In Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine, the Sergey Prokofiev International Airport has been reduced from a modern transportation hub to piles of scorched rubble in less than a year of warfare. As recently as last May, the airport was still operating and in good condition, though international flights had slowed due to the growing unrest. On May 26, Russian-backed separatist forces of the Donetsk People's Republic seized the airport, losing it to Ukrainian government forces after a brief fight. For months after, battles raged as both sides struggled to hold or retake the facilities, their bombs and rockets destroying practically everything, from buildings and aircraft to roads and trees. This week, as a cease-fire held, rebels (now in control of the ruins) brought Ukrainian war prisoners to the airport to recover bodies of their fellow troops from the rubble, and photojournalists were able to come along and document the scene.
A Year of War Completely Destroyed the Donetsk Airport
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Read moreThe main terminal of Donetsk Sergey Prokofiev International Airport hit by shelling during fighting between pro-Russian rebels and Ukrainian government forces in the town of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, on October 8, 2014 #
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Read moreBefore the battles, a photo taken on May 6, 2014, of the Sergey Prokofiev International Airport terminal, reflected in a puddle, in Donetsk #
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Read moreThis is an aerial view of the Donetsk Airport on June 27, 2012. The airport was one of several showcase buildings constructed for the Euro 2012 Championship hosted by Ukraine. #
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Read morePassengers wait for information at Donetsk airport on May 6, 2014, as all flights in and out of the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk were suspended amid rising tensions in the region. #
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Read moreA June 27, 2012 photo shows the control tower of the airport in Donetsk. #
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Read morePassengers queue at a desk to return their tickets on May 6, 2014 at Donetsk airport, as all flights in and out of the city were suspended. #
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Read moreA June 27, 2012, aerial shot of the airport in Donetsk #
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Read moreOn May 26, 2014, a pro-Russian militant takes position on the roof of the Donetsk airport terminal. The airport was rocked by explosions and heavy shooting after armed rebels seized the facility. #
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Read morePro-Russian militants take positions inside the airport in Donetsk on May 26, 2014. #
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Read morePro-Russian militants take positions on the roof of the Donetsk airport on May 26, 2014. #
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Read moreAn armed pro-Russian militant inside the airport on May 26, 2014 #
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Read moreA Ukrainian military helicopter gunship flies above areas where pro-Russian militias had taken position around the airport, outside Donetsk, on May 26, 2014. #
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Read moreBlack smoke billows from Donetsk international airport, seen behind a cemetery, during heavy gun battles between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian militants on May 26, 2014. #
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Read moreA pro-Russian separatist soldier fires through a window in the Donetsk airport during shelling between Ukrainian army forces and pro-Russian separatist soldiers on October 16, 2014. #
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Read moreFlames engulf a vehicle during shelling of the Donetsk airport on October 16, 2014. #
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Read morePro-Russian separatist fighters take a break in a damaged part of the Donetsk airport on October 16, 2014. #
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Read moreThis photo taken by a drone on January 15, 2015 shows the destroyed control tower surrounded by craters and debris at the airport in Donetsk. #
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Read moreDestroyed commercial airplanes sit scattered at the Donetsk airport on February 26, 2015. #
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Read moreShattered and burnt tree trunks stand outside a section of a destroyed airport building in Donetsk on February 26, 2015. #
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Read moreA Ukrainian national flag flies at top of a badly damaged traffic control tower as smoke rises after shelling at the Donetsk airport on October 12, 2014. #
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Read moreDebris covers part of the Donetsk airport, damaged by months of fighting, on February 26, 2015. #
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Read moreA picture taken on Febuary 7, 2015 shows a destroyed tank and plane at the Donetsk airport. #
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Read moreA sports bar sits among the wreckage of the destroyed Donetsk airport on February 26, 2015. #
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Read moreDestroyed cars sit near the Donetsk airport on February 26, 2015. #
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Read moreInside the destroyed airport in Donetsk on January 21, 2015 #
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Read moreA sign riddled with shrapnel holes stands outside the hulk of the Donetsk airport terminal, damaged by months of fighting, on February 26, 2015 #
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Read moreThe carcass of a destroyed airplane on the tarmac of the Donetsk airport on October 16, 2014 #
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Read moreA picture taken on October 16, 2014 shows part of the destroyed terminal at the Donetsk airport during shelling between Ukrainian army forces and pro-Russian separatist soldiers. #
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Read moreRemains of the Donetsk airport, seen on January 21, 2015 #
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Read moreRussian-backed rebels sit on an armored transporter driving to the destroyed airport, background, outside Donetsk, on February 25, 2015. Ukrainian troops held captive in the separatist stronghold of Donetsk were brought along to dig through the rubble to retrieve the bodies of fellow soldiers killed last month in a bitter battle for the city's airport. #
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Read moreUkrainian soldier prisoners-of-war are lined up before being forced by pro-Russian rebels to search through the wreckage of the destroyed Donetsk airport for weaponry and dead bodies on February 26, 2015 in Donetsk, Ukraine. #
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Read moreUkrainian soldier prisoners-of-war are forced by pro-Russian rebels to search through the wreckage of the destroyed Donetsk airport for weaponry and dead bodies on February 26, 2015. #
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Read moreRussian-backed separatists stand next to bodies of Ukrainian servicemen retrieved from the rubble of the airport building outside Donetsk on February 25, 2015. #
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Read moreA belt bearing the coat of arms of Ukraine on the body of a Ukrainian serviceman lying in the destroyed terminal after it was removed from the rubble of the airport building outside Donetsk on February 25, 2015 #
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Read moreA section of the destroyed airport in Donetsk on February 26, 2015 #
Vasily MaximovAFP/Getty Images
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