Yeva Skalietska

Yeva Skalietska is a 13-year-old Ukrainian girl who grew up living with her granny in Kharkiv, near the Russian border. She loves learning languages, bowling, playing the piano and painting.

On Thursday 24th February 2022, Yeva Skalietska was woken by the sound of explosions. Though there had been rumblings and rumours, few truly believed that war would break out between Russia and Ukraine. And yet – it did. What followed were twelve days in Ukraine that changed Yeva’s life forever.

You Don’t Know What War Is, a diary of her experiences of fleeing war in Ukraine and settling in Dublin.  Published in the UK by Bloomsbury (partnered with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency) and in the US by Union Square Publishers, the book has been translated into sixteen languages.

Introduced by Michael Morpurgo, author of War Horse, it has been compared to Anne Frank’s diary for its powerful insight into what conflict is like through the eyes of a child.

The audiobook of You Dont Know What War Is is narrated the Academy Award-nominated actor Keira Knightley and is billed as a “moving and immediate experience that will enlighten readers young and old”.

“You Don’t Know What War Is had a huge effect on me,” Knightley said. “It’s an incredibly important story to tell that is both powerful and deeply moving. I feel honoured to be part of this publication, narrating Yeva’s extraordinary tale of inspiration and bravery.”

You Don’t Know What War Is has been shortlisted for the Children’s Non-fiction Book Of The Year at The British Book Awards (‘The Nibbies’) the UK publishing industry’s leading awards. This year’s ceremony will take place on 15^th  May.

Yeva has presented at TEDxOxford in January 2023

She now lives in Dublin, Ireland where she has made new friends and had a go at Irish dancing but is always missing home.