Valerie Averina, 38, a lawyer from Kyiv, Ukraine, left there with her 10-year-old son two months after the 2022 invasion began and drove 2,500 kilometres to England. Her civil partner remained in the Ukraine to fight. “The day before the invasion, everyone was anxious after hearing the news and Putin broadcasting his intentions. I’m an analytical person and just couldn’t believe anything would happen. What I learned from this war, is that you can’t plan anything ahead, and that you have to liveyour life as if it was the last day.”
Photographed in Wokingham, England, 27 January2024.