Peace-creators: Maria Kinovych

Maria Kinovych is a Ukrainian illustrator who until recently lived and worked as a freelancer in Kyiv. She describes her pre-war self as a person who liked to have fun with her dog, cook (but not every day), do yoga, take care of the succulents on her balcony and enjoy paintings by the old masters, and one of her desires was to spend less time on social media and more on analog graphics.

In March, we find her outside Kyiv. After the military attacks began, she left her home in the capital and moved to western Ukraine.

"Right now, I feel like something inside me is broken. I am very angry all the time. This anger gives me the strength to wake up every morning, but it also burns down many other things along the way."

"I will never forget the horrifying feeling of listening to the air raid sirens and waiting to hear a bomb drop. And being too scared to fall asleep because something could happen. I will also never forget all the support I got from people around the world. And there is also no I will ever forget what the Russians did to my country and my people."

"After I left my home, I spent two days on the road in a car, and despite all the tension and fear, I was able to enjoy the beauty of Ukraine. Being here, feeling this land, seeing how brave people are, gives me hope. I want to survive all this and rebuild every inch of my Ukraine."