When Vladimir Putin’s troops invaded Ukraine to topple the Western-aligned government of Volodymyr Zelensky, Tania struggled to convince her mother to flee their home in Mariupol.
“I was sure war would start,” she said. “People who have lived through the annexation of Crimea in 2014 don’t take threats seriously.” But as Russian bombardments blasted her hometown, the harsh reality of Putin’s “peacekeeping mission” quickly sunk in.
“When you have lived there your entire life, you cannot recognise it due to the devastation caused.”
