Hey listeners, we're not here this week, but while we're away, we wanted to share with you a story that first aired on the Europeans, this time two years ago.

It was, of course, the week that Vladimir Putin launched Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a week that changed Europe forever.

And that week, the writer and historian Alessia Kromaychuk very generously

sat down and recorded a passage for us from the book that she'd written about the death of her

brother, Philodomir. He was killed fighting in eastern Ukraine in 2017. We had wanted our

listeners to hear from Alessia because we thought it was important for people to know just how long Ukraine had been fighting.

This war has now been going on for a decade.

A lot of people forget that.

But we also wanted people to hear from Alessia because her book is such a powerful reminder that this war isn't just about geopolitics.

It's about the lives of individual families turned upside down many millions of times over.

Alessia's book was re-released in 2022 under a new title.

It's called The Death of a Soldier Told by His Sister.

And it's also available as an audiobook.

But here is Alessi's recording for the Europeans,

with sound design by Vojek-Elexiak.

We'll be back next week.

A pair of boots, part one.

For months, my Facebook page was advertising dating sites, maternity clothes, theater performances and army boots, size 8.

The algorithms must have thought that I was a single woman of childbearing age, keen on theatre and Outfits. They must have also thought that I have

pretty big feet. I didn't blame Facebook. I had spent days looking at Army Seppler's sites

hunting for a pair of army boots. Following my brother's request, I was determined to get a pair

that would be lightweight, waterproof, black and in size 8.

...