Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on February 23 expressed confidence in his country's victory over the Russian occupation forces, a day before the first anniversary of the start of the invasion. 

In the run-up to the first anniversary of the launch of the invasion, Western leaders stepped up their support for Kiev, with G7 ministers discussing new sanctions on Russia and the United Nations General Assembly preparing a resolution that call for peace. 

"We are not broken, we have overcome many challenges and we will triumph. We will hold responsible all those who brought this evil, this war to our land," said Zelensky. 

Even the residents of the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, expressed determination for the victory of their country. 

"This has been the hardest year of my life and of all Ukrainians," said Diana Shestakova, 23, whose boyfriend has been fighting for a year. 

"I am sure that we will be victorious, but we do not know how long we will have to wait and how many people will be killed until that time comes," she added. 

In the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, a Swiss artist has displayed photographs of all the victims on the walls of buildings to honor them. 

On the first anniversary of the February 24 launch of the invasion, the Ukrainian military said it expects Russia to carry out airstrikes that day. 

As a result of the year-long conflict, large parts of Ukraine have been destroyed and, according to Western sources, 150,000 people have died on both sides so far.