Extract from ABC News
Irina (right) has not been back to Ukraine since fleeing Mariupol at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. (Supplied)
Hundreds of tulips blanketed Veselka Park in spring, its "green labyrinth" coming to life as fountains flowed again after the frozen winter.
It was one of Irina's favourite places to visit in her hometown of Mariupol, a city she described as the cultural heart of eastern Ukraine.
"I loved Veselka Park, with its incredible number of tulips and beautiful landscaping," she told the ABC.
"My warmest memories [of Mariupol] are meeting friends by the sea, and walks together in the park during holidays."
Veselka Park was a cherished space for many Mariupol residents. (Supplied: mariupolrada.gov.ua)
In the years before Russia's 2022 invasion, the city of about 430,000 people invested in upgrading its beloved theatres, parks and attractions.
Mariupol's mayor at the time, Vadim Boichenko, wanted "our children to be inspired by Mariupol".
"So they can see that our city is developing," he said.
But all that came apart four years ago, when the city on the coast of the Sea of Azov became one of Russia's first targets.
The ruins of a theatre in Mariupol following Russia's invasion in 2022. (Reuters: Pavel Klimov)
The siege of Mariupol in the early days of Russia's full-scale invasion is seared into the hearts and minds of Ukrainians and people around the world.
Photos of the city in ruins and makeshift graves in backyards emerged as the death toll soared into the thousands.
A picture of an injured pregnant woman being carried through rubble after a strike on a maternity hospital became a defining image of the war.
A photo of an injured pregnant woman being carried from a bombed maternity hospital in Mariupol in 2022 became one of the war's most widely seen images. (AP Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka)
Irina, who asked to only use her first name to protect loved ones in Ukraine, narrowly escaped Mariupol with her son, and she shared her story with the ABC in March 2022.
The city remains under Russian occupation, and she has family who have been unable to leave.
With the war reaching the four-year mark last week, the ABC reconnected with Irina and other Ukrainians who fled their homes and feared they could never return.
Graves of local residents who died during the fighting with Russia are seen behind homes in Mariupol. (AP: Alexei Alexandrov)
Sisters torn apart
Irina tries to speak to her sister in Mariupol every day.
"She often tells me, 'I'd like to hug you. I'd like to see you in person,'" Irina said, speaking on a video call from her apartment in Ireland.
"I try to change the focus because she starts crying a little bit."
Irina, in a photo taken before the war, loved strolling along the beach and visiting Mariupol's parks. (Supplied)
An estimated 350,000 residents fled Mariupol to escape Russian occupation.
Those who stayed were forced to get Russian passports in order to "have any rights there", Irina said.
Her sister needed to become Russian to access the pension.
Needing to be careful about what they discuss, it is one of the few details they have shared about life in Mariupol.
Residents can face intense surveillance and often have their phones checked by Russia's occupying authorities.
A mural on the side of a Mariupol apartment building is dedicated to the Russian forces that took control of the city. (Reuters: Alexander Ermochenko)
Thousands of buildings were destroyed across the city in what Human Rights Watch called one of Russia's "worst chapters of their full-scale invasion of Ukraine".
Irina's sister and brother-in-law's house was among only 10 buildings in the district still standing after the 85-day siege.
"All the others were totally ruined," Irina said.
"When I ask her to take photos for me from her window, she says, 'You don't need it, you don't need it.'
"She is trying to protect me from these things."
Parts of Mariupol were severely damaged at the time Russia claimed control of the city in May 2022. (Reuters: Alexander Ermochenko)
Irina is still traumatised by those early days in the conflict, becoming startled by the sound of fireworks or planes overhead.
When she fled Mariupol with her then 14-year-old son, they drove through land-mined roads and saw cars still burning after coming under Russian fire.
They made it to Budapest in central Hungary before eventually resettling in Ireland under the government's temporary protection program.
"We could live in Ireland and we were accommodated in a hotel in a small town 80 kilometres from Dublin," Irina said.
