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НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ • Березень-Квітень 2026 7 rights groups were documenting evidence of the war crimes being committed and submitting mate - rial that led to an arrest warrant being issued by the International Criminal Court in 2023. However, if you were to talk with the average person living outside of Ukraine, they would probably have had no idea this was happening. In February 2025 I was placed on administrative leave with USAID, and I was finally able to dedi - cate my time to writing about what was happen - ing. I thought that long-form, narrative storytelling might be a compelling way to get the word out to new and diverse audiences, particularly Americans. Writing the story also helped me to deal personal - ly with the situation related to USAID, and to feel like I was staying connected with my friends and former colleagues working in Ukraine. All the pro - grams I had worked on that supported tracking the children and bringing them home were terminated, and writing this book and telling the story of what was happening made me feel like I was still doing something to help our partners and bring aware - ness about what was happening in Ukraine. I have two young children (around Nastya and Sa - sha’s ages), which inspired me to incorporate their viewpoints as alternating characters. Children have such unique perspectives. They can understand complex issues and simplify things in ways that many adults cannot. I wanted to try and give voice to the children who were experiencing the war, seeing it through their eyes and imagining what it must be like for them. What do you hope the book will accomplish? More than anything else, I hope that my book will raise awareness about what is happening to these children and increase support for the groups work - ing to find them and bring them home. Foreign assis - tance from the U.S. played a critical role in support - ing these civil society groups to work in this area. Support is needed to identify the children who have been taken, track them, arrange for legal representa - tion, transport them back home, and advocate/ raise awareness of the issue, among other things. For those fortunate enough to be located and res - cued, that is just the start. Most will require longer- term rehabilitation and psychosocial support, which is another large expense. I hope that raising broad awareness of the issue will increase the demand for accountability and help to raise funding for the work of human rights and civil society groups (most organ - izations take individual donations). Are you continuing your involvement with Ukraine and this initiative, and if so, on what level? Since the closure of USAID, I have stayed in close contact with my friends and former colleagues who work in and on Ukraine. My primary focus now is raising broad awareness about this issue in any way I can. I hope my future work will enable me to continue focusing on this issue; however, if that is not the case, I will continue to volunteer and advocate around the issue. What background research did you do before you began writing (or while writing)? By the time I started writing the book, I was already well informed about the abductions that were tak - ing place. Through many public discussions, events, and meetings, I knew how the children were being taken, where, and what was being done to them in the camps. I also knew what the situation was like in Kyiv immediately following the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022 through first-hand ac - counts from friends, colleagues, and partners. I recall praying for them as they messaged me with updates over WhatsApp and Signal on their long bus rides and in uncertain humanitarian corridors, open-air bathrooms, and frigid temperatures. USAID staff and our partners worked day and night to get those who wanted to leave the country out, and to provide continued support to those who chose to stay. Memories of my friends’ first-hand accounts informed much of the novel. I was not as familiar with the situation in Mari - upol at the start of the invasion, so I had to rely on reporting from reputable media outlets and public human rights reports. The Associated Press, NPR, Amnesty International, and other international media published accounts of the bombing, as did several local Ukrainian media outlets. A number of Ukrainian national and international media outlets reported on the bombing of the Mariupol State Dra - ma Theater and included first-hand testimonials of
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