In just one year, Vladimir Putin's conflict has ripped thousands of families apart, left millions homeless and reduced entire Ukrainian districts to rubble.
As Russia's tanks rolled over the border, the tyrant claimed the mission was a "special military operation" to "demilitarise" and "denazify" its western neighbour.
But in those 12 months, Russia has inched the world closer to a nuclear confrontation and repeatedly dared NATO to pick up arms, which would lead to a world-ending clash.
