From her home near Kyiv, Kateryna Karpenko witnessed one of the first acts of a long, gruelling war and predicts she might not go back even after the guns fall silent.

She recalls seeing Russian helicopters descending on Hostomel Airport on Feb. 24, 2022, ferrying Russian commandos intent on paving the way for a swift capture of the Ukrainian capital.

“I was watching through my window, the black Russian helicopters, and heard explosions . . . I was hiding in my bathroom with my cat,” said the 36-year-old.

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The airborne Russian coup de main failed but the war surged into her hometown of Irpin, north of Kyiv, where her apartment block became a battleground and a temporary refuge for the enemy.

“My house was on the front lines and

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