Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 forced millions of people from Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol and other cities. Refugees crossed primarily into Poland, Romania, Moldova, Slovakia and Hungary, while millions were displaced within Ukraine. The movement became Europe's largest refugee crisis since the Second World War.

Ukrainian poets and writers have documented bombardment, occupation, bereavement and exile in real time. Work by Serhiy Zhadan, Ilya Kaminsky and Victoria Amelina connected personal displacement with questions of language, cultural survival and resistance.