Maryna Hashlova, 35, looks out of the window of the church where she, her children and other Ukrainian families are staying temporarily in Guarapuava, Paraná until they move into fixed housing in Prudentópolis, on March 24, 2022. Maryna came to Brazil with her two children, Arina, 8, and Nazar, 14, leaving behind her husband and parents in Ukraine. Their hometown, Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, was facing relentless aerial bombardment by Russian forces.
A river runs through southern Brazil’s Atlantic Forest near the church where the Ukrainian families have arrived in the state of Paraná.
Maryna Hashlova's daughter, Arina, 8, a competitive gymnast in her home country, practices outside of the church where Ukrainian families are temporarily staying in Paraná, on March 24, 2022.
Maryna Hashlova's children, Arina, 8, and Nazar, 14, play with Brazilian volunteers and other children in the church where the first group of Ukrainian refugee families are received in Brazil, near Prudentópolis, Paraná.
Arina draws her home in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
A monument of poet Taras Shevchenko, known as the father of Ukrainian literature, stands in downtown Prudentópolis, Paraná.
Daughter and grandson of Ukrainian immigrants, Sérgio Charnei serves his mother Eugenia hot yerba mate tea, a traditional green tea drink produced and consumed in southern Brazil, in their home in rural Prudentópolis, Paraná on March 26, 2022. The Charnei family continues to farm the land on which their relatives from Ukraine settled almost a century ago.
Eugenia Charnei, 83, daughter of Ukrainian immigrants, points to an image of her mother and father, inside of her home in the rural area of Prudentópolis, Paraná, city home to the largest population of Ukrainian descents in Brazil. While Eugenia has never been to Ukraine, she speaks the language and recalls the songs, stories and traditions her parents brought with them almost a century ago, claiming she feels more Ukrainian than Brazilian in many ways.
Rodrigo Michalovski (right), 31, practices for an upcoming performance with the Cossack Brotherhood dance group in Prudentópolis, Paraná on March 26, 2022. Known as "Little Ukraine", Ukrainian culture, language and traditions are widely celebrated in Prudentópolis.
Churchgoers pray and sing in Ukrainian during a special service in prayer for the protection of Ukraine against the Russian invasion as the city prepares to receive Ukrainian families fleeing the war, at the St. Josefat Catholic Church in downtown Prudentópolis, Paraná.
The Nossa Senhora do Patrocínio Church in rural Prudentópolis is one of hundreds of traditional Ukrainian Catholic churches in the region, known for being home to the largest population of Ukrainian descents in the country. The churches are one of the main reasons for the preservation of the Ukrainian language in the region since the arrival of the first Ukrainian immigrants in the 19th century.
Nazar and Arina Hashlova watch in awe alongside other recently arrived Ukrainian families as a tropical downpour passes by outside of the church where the first group of refugees have arrived in Brazil, close to Prudentópolis, Paraná. Prudentópolis, known as Brazil's "Little Ukraine" has received several groups of Ukrainians fleeing the war.