Ukraine War Diaries: EP12 - Unexpected escapes, broken hearts & playgrounds (June 7-11)

In Kyiv, Oksana finds a bittersweet escape from the war.In Poland, Ilyas’ wife, Natalia speaks for the first time about her experiences as a refugee trying to make a functional life for her and her children, alone.Meanwhile Ilyas, writes something of a love letter to his wife Natalia and the two sons he still cannot see.BACKGROUND-Oksana, 34, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv and has remained in the Ukrainian capital since the war started. Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s determined to stay.Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. Right now his wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland.As of June 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv and working, in part, for the Ukrainian government on specialist projects.Ukraine War Diaries uses first-person audio, recorded on the ground in Ukraine, to give an intimate day-to-day perspective of life in a war zone.Week 12 diary entries were recorded using WhatsApp voice note and first published on the Ukraine War Diaries podcast feed. To follow this series when it broadcasts, on weekdays, subscribe to Ukraine War Diaries wherever you get your podcasts.From the producers of Sky News’ multi-award winning series – StoryCast.CREDITS-Series Producer - Rob MulhernProduction Support/Editing - Paul Stanworth

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At the height of lockdown, 19-year-old Ellie Williams claims on social media she’s been trafficked by an Asian grooming gang across the North of England. Photos of her horrific injuries add to the outrage and the post goes viral – shared more than 100 thousand times.Social media rumours lead to attacks on Asian men and businesses in her hometown of Barrow-in-Furness. But when she’s arrested for perverting the course of justice, things really explode and there are protest rallies and claims of a cover-up. At the trial the prosecution claims she’d lied, faked text messages and even caused the catalogue of injuries to herself.   In season 6 of StoryCast, Sky News’ Jason Farrell and Liz Lane, who reported on the case at the time, return to Barrow to investigate what could have led her to make these claims and if, underneath it all, there is some other secret buried amongst the lies.With access to her family, police investigators and those most impacted by her allegations, we ask: Why did Ellie Williams create such an elaborate lie? And what happened AFTER the trial – once all the media attention died down and other allegations began to emerge? For more investigative stories from the award-winning Sky News StoryCast strand, listen to our past seasons.   SEASON 5: Patient 11 (2024) Following the death of her brother, young mother Alexis Quinn seeks temporary respite in NHS psychiatric care, never imagining that three days, would turn into more than three year ordeal that would ultimately expose a national scandal.  SEASON 4: StoryCast 21 (2021) Through extraordinary personal stories, Sky News revisits 21 of the world’s biggest news events this century.   SEASON 3: Polonium and The Piano Player (2020) Two Russian agents release a miniature nuclear weapon in a 5-star London hotel. But former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko is not the only victim.   SEASON 2: What happened to Annie? (2019)  In 2005, the body of 30-year-old Swedish woman, Annie Börjesson, was found on Prestwick beach in Scotland. Could one of the world’s most secretive security agencies be behind her death?  SEASON 1: The Hunt for the Brinks-Mat Gold (2018) In 1983, an armed gang stole £26m in gold bars from a high-security depot near Heathrow Airport. Dubbed the crime of the century, the heist changed the face of Britain’s criminal landscape and the life of one undercover Scotland Yard detective.