‘We are refugees now, even our cat’: a Kherson mother’s UK diary

Venera the cat has travelled across Europe to Britain with her family, where their UK host has pulled out all the stops to make her feel comfortable. Photograph: Olha/Guardian Community

I’m just an ordinary mother. My children went to school and enjoyed after-school clubs. Last February, I was preparing to shoot a short film about Kherson’s streets. A rehearsal was scheduled – but it never took place.

That was the day they bombed airports simultaneously across the country. Public transport stopped running from our city. The frontline ran straight to our city and a week later we found ourselves under occupation. One morning changed our lives, and that of every Ukrainian family, for ever.