Last week, Hannah Moore spoke with a woman named Katia, who had fled Ukraine with her British partner, Peter. Katia explained that she had left her mother, Larysa, who lives in northern Ukraine, behind. Today, Larysa, a science teacher, describes what her life has been like since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began.

After three weeks of war, many of the people who live in Larysa’s city have escaped. It’s quiet, but life goes on. Kyiv-based journalist Nataliya Gumenyuk has been travelling across Ukraine, speaking to people in small towns who are carrying on with small and big daily tasks. She says it’s hard to escape the shadow of the war. But she says Ukraine’s doctors, emergency workers, rail workers, plumbers, mayors – and even its tax preparers – continue to find ways to make life better for each other.

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