A Ukrainian mother who scrawled contact details on her daughter’s back in pen as they prepared to flee the war has described her desperation to make sure she would be cared for if they were separated. Sasha Makoviy, 33, wrote two-year-old Vira’s name on her skin, along with contact phone numbers, on the first day of the Russian invasion in February as she prepared to evacuate her home in Kyiv.
Speaking through tears, she said: “I decided to put the information on Vira’s back because I was really scared. She is the most precious thing in my life so I couldn’t imagine if we lost each other. I thought if I would die she could find who she is, from what family she’s come, and maybe to find some familiar people who could take care of her. And that’s why.”
Having now escaped to the south of France with Vira, Ms Makoviy, an artist, posted the image to Instagram last Friday. It has since gone viral, both on Instagram and on Twitter, where it received more than 200,000 likes after being shared by a reporter.
