What happens to POWs?published at 12:44 Greenwich Mean Time 24 February 2023

12:44 GMT 24 February 2023

James Waterhouse
Ukraine correspondent in Kyiv

Now one from Rosival Barbosa in Brazil: What is the fate of the Ukrainian soldiers taken prisoner by the Russians?

It’s difficult to say for the simple reason that Russia hasn’t allowed either inspectors or Western media into the camps where they hold them.

There have been credible reports in the past of torture, beatings and poor conditions.

But what Ukraine will see as a positive, is that releases are still being negotiated months after they have been captured.

Are Ukraine's neighbours worried?published at 12:40 Greenwich Mean Time 24 February 2023

12:40 GMT 24 February 2023

Marta Shokalo
Editor, BBC Ukrainian Service

Emily asks: Are bordering countries to Ukraine at risk of Russian aggression? Especially if they have been supplying Ukraine with weapons?

I think in this war we can’t rule out anything, because so far even the most crazy predictions came true.

At the beginning, nobody believed that Putin would invade Ukraine, that we would see such full-scale war in the 21st century in the middle of Europe.

I can speak about Poland because I’ve been living there for almost a year. I think one of the reasons that Poles are so helpful to Ukrainians is that they realise that Ukraine is holding the line of this conflict.

I’m pretty sure that the closest neighbours are worried.

But what amazes me is that it doesn’t stop them from helping Ukraine, and all of our people are very grateful for that.

Who controls 'blank' areas?published at 12:35 Greenwich Mean Time 24 February 2023

12:35 GMT 24 February 2023

James Waterhouse
Ukraine correspondent in Kyiv

This one’s from Michael in Abingdon. Most of the maps published show vast areas of blank space. Who controls these areas?

There will always be grey areas along the frontline, especially in the east, where both sides try and launch attacks. But this is the most pronounced we’ve seen the boundary between occupied territory and Ukrainian-controlled areas.

In the south, the river Dnipro is an effective defensive line for both sides, so we’re less likely to see significant movement there. It’s around the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia and further east that we could see the next significant developments. For now though, Russia appears to have a firm grip on what it’s already taken.

The question everyone's asking...published at 12:29 Greenwich Mean Time 24 February 2023

12:29 GMT 24 February 2023

Marta Shokalo
Editor, BBC Ukrainian Service

Lucian wants to know: How do you see the war ending?

I’m pretty sure that Ukraine will win - although the hardest question is when.

That’s probably the question that all Ukrainians are asking.

At some point I stopped asking myself that question, because all my previous hopes for the war ending didn’t come true.

I remember when we left for Poland in March 2022, I was pretty sure we’d go back home in June. But as you see, it never happened. A year on, I did come back home as a guest, which is very weird and unusual.

It’s easier to live just day by day and not to think too much about what the future brings.

Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Kyiv

Thanks for all your questions to James and Marta so far - please keep them coming, and we'll carry on answering them for another half an hour.

What would a spring push mean for Ukraine?published at 12:23 Greenwich Mean Time 24 February 2023

12:23 GMT 24 February 2023

James Waterhouse
Ukraine correspondent in Kyiv

Another question, this one from Joel: With the support of UK, America and Nato with tanks and other supplies, how do you see Ukraine using them if a spring push happens for the Russians?

What Ukraine is hoping to do is use Western hardware, like tanks, long-range missiles and armoured vehicles, in unison to break the deadlock, effectively concentrating their forces on a particular part of the front line.

At the moment, we’re seeing defending troops weathering quite a heavy Russian storm as Moscow launches its own major offences.

It seems President Zelensky is hoping to hold on until the right moment to strike but Ukraine is less able than Russia to sustain losses.

Following that question about the future of Ukraine, let's remind ourselves what was happening on the first day of the war.

