Ukrainian War Stories

The idea for this book was born when the authors met in Edinburgh in autumn 2022, about six months after the onset of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Nadiia was a refugee from Kyiv. She had collected stories from her fellow refugees telling how they and their families had reacted to the shock of the invasion. She translated them into English and wanted to make English speakers aware of what was happening in Ukraine. Soon she and Jenny had set up a simple website and put the stories online. Then, as news emerged in the Ukrainian media of the horrors inflicted on Ukrainian prisoners of war, they began to add some of their stories, based on media interviews after prisoner exchange and mostly unreported outside Ukraine. These stories make up most of this book. The emphasis is on individuals - refugee families, prisoners of war and civilians in Russian captivity and people living in the Russian occupied areas. Not just their sufferings and the cruelty of their Russian gaolers and others but also the Ukrainians' steadfast belief in their country, their patriotism and their determination that Ukraine can and will overcome in this horrific war against a cunning, evil and unprincipled enemy. The authors hope that readers will see what happens when democracy tolerates and plays with dictatorship and tyranny.