Published 7:26 PM EST, Thu March 9, 2023
The week in 37 photos
A Ukrainian serviceman takes cover in a trench near Bakhmut, Ukraine, during shelling on Wednesday, March 8.
Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images
Published 7:26 PM EST, Thu March 9, 2023
Produced by CNN Digital's Photo Team
For the first time in eight months, Russia is on the brink of taking a Ukrainian city.
Weeks of Russian attacks on Bakhmut, a city in eastern Ukraine, have forced thousands of people from the city and decimated its infrastructure.
Ukrainian forces continue to defend the city, with President Volodymyr Zelensky warning that Russian troops would have "open road" to capture other key cities if they take Bakhmut. "This is tactical for us," Zelensky said in an interview with CNN. NATO intelligence estimates that for every Ukrainian soldier killed defending Bakhmut, Russian forces have lost at least five, a military official with the alliance told CNN on Monday.
Nearly 4,000 civilians, including 38 children, remained inside the besieged city as of Tuesday, according to Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukraine's vice prime minister.
Here are some of the stories that made headlines over the past week, as well as some photos that caught our eye.
Hindu devotees are sprayed with colored water during Holi celebrations in Ahmedabad, India, on Wednesday, March 8. Millions of people in India and around the world are celebrating Holi this week. The Hindu festival of love, color and spring is one of the most joyous celebrations of the year.
Amit Dave/ReutersUkrainian high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh competes at the European Indoor Championships on Sunday, March 5. She won the gold.
Khalil Hamra/APIsraeli army vehicles move along a road into Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, on Tuesday, March 7. Israeli forces staged a daylight raid into Jenin, targeting the suspect in the killing of two Jewish settlers. The raid left the suspect and at least five other Palestinian men dead, officials on both sides said Tuesday.
Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty ImagesWomen train with plastic baby dolls as they take a nursing skills class in Shanghai, China, on Thursday, March 2. The women were learning to be "confinement carers" who look after mothers and their newborn babies.
Aly Song/ReutersSmoke rises outside of Atlanta on Sunday, March 5, after there were violent protests at the spot where authorities will soon begin construction of a massive police and fire training facility. Protesters have been camping out for months there, vowing to stop construction of the facility that they have dubbed "Cop City." Nearly two dozen people were arrested Sunday.
Sean Keenan/The New York Times/ReduxA woman weaves a carpet at a factory in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Monday, March 6. Since the Taliban took over the country in August 2021, many women's rights have been eroded.
Ebrahim Noroozi/APPeople dressed as mermaids and mermen take part in a group swim Saturday, March 4, during the MerMagic Convention in Manassas, Virginia. The event bills itself as the world's largest mermaid convention.
Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty ImagesUS President Joe Biden awards the Medal of Honor to retired Army Col. Paris Davis on Friday, March 3. Davis was recognized for his heroism during the Vietnam War. He was shot multiple times during a grueling firefight that lasted nearly 19 hours.
Kevin Lamarque/ReutersA model presents a creation from Germanier during a Paris fashion show on Monday, March 6.
Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt/AFP/Getty ImagesA man takes video of an under-construction skyscraper that was on fire in Hong Kong on Friday, March 3. Dozens of people were evacuated from the building, according to the Reuters news agency, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
Tyrone Siu/ReutersSan Diego State basketball coach Brian Dutcher falls back onto his players after helping to cut down the nets at their home arena on Saturday, March 4. The Aztecs were celebrating a regular-season conference championship.
Orlando Ramirez/USA TodayA Holi reveler is showered with colored powder during celebrations in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, March 7.
Indranil Mukherjee/AFP/Getty ImagesDancers wearing Christian Louboutin shoes perform on the sidelines of Paris Fashion Week to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Louboutin's famous red sole on Thursday, March 2.
Julien De Rosa/AFP/Getty ImagesA wedding album is seen among the rubble of a collapsed building in Hatay, Turkey, on Tuesday, March 7. Tens of thousands of people were killed after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria last month.
Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty ImagesFireworks explode from a bull figure frame during a San Juan de Dios celebration in Tultepec, Mexico, on Wednesday, March 8.
Claudio Cruz/AFP/Getty ImagesAlex Murdaugh speaks with his legal team in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Friday, March 3, before he was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife and son.
Joshua Boucher/The State/AP/PoolTwo planes with the Roulettes, the Royal Australian Air Force's aerobatic display team, perform during an air show in Geelong, Australia, on Friday, March 3.
Paul Crock/AFP/Getty ImagesA model and a robot perform during a Coperni fashion show in Paris on Friday, March 3.
Francois Durand/Getty ImagesUS President Joe Biden, center, prepares to walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on Sunday, March 5. US Rep. Terri Sewell, the Rev. Al Sharpton and the Rev. Jesse Jackson joined him to commemorate the 58th anniversary of the "Bloody Sunday" march that galvanized the civil rights movement.
Patrick Semansky/APThree Russian rockets are seen in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, March 9. Russia showered major cities across Ukraine with what officials said was an unprecedented array of missiles on Thursday morning.
Vadim Belikov/APBritish athlete Jazmin Sawyers celebrates on the podium after she won the long jump at the European Indoor Championships on Sunday, March 5.
Dilara Senkaya/ReutersRuth Kavere and her 3-year-old granddaughter Faith use a mosquito net at their home in Mukuli, Kenya, on Tuesday, March 7, after Faith received doses of the malaria vaccine. The pilot program, coordinated by the World Health Organization, launched in 2019 and has provided the vaccine in child health clinics across Ghana, Kenya and Malawi.
Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty ImagesFederal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testifies before a US Senate committee on Tuesday, March 7. After Powell delivered remarks about the economy, inflation and the Fed's actions to date, he was peppered with questions from committee members about a variety of topics. He told lawmakers the central bank will likely raise interest rates higher than previously forecast to fight inflation.
Kevin Lamarque/ReutersFemale army recruits attend a three-month training program at a military base in Bogota, Colombia, on Monday, March 6. After a 25-year ban, the Colombian army is once again allowing women to join its ranks through voluntary military service.
Fernando Vergara/APProtesters brandishing a European Union flag are sprayed by a water cannon as they clashes with riot police in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Tuesday, March 7. After two nights of protests, Georgia's ruling party withdrew a controversial "foreign influence" bill. The legislation would have required organizations receiving 20% or more of their annual income from abroad to register as "foreign agents" or face heavy fines. Critics said it resembled similar laws used by Russia to stifle dissent and political opposition.
AFP/Getty ImagesTwo storks with soaked plumage sit on their nest in Biebesheim am Rhein, Germany, on Wednesday, March 8.
Boris Roessler/dpa/APPeople eating lunch watch protesters march in Toulouse, France, on Thursday, March 9. Many of France's largest unions have been protesting radical reforms to the country's pension system that, if implemented, would require most people in France to work two years longer before retirement.
Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty ImagesSwiss hurdler Jason Joseph, second from right, wins the 60-meter final at the European Indoor Championships on Sunday, March 5. Spain's Enrique Llopis, left, fell just before the finish line and had to be carried off on a stretcher and taken to a hospital. He later appeared in a video posted on Twitter and said he would be OK.
Michael Buholzer/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockThis aerial photo shows a yacht moored on mudflats, revealed during the low tide, after the River Medway ebbed near Gillingham, England, on Thursday, March 2.
Daniel Leal/AFP/Getty Images