02:30 (all times in GMT) In a televised speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin announces the launch of a “special military operation” in Ukraine

03:27 The first explosions are heard in Kyiv, and more blasts are reported across the country as Ukrainians wake up to war

04:58 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirms reports of nationwide missile strikes

11.56 Nato activates its defence plans, which include more than 100 jets on standby and 120 allied ships at sea, from the Arctic to the Mediterranean

12:03 The UK's then-Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, addresses the nation, saying: "Our worst fears have come true and all our warnings have proved tragically accurate. President Putin of Russia has unleashed war… without any provocation and any credible excuse"

18:50 There are reports that the port city of Mariupol has been coming under heavy fire

21:40 Almost 2,000 people are arrested at anti-war protests in 40 cities across Russia

22:59 Zelensky calls for general mobilisation and imposes martial law, he reports that 137 Ukrainians died on the first day of the assault

Image source, Getty Images

What does Ukraine's future look like?published at 12:14 Greenwich Mean Time 24 February 2023

12:14 GMT 24 February 2023

Marta Shokalo
Editor, BBC Ukrainian Service

Nathan asks: will it be possible to rebuild Ukraine after the war? What do you think is the time frame within which the country can be rebuilt? And when will the young people go back to schools?

Yes, I think Ukraine will be rebuilt and will become a country where lots of money is invested. I’m actually very optimistic about Ukraine’s future. But at the same time, the scale of damage for Ukraine is enormous, and I think it will take years and years to restore or to rebuild it completely.

But even now looking at how people are rebuilding houses which were damaged at the beginning of the invasion, it is amazing how they manage to do it so quickly even during the war.

Some of our schools are operating even now. So some children are able to go to school.

But of course, many Ukrainian children are now doing online schooling. And that’s probably the main reason why so many young families – mothers and children – are not coming back yet. Doing home schooling during a time of war, with constant electricity cuts, air raid sirens, is a very challenging task for both children and parents.

And even when the child goes to school, you can imagine how their parents feel, when any time in any place around Ukraine a rocket could land.

Those schools that are open do all have bomb shelters, and children have got used to going there and taking their emergency bags with them.

Can common ground be found?published at 12:07 Greenwich Mean Time 24 February 2023

12:07 GMT 24 February 2023

James Waterhouse
Ukraine correspondent in Kyiv

Thomas Day in London asks: "It would be most interesting to hear from your reporters about any steps that are being taken by ordinary people - both civilians and soldiers - to find some areas of common accord between the two sides in this conflict."

What we’ve seen is quite a successful prisoner exchange programme running in parallel with the fighting, with little to no diplomatic relations between Kyiv and Moscow elsewhere. Thousands of prisoners of war are continuing to be exchanged.

You could argue that if soldiers are treated reasonably well – which hasn’t always been the case – it could lessen their desire to fight, should they find themselves deployed once more.

I think it’s too early to talk about areas of appeasement, given the level of hostilities between the two countries.

I think we’ve seen more of a cultural shift, where Ukraine has had its sense of identity strengthened and is being politically pushed more towards the West by Russia’s aggression.

BBC News is now broadcasting a special bulletin covering the anniversary of Russia's invasion.

To watch it live press the Play icon at the top of this page.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has hailed his nation's "year of invincibility", one year on from the start of the Russian invasion.

In a televised address earlier, he said Ukraine would "do everything to win this year".

Alice Cuddy, reporting from Kyiv

I’m here in the hotel in Kyiv that houses the BBC’s team with our Ukraine correspondent James Waterhouse and the head of the BBC’s Ukrainian Service Marta Shokalo.

James arrived in Kyiv six weeks before Russia’s invasion on 24 February 2022, while Marta fled the city and is now normally based in Poland.

They are going to be answering your questions live, so stay tuned for analysis and insights.

Image source, Reuters

Anti-war protests are planned across European capitals to mark the invasion anniversary today, and in Berlin, a destroyed Russian tank has been on display.

Activists placed a bombed out Russian tank in front of the Russian embassy in the German capital, with one protester donning wings and holding a placard denouncing Putin's invasion.

The T-72 tank, secured from the Ukrainian village of Dmytrivka, outside Kyiv, will reportedly stay in place for a few days as a memorial to the war.

Image source, Reuters

Boris Johnson was applauded as he left a service at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in London this morning.

Ukrainians hold Johnson in high regard as the UK, when he was still PM, was among the first to provide weapons to support their defence against Russia.

