Pictures of the week: A baby pangolin, Ukraine war year anniversary and a US winter snow storm

The Independent’s picture editors bring you the best photography from all corners of the planet

People take part in a candlelight vigil outside UN University to mark the one year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in Tokyo (AFP/Getty)

Each week the picture editors at The Independent sort through hundreds of thousands images sent into us by photography agencies from all around the world.

These are some of the most eye-catching and the most striking images from culture, news, politics, sport and lifestyle.

You can also keep up with the latest photography making headlines via our Instagram.

(AFP/Getty)

Lightnings strike near the Christ the Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

(AFP/Getty)

An indigenous man carries wreaths on a vehicle during the Catholic celebration of Ash Wednesday, in San Juan Sacatepequez, Guatemala.

(AP)

A baby Chinese pangolin is being weighed at the Prague Zoo, Czech Republic.

(AFP/Getty)

A photo shows the Eiffel Tower lit in the colours of the Ukrainnian flag in a show of support to Ukraine, one year after Russia launched a military invasion on the country, in Paris.

(AFP/Getty)

A person dressed in a costume walks on a street as he sells inflatable plastic figures in the Jing'an district in Shanghai.

(AFP/Getty)

A person runs through the snow past a car in Draper, Utah.

(US Air Force/Reuters)

A U.S. Air Force U-2 pilot looks down at the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon as it hovers over the central continental United States.

(AP)

A model wears a creation as part of the Diesel women's Fall-Winter 2023-24 collection presented in Milan, Italy.

(AFP/Getty)

A carnival float featuring Russia’s President Vladimir Putin taking a blood bath in a yellow-blue bathtub is pictured during a Rose Monday street carnival parade in Duesseldorf, western Germany.

(AP)

An aircraft passes the rising sun in Frankfurt, Germany.

(Reuters)

A Tibetan woman adjusts her traditional headgear as she stands near the portrait of spiritual leader Dalai Lama during a function organized to mark ‘Losarâ’ or the Tibetan New Year in Kathmandu, Nepal.

(AP)

President Joe Biden walks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral on a surprise visit.

(EPA)

A sniffer dog curiously looks at the photographers as members of the Dutch rescue team 'USAR' are given an official reception at the Catshuis, where Prime Minister Mark Rutte (L) met with the rescuers in The Hague, The Netherlands.

(AP)

A beach goer walks to the end of a jetty as the sun rises above the Atlantic Ocean.

(AFP/Getty)

Members of the Imperatriz samba school perform during the second night of Rio's Carnival parade at the Sambadrome Marques de Sapucai in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

(Reuters)

Icicles hang from the hat of a figure that is part of the Hometown Hero baseball sculpture outside Jackson Field in Lansing, Michigan, U.S.

(AFP/Getty)

People listen as Russian President Vladimir Putin (center on the stage) gives a speech during a patriotic concert dedicated to the upcoming Defender of the Fatherland Day at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow.

(EPA)

Sydney Opera House staff members and parade participants pose for a photograph during rehearsals ahead of the Mardi Gras parade and Sydney WorldPride 2023 celebrations, in Sydney, Australia.

(PA)

King Charles III receives the hongi - the traditional Maori greeting - from a New Zealander who is part of the Ukrainian contingent, during a visit to a training site for Ukrainian military recruits, in Wiltshire, where recruits are completing five weeks of basic combat training by British and international partner forces, before returning to fight in Ukraine.

(AP)

Olga Conover of Palm Bay, Fla., walks down the bridge at sunset carrying her merged American-Ukraine flag near the end of a march marking the one-year anniversary of Russia invading Ukraine.

(AFP/Getty)

Members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces enter 10 Downing Street, in London, after a national one minute silence to mark one year since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.