Ukraine’s war has created millions of broken families

Anna Gorozhenko, a historical novelist, and her daughter, Yara, then just seven, fled the Russian advance and left their home in a Kyiv suburb in February 2022. Under martial law Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 cannot leave the country except by special permission; so they had to leave Anna’s husband, Alex, behind. They found sanctuary in York, in Britain, where a local family took them in. Anna found a job; Yara thrived at school with a new set of besties. Over time, Anna saw the marriages of many of her refugee friends fail; but Yara, still frightened, refused to go back to Ukraine, even for a visit. So Anna made the difficult decision to return to Ukraine last September, leaving Yara in Yorkshire, in a small house she rented in the village of Poppleton, in the care of her mother-in-law, Yara’s grandmother, who left her home in Ukraine to take her place.