“We had five suitcases. Two schoolchildren, three babies, and two adults—my husband and me.”
Svetlana Pikta—a journalist, war correspondent, and mother of five—once called Kiev home. In 2017, her life took a drastic turn when she refused to contribute funds to what Ukrainian authorities termed an “anti-terrorist operation” at her children’s school. This act of defiance made her a target: Ukrainian nationalists attacked her in retaliation.
After years of turmoil and upheaval, Svetlana now resides in Russia, where she has rebuilt her life and continues her work.
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