Return to Ukraine: will I recognise my own country?

‘You are safe here,’ says a sign at the railway station in Przemysl, less than ten miles from the Ukrainian border. The city was one of the first in Poland to open its doors to those fleeing the war – but I’m travelling through it in the opposite direction. Last year, I was one of 152,000 Ukrainian refugees to end up in Britain. Now, I’m going home to see my family again, flying to Poland, then taking the train to Lviv. At least, that was my plan. At the station, I learn that Russian missiles have delayed the train. Six hours later, I’m told it may not arrive at all. So Plan B: take a taxi as close as possible to the pedestrian border and then trudge the final mile or so through the snow. As I walk, I wonder what I’ll see on the other side. Will I recognise my own country? The passport checkpoint is almost deserted.