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BBC OS Conversations: Ukraine: War babies and returning home

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Ukraine: War babies and returning home

23/02/2024 GMT

BBC World Service - BBC OS Conversations, Ukraine: War babies and returning home

Giving birth during a war and returning from a safe haven abroad to conflict

Giving birth during a war and returning from a safe haven abroad to conflict.

It’s two years since Russia's full-scale invasion. The war has claimed tens of thousands of lives, left millions of Ukrainians as refugees, and wrought much destruction. 
 
When your home is invaded and everything is shattered and turned upside down, what happens to your life? 
 
Host James Reynolds hears from three women in Ukraine who, despite the dangers of war, chose to have a baby. 
 
“The day when I was giving birth there were missiles and drones at the same moment passing the maternity hospital,” says Halya Rudyk, who lives in a small village near Kyiv and whose daughter is now eight months old. “Definitely I was worried but that’s the life we have here now.”
 
At the start of the war, millions of women and children escaped to safety abroad. With the passing of time, some have decided to return. Three of those women come together to discuss their decisions to go back home..  
 
“It felt like I never left it,” says Olga, on being back in Kyiv. “I felt stronger, I felt happier, I didn’t feel lonely anymore.”
 
With the prospect of Ukraine lowering the age of military conscription from 27 to 25, we also hear from three men about being called up to the fight, for which no end appears in sight. 
 
A Boffin Media production in partnership with the BBC OS team.

(Photo: Halya Rudyk' s baby, Maria. Credit: Halya Rudyk)

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