Ukraine: Three girls wounded by war, three paths toward healing

The three Ukrainian girls are in the same Lviv hospital, recovering from severe war wounds.

But the violent impact of Russia’s war on them – which at once abruptly ended their youthful innocence and imposed new requirements of resilience, coping with trauma, and even bravery – has sent their lives on very different trajectories.

As this war enters its fifth month, the separate story arcs of these three girls encountered one day last week, who look to the future now with permanent scars, are emblematic of how the conflict has skewed the lives of tens of thousands of Ukrainians wounded by war.

Yana Stepanenko smiles for visitors and wears a “Stand With Ukraine” T-shirt, but the 11-year-old quietly excuses herself when asked about the early April day that a Russian rocket landed on the train station in Kramatorsk, taking