Two years ago, RFI met a family separated by the war in Ukraine. Volodymyr and Nataliia had lost their home near Kyiv, and Natallia left for Paris with their children. Now, like many Ukrainian refugees, she has decided to return home, despite the ongoing war – and the other, more unexpected, challenges going back entails.
Nataliia greets us with a big smile and gifts: her favourite Ukrainian sweets, which helped her get through her exile in Paris. We first met in February 2023, when she was living in the French capital her two children, Hanna and Ivan. The family had fled Ukraine days after the Russian invasion, and the destruction of their home. Nataliia's husband, Volodymyr, had stayed behind in Bucha, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital. Forbidden from leaving the country, he set about rebuilding a home for his family.
