March 24 will mark one month since Russia invaded Ukraine, sparking the first war in Europe since 1945.
Since then, thousands of Russian soldiers have been killed, millions of refugees have fled over the border and once-thriving cities have been razed to the ground by indiscriminate shelling.
However, if it was a quick win Vladimir Putin wanted - and it's widely believed the Russian president did not expect the Ukrainian forces to put up such a formidable fight - then the tyrant will have been bitterly disappointed.
His troops are now feared to be digging in for a war of attrition and a long and difficult occupation of its neighbouring nation.
Here, the Mirror's Matt Roper maps the month of madness day by day, from the start of the invasion to now.
FEBRUARY 24 - Hundreds are killed within hours as Russia invades Ukraine, with President Vladimir Putin calling it a “special military operation”. In response the UK unveils a 10-point economic sanctions plan to target more than 100 Russian businesses and individuals. NATO agrees to strengthen forces on its Eastern flank. US President Joe Biden warns Putin “wants to re-establish the former Soviet Union”.
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FEB 25 - British military intelligence say Russia is trying to encircle Kyiv and topple government. Countries bordering Ukraine set up reception centres for refugees. More UK sanctions are announced including freezing major Russian bank assets, banning Aeroflot and financial restrictions on dozens of oligarchs. 13 troops on Snake Island refuse to surrender with the words: “Russian warship, go f*** yourself”.
Woman confronts Russian soldiers saying: “Take these seeds and put them in your pocket, so at least sunflowers will grow when you all die here.” And a military engineer is dubbed the ‘hero of Ukraine’ after giving his life to blow up a bridge near Crimea. UEFA moves the Champions League final on May 28 to Paris from St Petersburg, and Russia is banned from the Eurovision Song Contest.
FEB 26 - Defying those who said he’d flee, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky films a video from the streets of capital Kyiv, declaring “the fight is here. I’m here. We won’t lay down our arms. We will defend our state. Glory to Ukraine.” He also addresses EU leaders saying: “This might be the last time you see me alive.”
Footage emerges of destroyed Russian tanks and other vehicles. Ukrainians claim they’ve destroyed 80 tanks, 516 armoured vehicles, 10 airplanes and seven helicopters and killed 3,500 troops.
FEB 27 - Putin puts his nuclear-armed forces on high alert in a dramatic escalation of tensions. Protests against the war erupt around the world. Heroic Ukrainian soldiers and civilians continue to keep the more powerful Russian forces at bay. Russian planes are to be banned from flying across European airspace as part of tough new sanctions. 250,000 refugees have left Ukraine.
FEB 28 - Putin is compared to Hitler by Ukrainian envoy at UN summit. Peace talks break up. Britain announces new range of sanctions. International Criminal Court says it could look at alleged war crimes. European Parliament set to back Ukraine’s bid for EU membership.
MARCH 1 - 40-mile armoured Russian convoy closes in on Kyiv. Missiles hit Kyiv’s TV tower, killing five. 10 die by shells in Kharkiv. Brits volunteer to take up arms in defence of Ukraine.
PM accuses Russian forces of committing an ‘atrocity’. Prince Charles speaks about the threat to democracy in Ukraine.
MAR 2 - World War Three “will be nuclear, and devastating”, warns Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. Roman Abramovich announces he will sell Chelsea, with proceeds to war victims.
UN calls for Russia to withdraw troops immediately. The Commons give a standing ovation to Ukrainian ambassador.
MAR 3 - Zelensky calls for face-to- face talks with Putin. Talks between Russia and Ukraine agree on the need for humanitarian corridors. Former boxing world champions the Klitschko brothers, fighting with Ukrainian troops, say they will not surrender. Calls mount for UK to ban Russian gas. Putin refuses to back down in televised address
MAR 4 - Putin’s forces attack Europe’s biggest atomic power plant. Reports emerge of Russian soldiers raping local women as they maraud through Ukraine. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg accuses Russia of dropping cluster bombs. Southern city of Mykolaiv comes under heavy fire. Shells, rockets and artillery continue to rain down on Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol. 2,000 civilians have been killed.
MAR 5 - Ceasefire agreed for 200,000 to flee Mariupol along humanitarian corridor but Russian forces bomb the route to safety. Putin warns a NATO no-fly zone would be a hostile act and sanctions are “akin to an act of war. At Calais, UK officials turn away desperate refugees.
MAR 6 - Ex Arsenal star Oleg Luzhny has returned to Ukraine to fight. Russian invaders have lost 1,000 troops a day, say official Ukrainian numbers.
MAR 8 - President Zelensky gives historic speech to Commons. Fears Russians deliberately targeting civilians. McDonald’s closes restaurants in Russia. Government to ban all imports of Russian oil by the end of the year.
MAR 9 - Rescuers search for survivors of airstrike on Mariupol hospital. President Zelensky has survived a dozen assassination attempts. UK hands out 850 visas to Ukrainians fleeing Russian invasion
MAR 10 - Roman Abramovich slapped with sanctions. Mariupol’s residents forced to dig a mass grave for war dead. Fashion chain Uniqlo and Yorkshire Tea suspend sales in Russia
MAR 11 - Russians take up position outside Kyiv. Fears of ‘false flag’ attack on Chernobyl. Airstrikes on IvanoFrankivsk and Lutsk in the West of Ukraine. Brits asked to open homes to refugees.
MAR 13 - Russian missiles hit Ukrainian military base six miles from the Polish border, killing 35 including 3 Brits and injuring 134
MAR 14 - Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova bravely protests against war live on Russian TV. Pregnant woman dies after being injured in Mariupol hospital strike. Russian troops take to large-scale looting
MAR 15 - Russian forces continue assault on Kyiv. 21 child cancer patients arrive at NHS hospitals. Over 100,000 Brits offer to house refugees. EU imposes new sanctions on Roman Abramovich.
MAR 16 - Thirteen Ukrainian shoppers killed in bread queue. Russian bombs obliterate theatre in Mariupol where 1,200 locals are sheltering. Footage emerges of civilian being executed as he surrenders. Zelensky invokes Martin Luther King in speech to US Congress
MAR 17 - Russian forces accused of raping and hanging women. Arnold Schwarzenegger tells Russians Ukraine did not start the war. Britain sending missile defence system to Poland.
MAR 18 - Missile strikes on Kramatorsk, Kharkiv and a base in Mykolaiv. 150,000 Brits have offered homes to war refugees. UK bans Kremlin-backed TV station RT. Putin holds flag-waving rally.
MAR 20 - Zelensky says Mariupol siege is Russian war crime. Claims Moscow’s elite plot to topple Putin
MAR 21 - Ukraine vows to never lay down arms after being given a Mariupol surrender deadline. Ukrainian girl whose rendition of Frozen went viral sings her national anthem at Poland concert Former Nazi prisoner, 96, dies in shelling.
MAR 22 - Russians planting mines around seized areas and settle in for “war of attrition”. Zelensky asks Pope to intervene.
