Inside Russia's 'Zombieland' with 'brainwashed' people cut off and unable to buy essentials

Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine was supposed to restore Russia to a superpower.

The warmonger appeared on Russian television in February 2022 to announce the start of what he called a "special military operation", with then British Prime Minister Boris Johnson awake in the middle of the night at 10 Downing Street with a call from one of his advisers.

Instead, it brought back the dark days of the Soviet Union, as citizens struggled to obtain basic goods and were cut off from the world behind a curtain of censorship.

Ukraine remains scarred by the devastation, the death of tens of thousands of people and the flight of millions more.

United Nations chief António Guterres condemned Russia's actions as an "affront" to the global collective conscience at a meeting of the General Assembly nearly a year later.

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Whereas for the Russians, some dream of a new life in the West, while others wave flags and repeat the propaganda broadcast daily. "War drives people crazy; welcome to Zombieland," says Nika, 31, from Moscow.

So what is it really like in Russia today? Here we discover...