Last autumn, I fled Donetsk, the city in eastern Ukraine where I grew up and lived for 25 years. Six days later, after a long and complicated journey that took me through Russia and Belarus, I finally arrived in Kyiv.
I had wanted to leave since 2014, when Russia-backed separatists took over the city and some of the surrounding region, self-proclaiming a puppet state.
With the help of volunteer friends from Kyiv, but also volunteers from Russia, I finally managed it. They helped me with transport arrangements, paid the travel costs and found me somewhere to live in Kyiv.
