With days to go for the first anniversary of Vladimir Putin's brutal and cruel invasion of Ukraine, the Russian army is set to mount a fresh offensive and give the Kremlin's tyrant something to crow about after months of military defeats.
IMAGE: A Ukrainian soldier drives a tank along a road outside the frontline town of Bakhmut. Photograph: Yevhenii Zavhorodnii/Reuters
IMAGE: Ukrainian soldiers fire an SPG-9 anti-tank grenade launcher toward Russian troops in Bakhmut. Photograph: Iryna Rybakova/Press Service of the 93rd Independent Kholodnyi Yar Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters
IMAGE: A Ukrainian soldier walks next to a burning building in the Bakhmut. Photograph: Iryna Rybakova/Press Service of the 93rd Independent Kholodnyi Yar Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters
IMAGE: Soldiers of the 79th Air Assault Brigade walk through trenches near the town of Marinka. Photograph: Marko Djurica/Reuters
IMAGE: Ukrainian Marines prepare their T-64 tank for action in the Donbass region. Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images
IMAGE: Ukrainian soldiers take cover during shelling outside Bakhmut. Photograph: Yevhenii Zavhorodnii/Reuters
IMAGE: A mechanic works to repair a captured Russian T-72B3 tank for use by Ukrainian forces at a warehouse in eastern Ukraine. Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images
IMAGE: A firefighter walks at a car park near an apartment block in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region. Photograph: Marko Djurica/Reuters
IMAGE: A firefighter rescues a cat in Pokrovsk. Photograph: Marko Djurica/Reuters
IMAGE: A woman reacts as her brother is rescued after an apartment block is heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike in Pokrovsk. Photograph: Marko Djurica/Reuters
IMAGE: Women walk on a playground in Pokrovsk. Photograph: Marko Djurica/Reuters
IMAGE: A man is rescued by firefighters in Pokrovsk. Photograph: Marko Djurica/Reuters
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com