The rage of Ukraine’s army wives

Two years ago their husbands signed up to defend their country. They still have no idea when they will come home

By Wendell Steavenson with Anastasiia Parafeniuk

In June 2023 Taras, a 35-year-old project manager at the Kyiv School of Economics, was stopped by military recruitment officers as he was walking in a park in Kyiv and handed his mobilisation papers. Within a day and a half he was ordered to report to a training centre. Inna Sovsun, his ex-wife, was shocked by the speed and arbitrariness of the summons. They shared custody of their son, Martyn, now ten years old, and she suddenly found herself a single parent.

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