Six months ago this week Russia invaded Ukraine sparking a war of attrition along a thousand-kilometre front line of death and devastation.

The destruction and loss of life has resulted in the largest humanitarian crisis in Europe since the Second World War.

Over 13 million people have been forced to flee their homes, seeking safety elsewhere in the country or protection overseas. Entire cities and villages have been destroyed and more than 5,500 civilians have lost their lives, according to the United Nations.

The epicentre of much of the fighting has been the city of Kharkiv.

Half a year into the war, the city whose pre-war population was roughly 1.4 million is still being shelled almost daily.

On February 24, Ukraine’s second largest city took the full force of a Russian assault. Within 24 hours, Russian troops had reached the northern suburbs of the city, which is just 30 kilometres from the Russian border.

Despite outnumbering the Ukrainian forces, the invading Russian army was unable to enter Kharkiv.

According to a recent IOM survey, the largest number (28 per cent) of the estimated 6.8 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Ukraine fled from Kharkiv Region.

And the humanitarian needs of those who chose to stay or were unable to flee are huge, the report says.

According to the High Commissioner for Human Rights, more than 5,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine as a direct result of the fighting and almost 8,000 have been injured.

But these official figures are unlikely to reflect the full picture of Ukrainian civilian casualties.

Even this conservative estimate of deaths already exceeds by 50 per cent the number of people killed in 30 years of civil strife in Northern Ireland.

Out of a total population of just over 40 million, seven million Ukrainians have had to move from their homes to other places inside Ukraine since the beginning of the war. And another 6.6 million Ukrainians are estimated to have fled the country, according to UNHCR, the UN refugee agency.

The economic effects of Russia’s systematic and increasing targeting of Ukrainian infrastructure has also been significant with Ukraine’s GDP projected to decrease by 45 per cent in 2022.

The estimated damage to infrastructure stands at over $US100 billion to date, and the dire environmental consequences of the war are likely to last for generations.

Among those who fled Kharkiv were sisters Yevheniia and Alexandra Cherkasova.

After surviving bombing and missile strikes, the sisters were put aboard a train by their parents in the precarious hope they would reach safety.

Now safe in Melbourne, they say they fear the war in their homeland seems no closer to ending.

“In 2014, when Russia attacked the eastern part of Ukraine and Crimea, it seemed like he had a plan – an evil plan – but a plan. Now there doesn’t seem to be a plan and it is not going to end well for Putin,” Yevheniia said.

She said she is uncertain about the future and where and how the conflict in her homeland will end up.

“I didn’t think would be so bad. And I never understood how much I loved my country until this whole thig happened. When the war started we thought it would be over in a few weeks. And then we thought it would be just one week more, one week more…

“But it hasn’t stopped yet and we are just hoping for the best every day.

“I don’t know what the future holds but I hope the war ends soon and we can go home and rebuild our country,” Yevheniia said.

Ulyana Matsaienko has also found refuge in Australia after her home city of Kharkiv was attacked by the Russian army.

Ulyana said that Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine are unforgiveable.

“What the Russians have done in Bucha and other places is evil. It is unbelievable that this could happen in Europe in 2022.

“Ukrainians will never forget this. I am worried about mother and father-in-law who have moved to the countryside near Kharkiv. I’m worried that what happened in Bucha will happen where they are,” she said.

Bucha was the scene of alleged war crimes in which Russian troops are accused of torturing and executing civilians.      

The Russian military hasn’t given an official update on casualties since late March, when it reported around 1,350. But a US government report estimated that 70,000 Russians have been killed or wounded since the start of the war.

The number of Ukrainian soldiers killed is estimated by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights estimates at more than 5,500.