But after the invasion, I stayed in Kharkiv for the first months because my husband was in the army. And I had been helping the Armed Forces of Ukraine as a volunteer for many years before that. And so, after the invasion, I basically continued this activity. But in May, I received an offer to attend an artistic literary residency in Austria. I thought for a long time about whether to accept but decided to give it a try. And first and foremost, perhaps, because of my son, to take him out of Ukraine for a while. So, I came to Krems first. We spent one month there, and then we came to Graz, for three months, as we thought at the time. But we are still here, because after the first residency, I got an extension, then I got another scholarship, then another scholarship. So, we are still here as a family. Now my husband has come to visit us. He comes periodically because he can leave Ukraine, as he has already been discharged from the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

My stay in Graz also influenced my career. It was very unexpected, but very positive. It was here, in Graz, that I wrote my last book about women during the war. It’s titled My Women. This book has been very successful in Ukraine. In 2024, it won the BBC Book of the Year award. And just yesterday, it was shortlisted for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s literary prize.

How often do you travel to Ukraine and why is it important for you?
The last time I was in Ukraine was in the summer of 2023. In the summer of 2024 we couldn’t go with my son because I was on a residency in Switzerland, but this year, in the summer, I’m going to go there with my son.

Why? Because my parents live there, my husband stays there, and finally our cat is there, who lives with my parents now. You have to understand that we Ukrainians fled from the war, not in search of a better life in Austria or other European countries, because we lived our normal lives before the war, we had normal jobs, we lived in cities, towns, with normal infrastructure, in normal housing, that is, we had a normal lives and we, the majority of Ukrainians, did not want to look for this better life somewhere else.

That’s why many people come back for a while, either permanently, to visit relatives or to maintain some kind of connection with Ukraine, because I’m sure if the war were over, many people would return.

What new connections did you already find in Austria?
My son is now in secondary school. In his first school, it was difficult for him to find friends because he did not speak German. But in his new school, he already has two friends, both Austrians. They speak English and German, and after school they play online games together almost every day.

As for me, I also made friends, and it’s interesting that my friends are also Austrians, although I also communicate with Ukrainian women from the Ridna Dvumka centre. And there are some creative contacts that I have made thanks to the residency from Kulturvermittlung Steiermark and the events they organise, and thanks to my Austrian publisher.

How do you feel about the future in Austria? Do you want to live here, do you feel connected tothe country and do you feel threatened hearing about the potential changes in residency permissions for Ukrainians?
This is probably the most difficult question for me, because after the full-scale invasion, I stopped making any long-term plans, because, as reality has shown, they don’t make sense, because everything can change in an instant. And it’s still quite strange to me when, for example, my publishers abroad invite me to some events for autumn, and I feel so strange, my God, it’s September, it’s still so far away, I have to live to see it.

And, well, it’s very difficult to make any plans, because the situation in Ukraine is completely unpredictable, and not just the situation in Ukraine, but the situation in the world is completely unpredictable and uncontrollable, and no one can predict what will happen tomorrow. At least until the end of this school year, my son is studying here, we are staying here, he will learn German, I am trying to learn German for some kind of everyday communication, and then we’ll see. And I can say that I had never been to Austria before the full-scale invasion, and I had no idea that it was such a beautiful country, with beautiful architecture and cities. Vienna is one of my favourite cities, the nature is very beautiful, and the Danube, and the mountains, and I just had no idea that this country is so beautiful, and that I would meet such friendly and supportive people here.

© The Schubidu Quartet