As he exited, he shouted Slava Ukraini (Glory to Ukraine) to the congregation.

The US has marked today's one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion by announcing new sanctions aimed at undermining Moscow's ability to rage war in Ukraine.

The measures include export controls and tariffs, plus a £2bn (£1.66bn) package of additional weaponry to help Kyiv as it prepares for a spring offensive.

It comes as the G7, including the US, plans to impose sanctions that will target 200 individuals and entities and a dozen Russian financial institutions.

Leaders from the group of wealthy nations will discuss what additional aid can be supplied to Ukraine with President Zelensky later today.

"Putin thought that Ukraine’s defences would collapse, that America’s resolve would falter, and that the world would look the other way," said US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

"He was wrong. One year later, Ukraine’s brave defenders have not wavered, and neither has our commitment to support them for as long as it takes."

Image source, .

Michael Bristow
Asia Pacific editor

In a rare intervention, China has called for talks to take place between Russia and Ukraine, saying there must be a respect for national sovereignty and cessation of hostilities.

But Beijing has been accused of trying to present itself as neutral while, at the same time, backing Moscow.

At a vote at the United Nations yesterday to demand Russia withdraw its troops from Ukraine, China abstained. Beijing's chief foreign policy official has just been to Moscow - not Kyiv.

Neither Nato, the EU nor the US think China is neutral.

Question Why is there no serious attempt to negotiate with Putin and Zelensky on a ceasefire?published at 11:28 Greenwich Mean Time 24 February 2023

11:28 GMT 24 February 2023

Lyse Doucet
Chief International Correspondent

Time for another of your questions now and this one comes from Nigel Baker, who wants to know why the leaders of Ukraine and Russia haven't seriously tried to negotiate a ceasefire?

The Ukraine war had been a rare case of talking and fighting starting almost simultaneously. Direct mid-level negotiations and third-party mediation began last February almost as soon as Russian tanks rumbled across the border.

But as this war drags on, views have hardened on both sides especially among Ukrainians who’ve seen their cities laid to waste, and a catalogue of alleged Russian war crimes. And both sides are also convinced they can still gain ground on the battlefield, even win this war outright.

Distrust runs so deep that warring parties suspect their enemy would only use a ceasefire to regroup for another round of fighting. Talks which did take place over the past year, on issues like prisoner exchanges and humanitarian corridors, did achieve results. But it still hasn’t translated into progress on the most significant issue of all - territory.

As President Zelensky puts it: “we used to say ‘peace’, now we say ‘victory’.”

Alice Cuddy, reporting from Kyiv

I've been speaking to a soldier on the frontlines in Ukraine.

Taras Ratushnyi says he went to fight on 26 February 2022 in the east of the country. The first month was “the most stressful," he tells me.

“We were all torn out of our peaceful lives. When you find yourself in a war zone, you are plunged into a completely different life - helicopters fly over you, missiles go overhead,” he says.

He says he and fellow soldiers have now “more or less adapted”.

Taras’ 24-year-old son, Roman, was killed fighting. His 26-year-old son is still on the front lines. His younger children have left Ukraine and are now in the Netherlands with his ex-wife.

“The last time I saw them was on 23 February 2022, when I took them to school,” he says.

“The war changes everyone,” he tells me.

Thousands of civilians have been killed in the last year of war. The BBC World Service’s Newshour programme have been speaking to the families of three people killed as a result of the conflict. We will publish their stories on this page throughout the day.

Anna Yakhno remembers her son, Sasha, as a happy, easy-going kid who loved nature and animals. He enjoyed playing with Lego and toy cars.

But he never played with tanks, she insists. He never played at war.

She also remembers the four-year-old's last words to her: "I will come to you when they stop fighting".

Sashenka, as his mother calls him, understood what was happening around him. He was staying with his grandmother, Zoya, in northern Ukraine, when Russian troops approached.

They tried to escape by taking a boat across the Dnipro River. The boat capsized.

Zoya's body was found the following day.

It took 26 days before they found Sasha’s.

Anna – who now lives in England – says she doesn’t have a favourite memory of her son. The whole time he was with her is her favourite memory.