Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Inna Popova, 44, worked as an unemployment officer and a teacher in the eastern city of Kharkiv.

Within a month of the war, Inna and her son, Kyrylo Popov, 14, had become displaced people living in Canberra.

“I spoke with people and we didn’t believe, and I didn’t believe, that something could happen,” Inna said.

“I couldn’t believe that in this century … it could happen to my country. Ukraine is a young but very modern and progressive country.”

When asked if she still remembers the exact moment the war began, Inna responded with a quiet, “of course I remember”.

“It was the 24th of February, it was near 4am, and it was a very loud roar, like a very strong sound of the rocket,” Inna said.

“We woke up and Kyrylo started to cry ‘the war started’.”

Calls came flooding in from family across Ukraine, sharing what little information they had with one another.

“When the war started, it’s like your life stopped,” Inna said.

“I didn’t understand what to do. I slept two, three hours per night. I was so stressed.”

Inna briefly considered joining the fight to cook for soldiers, to contribute in any way possible.

But her mother stopped her, reminding her of her son. Who would raise him if she were killed?

“I really didn’t have any plan. I had no idea. Do I need to leave Ukraine, or do I need to stay?” she said.

Initially, Inna’s friend suggested moving to France so they could easily re-enter Ukraine, but a Ukrainian friend who’s been living in Australia for more than 10 years suggested they flee to Canberra.

Once Australia approved a tourist visa for Inna and later for her son, they decided to flee here.

They are the only members of their family to make the heart-wrenching decision to leave Ukraine.

Inna’s friend proposed her parents come with her to Australia, but they refused to leave their home, to leave Ukraine.

Leaving everything and everyone they knew behind was “painful”, and Australia’s geographical and cultural isolation was a scary prospect. But war changes everything.

Lviv, the largest city in western Ukraine, was the first their stop.

Poland was the second stop on their way to Australia and getting there was a dangerous trek.

To get from east to west Ukraine is a long journey and one that includes the risk of losing your life.

“It was a very dangerous decision because at that period, a lot of people were shot and killed on the road. It was a risk, you didn’t know if you will be alive or not,” Inna said.

The prolonged trip was exhausting. Inna and Kyrylo waited at a train station with thousands of other Ukrainians trying to escape, just like them.

From 9am to 10pm they waited anxiously in line until they were able to board a train.

“When the train comes, you don’t know where the train goes. People just jump on the train,” she said.

Dogs, cats, and parrots were held by passengers who couldn’t bear to leave their beloved pets behind.

Inna remembers crossing the border into Poland and seeing Polish people waiting for them, ready and willing to give them the shirts off their backs. Spare rooms, blankets, food, clothes, prams, were all offered in countless acts of pure, human empathy.

On 8 March 2022, Inna and Kyrylo landed in Sydney. After 10 days in hotel isolation, they travelled to their new home – Canberra.

For Kyrylo, the move and the war have been deeply traumatic.

“It was a big stress for him when we just arrived in Australia. He’d always complain, ‘why we are here? Why did you bring me to Australia? I don’t want to stay here. I want to go back to Ukraine’. He drew Ukrainian flags and Ukrainian airplanes,” Inna said.

“At that period, I cried almost every day, feeling helpless, being far from my country, reading and watching news … it didn’t let me live without stress. Even being far from our homeland, my son and I try to help Ukraine as much as we can. Of course, we protest outside the Russian embassy. My son does it every day on his holidays. We still hope that the Australian government will expel Russian ambassadors from their country.

“For all Ukrainian people, Russia will always be a terrorist and murderer. We never can forgive and forget. We will hate them from generation to generation.”

Whether Kyrylo and she will be able return to Ukraine in the near future, Inna is unsure. But one thing she’s sure of is the bravery of Ukrainians.

“I lived for a long time in Ukraine and I didn’t expect … I didn’t know we were so brave and patriots, and that we so love our motherland,” she said.

“Ukrainian people, they’re so brave. They did unbelievable things – laying under Russian tanks and getting on their knees trying to stop military Russian columns. At that moment, we didn’t understand why they’re coming to kill us.

“They’re very heartbroken people … it’s really difficult to live in Ukraine right now.”

For now, Kyrylo and Inna will remain safe in Canberra – Inna working as a dental assistant and Kyrylo attending a local school – waiting and hoping for the day they can return to their homeland.

“I don’t know how long this war will continue. But I love Ukraine. It’s my country,” Inna said softly, her eyes gazing off into the distance. 

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