Chernigiv -- just 50 kilometres (32 miles) from Ukraine's border with Belarus -- was swiftly encircled in the early days of Russia's invasion. Although Russian forces never took the city, it was pounded with artillery and airstrikes for more than a month before the Russian army withdrew in recent days, after Moscow announced it would regroup to focus on an offensive in eastern Ukraine. Signs of the siege they waged to take this foothold towards the capital of Kyiv are everywhere, from the drawings made by children hiding in the hospital basement to the destroyed football stadium and the muddy field where wooden crosses and floral garlands mark where those who died in the bombing were lain to rest. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES ARRANGED IN SEQUENCES