VIDEO: Ukraine - The destruction of a country before our eyes

VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED***

At Fridays' candlelit vigil in Ashbourne, marking the first anniversary of the Russian invasion, those gathered watched a video that viscerally showed the picture postcard country of Ukraine before and after it's devastating descent into war and destruction.

The eight-minute video montage opens with footage of Ukraine's rural beauty and modern cityscapes, sweeping drone footage of ancient architecture and rolling countryside dotted with historic castles with their gold onion-shaped domes.

That serenity and peace vanished on the morning of the 23rd February 2022 as Russian invaders began the destruction of the peaceful, beautiful country of Ukraine and the terrorisation of its people. Cities like Bucha, Mariupol, Kherson, and Kharkiv reduced to rubble and millions of people killed or displaced.

The video starts as a picture postcard to a Ukraine that the proud people of that country would want you to visit, but who will now need our help rebuild in the years after this nightmare ends.

Viewer discretion is advised.