On the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Yuliya Danilina talks about her decision to return to Ukraine despite the risks – and the legacy of occupation she found‘I felt paralysed by fear’: Danilina’s escape from Ukraine (2022)Before Russia invaded in 2022, a red dog collar arrived in the post. I’d bought it for my rough collie, Pippa, but it was too large. So I drove to Bucha, a 20-minute drive from my village of Klavdievo-Tarasovo, to get it resized by a leatherworker there. He was very kind and said he could fix it and to come back later that week.The next day, the war started. I managed to escape the bombs and food shortages of the early weeks of the war, I left Ukraine and came to England to be with my then 27-year-old daughter, Sasha. Arriving in March 2022, it took me about a month to come to my senses – I didn’t realise how deeply in shock I was. Continue reading...
Yuliya Danilina, a Ukrainian woman, reflects on her decision to return home during the third anniversary of Russia's invasion. After fleeing in 2022, she coped with fear by dog sitting. In May 2022, she returned, witnessing devastation and feeling a deep love for her homeland. The war's impact on her family and community, including her father's brush with death, weighs heavily on her. She contemplates the war's lasting effects and the unfairness of freezing history in favor of the aggressor.
