Allentown Diocese Bishop Alfred Schlert marked the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in a Feb. 24 tweet.

"On the first anniversary of aggression in Ukraine, I encourage prayer and fasting for an end to the war, and peace for the Ukrainian people," Schlert tweeted.

According to BBC News, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent approximately 200,000 soldiers into Ukraine on February 24, 2022, hoping to quickly overthrow the government and take control of Kyiv, Ukraine's capital. However, his plan failed, and Russia continues to face massive setbacks.

Putin continues to refer to the invasion as a "special military operation," claiming to want to "demilitarize and denazify" the country, not forcefully take it over. Despite this claim, the conflict has had significant ramifications, displacing millions of Ukrainians and bombing and killing civilian areas across the country.

After unsuccessful attempts to conquer Kyiv and Chernihiv, forcing retreats on both counts, Putin's goal became liberating Donbas, which pertains to Ukraine's Luhansk and Donetsk regions in the east part of the country. However, Russia has failed to achieve this, as its military was forced into retreats from Kharkiv in the Northeast and Kherson in the South.

Western nations have repeatedly ignored Russia's warnings against arming Ukraine in favor of declaring unified support for the embattled nation through the joint power of NATO, with the U.S. having sent Ukraine the most military aid to date. The U.S.'s advanced HIMARS light multiple rocket launchers have reportedly helped to change the direction of the war, and multiple Western leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, have traveled to Kyiv as a show of further support.

Ukraine's government has stated that, in order to establish peace and an end to the war, Russian troops must withdraw behind Ukraine's internationally recognized borders, a stance supported by two United Nations resolutions passed shortly after the initial invasion and hours before the war's first anniversary. Currently, any ceasefire or peace talks appear unlikely.