"I didn't really understand what was happening to us, but the most important thing was that there were no explosions or aircraft noise above us."
Irina made a lot of new Ukrainian friends in Ireland as the country opened its doors to refugees. (Supplied)
The first year was difficult; her son missed his home and friends.
Irina's self-confidence plummeted as she struggled with English and tried to adapt to her new situation.
"In English, I can't express my emotions as well as I can in Ukrainian,"she said.
Irina says she is happy in Ireland and is thankful for the opportunities the country has given her and her son. (Supplied)
These days, Irina says, life has improved.
Her son will soon finish school, and Irina — who was a lawyer in Ukraine — graduated from a course in employment law and has made many new Ukrainian friends.
But she admits sometimes she wants to "hide from the world" and tries to avoid news of the horrors that continue in Ukraine.
The grief of being apart from her family is an "everyday challenge".
"We have not returned to Mariupol and have not even been to Ukraine during this period of time," Irina said.
"I'm still afraid of war."
A whole new life
When the ABC last spoke to Dasha in March 2022, she was sheltering anxiously at home with her two children, hoping to evacuate their Russian-controlled city.
Russian forces occupied Nova Kakhovka, on the outskirts of Kherson, during the first days of the war.
Dasha described a city in chaos, with crime and looting, and people disappearing after being taken by Russian troops.
Her husband was in Poland, and she was afraid to flee after hearing about families being shot when Russian forces found out they were leaving.
"I was terrified when I had to write our relatives' phone numbers on our children's belongings in case something happened to us," she said.
Dasha with her children in 2018, when the family's life looked very different. (Supplied )
After several failed attempts to escape, she finally made it out safely with her 13-year-old son and six-year-old daughter.
They spent weeks sleeping in sports halls in Germany before moving to Finland.
"After spending a few weeks in a reception centre, we were given our own home — a beautiful house," Dasha said.
"People in Finland surrounded us with care and provided everything we needed.
"I was able to open my own beauty salon."
Dasha says her children are happy in Finland, and they have received a lot of support. (Supplied)
Nova Kakhovka, a city on the Dnipro River, suffered another catastrophic event in June 2023.
The Nova Kakhovka dam, which held about 18 billion litres of water, was damaged in an explosion, causing devastating flooding.
The UN Development Programme said the dam's collapse impacted more than 100,000 people and submerged 620 square kilometres of territory.
The flooding aftermath of the Nova Kakhovka dam disaster.
"I miss my hometown, my city, and its streets very much. The children miss it too," Dasha said.
"I am very sad that I cannot see my friends who stayed in Nova Kakhovka.
"I am sad that I cannot see my father. It hurts to think that I would not be able to help him if something happened."
Dasha said it was also difficult to communicate with her family and friends with the city under occupation.
"Their messages are checked. Many topics are forbidden,"she said.
Buildings damaged in Nova Kakhovka in October, 2022. (Reuters: Alexander Ermochenko)
Even if the war ends, Dasha worries that returning to Nova Kakhovka may not be possible.
"I think it will be dangerous to live there even after the war ends. There may still be mines and unexploded shells," she said.
"It is painful that we were uprooted from our lives.
"Now we are here under temporary protection, and we do not know what tomorrow will bring."
A massive dam in Russian-occupied Ukraine has been destroyed.
An uncertain future
About 4.4 million refugees have returned to Ukraine since the start of the war, but 3.7 million people continued to be internally displaced, according to the UN International Organization for Migration.
Another 5.9 million Ukrainian refugees were still living in other parts of the world.
Irina has a protection visa to live in Ireland until 2027, but says it is impossible to think about the future.
"My mood is up and down, up and down, but I try to keep focus on daily life and my duties," she said.
"I'm happy enough to have friends here, and Ireland is a very beautiful country.
"For now, we try to do our best, to work hard, to think in a positive way to protect our mental health, and then we'll see."
