When Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Sky News set out to find Ukrainians who could document their experiences as war twisted their lives out of shape.
For almost a year now, Ilyas Verdiev, Oksana Koshel and her husband Seva Koshel have been recording audio voice notes for the Sky News Ukraine War Diaries podcast. To date their diaries have nearly four million listens.
Click to subscribe to Ukraine War Diaries wherever you get your podcasts
Ilyas is an IT professional living in Kyiv. His wife Natalia and two young sons fled to Poland at the start of the war.
Oksana is a married professional. She also lives in Kyiv. Her husband Seva is a company CEO turned military volunteer.
During 12 months of war, Ilyas, Oksana and Seva have all witnessed events they never could have predicted.
Ilyas at the Polish border transporting cars for the Ukrainian military
Drone attacks that resulted in death, in the case of Ilyas.
The aftermath of war crimes, in the case of Oksana.
And conversations surrounding the brutal slaying of comrades, in the case of Seva.
Oksana
Every week, they’ve recorded both the exceptional and the mundane using their smart phones.
This weekend, to mark one year since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ilyas, Oksana and Seva come together for the first time in a group setting, to share just some of what impacted them most in the last 12 months and to consider what the future holds?
To listen to their conversations, click here for the latest special edition of Ukraine War Diaries.
Seva pictured during a supply drop to a Ukrainian tank battalion in Bakhmut