"Cruelty and bullying have no limits"

“I hope that this totally unprovoked and vicious Russian war will come to an end. The world must not forget for a moment that cruelty and bullying have no limits. Only together can we bring peace and security to all of Europe and to the world.”

This is what Olena Jadallah, former deputy mayor of Irpin in Ukraine, tells Morgunblaðið, but she is among a number of refugees from Ukraine who have taken refuge here.

A year had passed yesterday since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. Ukrainians in Iceland yesterday took up a protest against the Russian Embassy yesterday to protest against the Russian war effort. Among other things, a mannequin meant to symbolize the war, was set on fire. It was based on an ancient Slavic tradition to celebrate the coming of spring.

Olena Jadallah has the hope that the war will end this year. She is set to return home to Ukraine with her husband and two sons after the war.

Heard the bombs falling

“We need to rebuild our home and our family business, but the majority of our buildings and offices were damaged or destroyed during the occupation of the city,” she says. Olena Koval, a Sunni newspaper, also hopes to return home after the war, as does her namesake, Jadallah. Olena Koval fled here from Kiev, with her children and parents. Her husband remained in Ukraine. They have children; an 11-year-old son and a little over one-year-old daughter, who was only about two months old when the war broke out.

“It was at five o’clock in the night, ” Olena says of the night in the capital of Ukraine, Kiev, where the war began. “I heard bombs falling. We woke up, listened to the bombs, and turned on the television, but there was nothing to see or hear. But shortly afterwards we saw the announcement of the start of the war and there was widespread panic and people started to leave the city.”

Here below are pictures from this emotionally charged demonstration.