It has been three years since Russia invaded eastern Ukraine, a dramatic escalation in the conflict between the two countries that has been raging for over a decade. 

And for three years, Ukraine has fought hard to defend itself. Over 12,000 civilians are believed to have died, a similar number captured or detained, while estimates on the military deaths range from the tens to hundreds of thousands.

During this war, most of the Western world has sided with Ukraine, and supported the country financially and with tanks and missiles.

But that could soon change, with US President Donald Trump arranging peace talks with Russia without Ukraine’s involvement.

New Zealand freelance journalist Tom Mutch has been in Ukraine for much of the last three years, and he returns to The Front Page today to discuss the state of the invasion as a potential end to the conflict approaches.

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