Ukrainian women in new project - 6th March 2024

A new project - Nezlamna - tells the stories of Ukrainian women. They came to the UK after 24th February 2022. Russian soldiers went into Ukraine after that day.

Katia Duncan and Vlada Stoliarova made the project. They both live in the UK.

Katia Duncan: "And one of the questions that we've asked the women is, what, what, what is your story of being "nezlamna", of being this unbreakable woman. And they say, I don't feel like that. I feel like I break down every single day. And then I build myself back up."

There are 18 women in the project, like Yulia Zabrodska. They came to the UK with their children. The women wanted to keep them safe.

Yulia Zabrodska: "We, Ukrainian woman meet with challenges and I think all of us we have a sense of guilt that we left our country. And these projects show that we are strong, we're fighting, and we try to settle in foreign country and protect our children."

Vlada took the photos. The women are holding flowers. Like the flowers, the women live through difficult times.

Vlada Stoliarova: "I think it's very important to show that these refugees, that these women, that they're real. They used to have their lives in Ukraine, they full of love and full of just problems and the usual life that we have. But one day, it changed."

The project talks about the women's situation. Coming to the UK was hard for them. They're single parents now. And they're afraid for their family and for Ukraine, too. Before, lots of the women had good jobs. Now, it's difficult to find work. Their language skills are sometimes low.

Nezlamna helped the 18 women. But it helped other women too. They don't feel alone any more.

Katia Duncan: "They lived through the experience, but also it has been therapeutic to other Ukrainians who, who saw themselves in these stories, so Ukrainians who read and relived and they felt that 'I'm not alone. I'm not alone in feeling like this.'"