A year ago today, the world woke up to war.
In the early hours, the first wave of Russian president Vladimir Putin's barbaric invasion of peaceful Ukraine saw air strikes hit major cities and military bases in the country, as desperate civilians piled into trains and cars to flee to wherever they could.
Images of families sheltering in subways as air raid sirens sounded outside dominated news bulletins reporting the ever increasing death toll. The war led to the displacement of millions of Ukrainians, a large number of whom now thankfully call Greater Manchester their home.
The region has always stood firm with Ukraine and its people. And within just 24 hours of the first Russian missiles falling - many indiscriminately hitting schools and hospitals - Manchester found its collective voice and has continued to shout loudly in support of the war-torn country and against the Russian government ever since.
Then Manchester City footballer and Ukrainian international Oleksandr Zinchenko, his hand clasped over his heart, joined hundreds of young Ukrainians at a candlelit vigil in Manchester's St Peter's Square in the wake of the invasion of their homeland.
Manchester's central library was lit up in the blue and yellow colours of the Ukrainian flag. As darkness fell in the city centre, they sang together the Ukrainian national anthem, all thoughts remaining firmly with loved-ones at home.
Russians were among them. Olga Rolfe, 55, has a Ukrainian father and Russian mother and has lived in Manchester for 16 years. "I want people to know Russian people are not like Putin, and Putin is not Russia," she said at the vigil. "No one in Russia wants war."
Chants against Putin - who was branded as a 'blood-stained aggressor who believes in imperial conquest' by UK politicians as his invasion began - rang out as passers-by joined the crowd and car horns were hooted by nearby drivers in support.
In towns across Greater Manchester, stories of families waiting anxiously for news began to emerge as the invasion was condemned by global world leaders.
Yaroslaw Tymchyshyn, chairman of the Bolton branch of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, told how he feared for the worst as he and others huddled around mobile phones making calls and sending text messages that weren't responded to.
"I just don’t know what's going to happen," he said of his loved ones in an isolated village in the west of the country. "It makes me feel apprehensive. When I woke up first thing this morning and they started the reports, it was horror, shock and anger.
"I was in Ukraine on August 24, 1991 when Ukraine was declared independent. When that news filtered through it was tears of joy, this morning it is tears of desperation." A memorial service, meanwhile, was being held in Bolton today to mark a year since the invasion.
Members of Greater Manchester's many Ukrainian communities began to gather at churches and social clubs to offer prayers following the invasion.
At St Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church on Cheetham Hill Road in Manchester, a focal point of the community for more than 70 years, children wore crowns made from flowers at morning mass as the congregation prayed for, and showed their support for, relatives and the people of Ukraine.
Amid the shock, anger and grief, long-established families born and raised in Manchester stood side-by-side with newer arrivals to the city in shattering scenes being played out across the UK.
Support from Greater Manchester, however, was to continue and step-up like never before.
Families threw open their front doors to welcome Ukrainian refugees into their homes as the Government announced its Homes for Ukraine scheme, which paired refugees with host families.
Data shows that more than 180,000 Ukrainians have come to the UK since the invasion began, with 30,000 Ukrainians arriving since last September alone. Manchester was at the forefront - and lives have been saved thanks to the generosity and compassion shown here.
In Radcliffe, just outside Bury, the Mushin family found a loving and safe place of sanctuary after fleeing the devastation outside Kyiv.
Just months after leaving war-torn Ukraine the family-of-five, Munadil Muhsin, his wife Amir, children Alina and Ariana and Amir's mother, Halyna Hurska, were welcomed into Karen Hopwood and Jim Eynon's home under the scheme.
In a town outside Kyiv, the couple ran their own clothing business, but packed their bags, bundled their son and daughter into a car and headed for the Polish border as the bombs fell. The next five days were spent crammed inside their car amid sub-zero temperatures.
Now the children ride bikes in the quiet Bury suburb, a world away from their homeland.
"In Ukraine, we had a home and work," said Munadil. "We had everything there, but when we left home, we took only our clothes. Everything is destroyed now.
"We see images from home but we don't know anything about what is going on. Everyone in Manchester has been so helpful and friendly since we arrived."
In Trafford, we reported how a seven-year-old boy smiled for the first time since being forced to leave Ukraine - thanks to ice-skating.
Seven-year-old Elijah and his family left for Manchester early last year without any of their belongings.
Having struggled to adapt to life in the UK, Elijah's mother found out about the Altrincham Speed Skating Club and contacted the club to see if her son, who was a dedicated skater back home, could join in their monthly sessions, which was soon arranged.
Club Secretary Sally Sherard-Bornshin said: "They contacted the club as Elijah had been a talented skater in his hometown.
"Living in an outer area of North West Manchester, Elijah and his mother travelled over two hours to reach the club by public transport and during the session, his mother was visibly upset and had tears in her eyes. In broken English, she explained the terrible circumstances and that this was the first time that Elijah had smiled since the family was displaced to the UK."
Footballer Zinchenko invited a 10-year-old Ukrainian boy into training with Manchester City; a nine-year-old refugee left so traumatised by the invasion that she didn't speak for more than a month found life again thanks to a family living in Timperley who took her family in; and a journalist who fled Kiev told of her gruelling journey to Stockport and of her unending gratitude to the UK and its people.
It's clear Greater Manchester wrapped its arms around Ukraine and her people, and continues to do so.
People across the region were quick to put their offers of support into action, too.
A group of aid workers from Bury travelled to Ukraine to spread Christmas cheer and put smiles on the faces of children forced to live in underground bunkers as the Russian invasion continued. Youngsters received gifts from the UK volunteers - and were even visited by iconic children's character Peppa Pig.
And a foodbank owner from Didsbury returned to the Ukraine for the fourth time in April to give vital medical aid to innocent victims of the war. Jen Savaris, who runs Perry's food bank in East Didsbury, said she had become familiar with the sight of chaotic, over-run hospitals, running out of essential equipment and the staff to treat swathes of patients.
Ahead of her fourth visit she said: "Every time I am just horrified by how many families are still crossing the borders and leaving their entire life behind. The first two times I went, there were just thousands lining up and we spoke to them, gave them drinks and food and offered to help in any way we could.
"We have taken supplies over every time, and have raised money to be able to buy supplies for hospitals in Ukraine which are becoming overrun and struggling. At the hospital we visit in Lviv, they have moved all the patients downstairs from the upper floors in case it is bombed.
"I have been on the ambulances, driving for hours in queues to cross the border into Ukraine and heard the air raid sirens. It is really frightening for so many people so we just want to help in the best way we can."
At Christmas there was sadness, but also hope.
We reported from St Edmunds Catholic church in Bolton as more than 60 worshippers gathered for a Christmas Day mass last month. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Christmas Day is marked on January 7, in accordance with the Julian calendar, making it the first festive period for Ukrainians since the Russian invasion began.
"It is stressful, looking at the news 24/7. But I have hope," said. Oksana Chykovska 53, from Atherton, Wigan, as she fought back tears.
Tens of thousands of people have died in the conflict and it is estimated that around 17 million people are currently displaced, either within Ukraine or as refugees across Europe.
According to figures released today, more than £225 million has been donated to Ukraine fundraisers on GoFundMe since the country was invaded last year, in what has been described as one of the greatest 'outpourings of generosity' ever seen on the platform.
Tens of thousands of pounds of that is likely to have come from Greater Manchester. As the war still rages and the suffering goes on, it's clear our region will never fail to offer our support to those who need it most.
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