In the early days of the war, with Russian forces closing in on Kyiv, fierce battles erupted in the towns and villages around the capital as Ukraine fought for its existence in the face of Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
One of the most violent arenas was the town of Makariv, filled with streets of shattered houses and twisted, burnt-out cars. It was a desolate landscape of rubble, broken glass and acrid smoke rising from pools of flames. Most residents had fled, the bodies of some who remained lay on the streets.
