Zoë Bell

Russia's invasion of Ukraine one year ago triggered a major refugee crisis; millions of Ukrainians were displaced from their homes, flowing into neighbouring countries like Poland, Bulgaria, Moldova and Slovakia. In the UK, we watched from afar as Ukrainians fled their homes, walked for hours to reach border crossings and said tearful goodbyes to loved ones staying behind to fight. And in a small village in Cheshire, phones started ringing.

By February 2022, Russia’s overt military buildup near Ukraine’s borders had set the world on edge – but even experts failed to predict a full-scale war.

Traffic at the border is picking up. Both Artur and the Border Guard statistics say so. After a relatively quiet autumn, there were more refugees on the border in December. Around Christmas and New Year's Eve, between 20,000 and 30,000 people crossed over.

In this special report, upday editors located across Europe look back at how their respective countries responded to Putin's war.

In the early hours of February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full military assault on Ukraine.

The largest war on European soil since the 1940s brings with it a whole new raft of technology and equipment that simply did not exist when tanks last rolled over the continent.

It has been one year since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began and there are still no signs of the conflict ending any time soon. Ahead of the anniversary, the UK's defence secretary, Ben Wallace said the way Russian President Vladimir Putin was content to operate his army like a “meat grinder” meant “he is not going to stop” the war – despite incurring horrific casualties. Ukraine and its people have suffered greatly over the last 12 months, and towns and cities across the country have changed

With the war on Ukraine showing no signs of ending almost a year after Putin's invasion began, Russian athletes are still unsure if they will be competing in the Paris Olympics.