption 218 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A location of Oschadbank, a state-owned bank, is seen in Kyiv on February 15. The websites of Oschadbank and PrivatBank, the country's two largest banks, were hit by cyberattacks that day, as were the websites of Ukraine's defense ministry and army, according to Ukrainian government agencies. Hide Caption 219 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine A woman and child walk underneath a military monument in Senkivka, Ukraine, on February 14. It's on the outskirts of the Three Sisters border crossing between Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. Hide Caption 220 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Ukrainian service members talk at a front-line position in eastern Ukraine on February 14. Hide Caption 221 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Members of Ukraine's National Guard look out a window as they ride a bus through the capital of Kyiv on February 14. Hide Caption 222 of 226

Photos: Russia invades Ukraine Satellite images taken on February 13 by Maxar Technologies revealed that dozens of helicopters had appeared at a previously vacant airbase in Russian-occupied Crimea. Hide Caption 223 of 226

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What is a mild hybrid? The hybrid technology you might not even ...

(CNN Business) With gas prices passing $5 a gallon in many places, drivers may wish that they had a hybrid vehicle. In fact, many owners of newer vehicles could already be driving a hybrid and not even know it. Hybrid technology is finding its way into all sorts of vehicles that aren't advertised as such.

For automakers, that's often part of the point.

Electric vehicle sales continue to grow every year, and more companies announce plans to ditch gasoline engines altogether. But high fuel costs and the relatively high prices of fully electric cars have meant that hybrids can still help drivers save money. And customers are purchasing hybrids in high numbers, even if they don't always recognize they're buying one.

The legacy of the Prius

The Toyota Prius sent car shoppers racing to dealerships in the early 2000s, as gasoline price spiked and a recession had them looking for fuel-efficient alternatives. But those Prius waitlists eased over the years as more hybrids entered the market. Toyota Prius sales peaked in the United States in 2012, with over 230,000 sold. In 2019, that number shrank to just over 69,000.

But at the same time, hybrid technology has become more common. And, while fully electric vehicles carry a certain cultural cache, carmakers are often cautious about calling out their gasoline-electric hybrids. While many hybrids are proudly billed as such -- the Hyundai Tucson Hybrid and Ford Escape Hybrid, for instance -- others, often vehicles with mild hybrid systems, include that information only in technical documents or the owner's manual.

The Toyota Tundra iForce Max hybrid system offers V8 power from a 6-cylinder engine.

Hybrid market share has more than doubled from 2017, going from 2.0% of the market to 5.1% of the market, according to data from the automotive web site Edmunds.com. But that doesn't capture all hybrid vehicles, Edmunds.com analyst Ivan Drury said. It's impossible to know exactly how many hybrid trucks, cars and SUVs are being sold because they're only counted as hybrids in industry statistics when the manufacturer, itself, calls it a hybrid, or gives it a separate model name, said Drury. Often, carmakers don't specifically call out hybrid systems any more than they would another engine or transmission feature. That means that a Toyota Rav4 Hybrid might be counted while a Toyota Tundra i-Force Max pick-up, which is also a hybrid, might not.

The differences in how hybrid vehicles are marketed -- sometimes with a chrome "Hybrid" badge on the back and sometimes with barely any mention -- can come down to how the technology is perceived by different types customers.

"There might be a little bit of a stigma with the word 'hybrid,'" said Bill Visnic, editorial director at the Society of Automotive Engineers.

Some car shoppers fear hybrid could mean "weeny" performance, he said.

When people think of hybrids, they tend to think of the icon of the type, the Toyota Prius. The Prius, and other hybrids like it, have batteries that store up energy as the car drives. That electricity is then used to to power an electric motor that can drive the wheels at low speeds -- or even at high speeds if the gas pedal isn't pressed hard -- and provide an extra push during acceleration. But modern hybrids have moved beyond the Prius' technology.

From "mild" to "full" hybrids

Many modern cars have what are called "mild hybrid" systems. These vehicles have smaller, lighter batteries and a less powerful electric motor than so-called full hybrids. The electric motor generally can't drive the car on its own, but it can provide assistance whenever the vehicle is starting off from a stop. The gas engine still does most of the work, but the electric motor provides an extra push that eases the gas engine's work. Because of their smaller batteries, mild-hybrid technology is easier to put into a vehicle without taking up cargo or passenger space for battery packs. They also don't add as much cost to the vehicle, making them easier to sell to buyers not entirely focused on fuel economy.

Mild hybrid systems can be found in surprising places, like some Jeep Wrangler and Ram 1500 full-size pickup models. The optional mild hybrid eTorque system in the Ram 1500 allows the truck's gas engine to turn off when the truck comes to a stop, allowing the truck to run off of its battery as it sits still for up to about 10 minutes. (Not every vehicle that turns its engine off at a stop is necessarily a mild hybrid, though.) When the driver releases the brake pedal, an electric motor can start moving the truck forward for less than half a second while the gas engine starts up again.

The mild hybrid system adds up to two extra miles per gallon, mostly in city driving, according to the manufacturer.

Other cars have Prius-style full hybrid systems but just don't market them that way. The Toyota Tundra i-Force Max, for instance, is a full hybrid pickup truck, but you'd never know from looking at it. It can shut off its engine and drive sometimes using just its electric motor. But even on the gauge cluster, there's no indication that truck has a hybrid system. There's a gauge showing the amount of power coming from the electric motor, but it's labeled simply "Max."

The Tundra i-Force Max doesn't make a big deal out of its hybrid nature, said Craig Herring, a Toyota engineer, because, during market research, potential customers showed no interest in buying a hybrid. But they were interested in more towing and hauling power without an impact on fuel economy. The Tundra's hybrid system is tuned for maximum power rather than primarily fuel economy. In the Tundra line-up, the i-Force Max takes the place of what might have been a thirstier V8 engine option for customers who want maximum towing and hauling capability. With its emphasis on power, though, the hybrid Tundra is less fuel efficient than Ford's hybrid F-150, but it provides slightly more horsepower and torque.

Some vehicles, like the new Audi A3 compact sedan, are somewhere in between mild and full hybrids. It's technically a mild hybrid, but it's not all that mild. As in a full hybrid, an electric motor can move the relatively small and light A3, Audi's entry level model, at low speeds or when coasting on flat roads or downhill. Similar technology has been available on larger Audi models in Europe, said Anthony Garbis, head of product planning for Audi of America, but it was felt US customers might not appreciate it on those larger, more luxurious cars.

"We always thought it was a bit odd to have your A8 [full-size luxury sedan] coast down the highway," he said. "So with the A3, it seemed like the right audience, the right price and the right technology to introduce the coasting function."

And with Audi moving towards a fully electric line-up in just over a decade, there's less focus now on this sort of technology, he said. Now, Audi is looking ahead to when its cars will have no gas engine at all.

How to find a secret hybrid

If you're curious if a car you are considering purchasing has mild hybrid technology, a visit to the automaker's website will usually tell you. Or you can just Google or go straight to online resources like Consumer Reports (subscription required), KBB.com Edmunds.com , or, if you really want to dig into the details, CarandDriver.com