Before the war it was a large village, about 5,000 people, and when I got back so many had fled – but those that stayed through the occupation became very close, and rallied together.
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.
But driving through the country, seeing it with my own eyes – buildings with no windows, the debris and rubble of destroyed houses, a collapsed bridge I drove over near Borodianka – was a huge shock.
Klavdievo is right in the middle of three sites that have seen horrific action in the war – Bucha, Borodianka and Irpin.
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.
