Two weeks after Russian tanks drove into Kiev, I arrived in Przemyśl, a picturesque town on the Poland-Ukraine border, to work as a translator.
Until that point, I spoke no Ukrainian – but I did speak Russian, which I studied as an undergraduate. The first volunteer I met – a kilt-wearing Scot with no knowledge of either language – questioned my coming.
‘The refugees are fleeing Russia, ’ he said. ‘Why would they want to speak Russian?’
In fact, the ability to communicate, regardless
