On February 24 2022, Vladimir Putin Launched a bloody and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine that saw his armed forces flood over the border to take part in what he calls “a special operation”.
Since then, hundreds of thousands of troops are thought to have been needless casualties of the fighting, along with thousands of civilians, as the Russian president threw young Russians into his “meat grinder” war.
Entire towns have been destroyed and communities wiped out with frequent missile attacks smashing into cities behind the frontline, including the nation’s capital Kyiv.
With no end in sight and so much damage and horror already exacted by Putin, we take a look back at the real cost of the senseless violence that has defined the last 12 months in Europe.
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A man turns his back on a missile attack in Kharkiv in March 2022
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In Irpin in March, Ukraine worked to get its people away from the front line any way it could
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In April the world was stopped still by the atrocities in Bucha, near the capital Kyiv
Russian forces have been accused of gunning down innocent civilians as they tried to escape the violence
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Ukrainian armed forces have taken on a bold and inspirational role as heroic defenders of freedom
Seen here, firing artillery at a Russian position while taking time to pose for a remarkable snap
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Throughout the war, journalists have documented the true cost to individuals.
Lynsey Addario captured one of the most harrowing images of the war from Irpin as a family fleeing was killed by an apparent mortar attack
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The Mariupol mother who stopped the world
Perhaps the most famous image of the war was of a pregnant mother being evacuated from a children’s hospital that had reportedly been hit by a Russian bombardment on Mariupol. She later died
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A dead soldier lies next to a destroyed Russian armoured troop carrier
Young soldiers have been killed across the country, many of them a long way from home
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Across the country, families have been torn apart
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Bansky even left his comment in the ruins
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