Family ties broken by war

A drone view showing damaged property, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Vovchansk, Kharkiv region, Ukraine, in this screen grab from handout video released on June 2. — Reuters

BEFORE the war, Kira Dzhafarova’s 85-year-old mother could easily visit her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren in both Ukraine and Russia from her home in the Ukrainian border town of Vovchansk.

Russia’s February 2022 invasion put an end to that, creating a physical – and emotional – front line between her and her family living across the border in the Russian city of Belgorod.