One month has passed since Russia launched its "special military operation" on February 24, turning Ukraine into a war zone. On a journey from the Polish border to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, FRANCE 24 met civilians and soldiers suddenly plunged into a brutal and bloody conflict.
Ukraine’s airports have all been closed since the start of the war, so we cross the border from Poland by road on March 11. After the border post at Hrebenne, we come across the first checkpoints where armed Ukrainian civilians monitor the comings and goings of vehicles and sometimes check their identities. There are still 70 kilometres to go to reach the city of Lviv – still untouched by the conflict as we approach. Most Western embassies have withdrawn there.
