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Against the backdrop of a Kyiv still under siege, Oksana reflects on magical Christmas memories from childhood until a drone attack brings her back to reality with a jolt.

Meanwhile Seva shares the Christmas reality of comrades who continue to fight through the festive period.

And Ilyas, looks to the New Year with hope.

OUR DIARISTS
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland. As of December 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv.

Seva, 40, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.

Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv. Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s continues to try and make a life there. Ukraine War Diaries uses first-person audio, recorded on the ground in Ukraine, to give an intimate day-to-day perspective of life in a war zone.

EP38 diary entries were recorded using WhatsApp voice note.

From the producers of Sky News’ multi-award winning series – StoryCast.

Producer: Rob Mulhern
Editor: Paul Stanworth
Digital Promotion: David Chipakupaku