When Putin sent his tanks over the border into Ukraine on February 24, 2022, many were expecting a quick finish.

But the “special military operation” to protect Russian-speaking territories and to demilitarise and denazify Ukraine wasn’t a swift one.

And on Monday, the third anniversary of that fateful day was marked around the world.

“On that day my family, I, and all of my country woke up at 4am because of very loud explosions,” said Natalia Sharomova, an award-winning photojournalist from Kyiv who currently calls Farnham home.

“I knew for sure the war had begun. The same morning I took my first war photos from the windows of my flat, seeing tanks moving along the street.

“We were unaware at that moment what country they belonged to.”

Iva Repnytska has similar memories. Her first words on the morning the war started were “it is impossible”.

Then came the realisation that war – surely an unthinkable thought on mainland Europe – had arrived right on her doorstep, in her homeland.

There were times early on when it seemed the war would only last a couple of days or weeks, especially with the Russians taking great swathes of The Donbas.

And yet it continued, with details of atrocities emerging from the likes of Bucha and later Mariupol.

“I read books about the bombing of London, about how British children were moved to a safe place,” said a tearful Iva in recalling the beginning of the conflict.

“We experienced the same thing almost 100 years later.”

Having arrived in 2022 in a state of confusion, depression and fear, Iva is now safe and settled in Petersfield. The 40-something who barely knew English is now a confident Ukrainian with a paid job who volunteers with her countrywomen.

She said: “What are my emotions today? I am just as scared for my loved ones in Ukraine.

“Tears come to my eyes when you hear that some politicians are blaming Ukraine itself for the war.

“How is that? We started the war? It is a shame that in the millennium of modern technology, propaganda and disinformation are spreading.”

Anastasiia Zavorina would probably agree with the last statement. The Farnham Town Council worker has stopped reading the news about what’s happening in Ukraine because she believes it’s impossible to make a balanced and informed opinion.

Her home city of Kharkiv in north-east Ukraine was heavily bombed, being close to the Russian border, so she has vivid memories of the time when war began. There’s a feeling more could have been done to warn Ukrainians, with efforts to play down the invasion threat.

She said: “Long before the war started foreign embassies were evacuating from Ukraine.

“The American news was saying an invasion is coming but Ukrainian social media blocked it, saying it was a hoax.

“Until the very last minute we were being told by social media in Ukraine that nothing was going to happen.

“We watched the (recent) extended interview with Zelenskyy and he’s sitting there, calmly saying they started to prepare and had fake aircrafts on airfields months before the invasion. They knew it was coming, but the public was told there was nothing to fear.

“But, I understand in war the situation is very different and tough decisions have to be made so if I was in his shoes I probably would do the same.”

Anastasiia came to Surrey through the Farnham Homes for Ukraine group founded by Kate Larmer. Dozens of families moved to the town thanks to the group and their Ukrainian contact, Tatyana Moskalenko.

From the outset, it seems many Ukrainian women – many of the men have stayed to fight, of course – have settled well. Anastasiia is one of the friendly faces at the town hall front desk, while others the Herald & Post has spoken to in recent years have landed jobs with the UCA, NHS and local law firms.

Natalia’s work will be familiar to many Herald readers as the freelance photographer was the lynchpin in the Unbowed: Stories of Ukraine exhibition which features the stories and self-portraits of her countrywomen. It’s since appeared in venues afar as Guildford, Oxford and Alton.

While Natalia misses her husband and old life in Kyiv, she is in a safe, happy place in Farnham while her children attend a town school and speak very good English. Anastasiia also says that “home is where the family is” and that’s current Farnham, as her children are here.

She said: “I’m trying to create the best life for them but also teach them that home is where they feel comfortable, loved and safe.”

Iva, after a difficult start, now seems to be thriving and she was thrilled to recently find a host family for an elderly Ukrainian from an area near Kyiv that came under heavy shelling.

She has also started a “Cold Coffee” Ukrainian-language podcast on Shine Radio to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health and wellbeing support to the Ukrainian community.

She said: “A very important aspect is to talk about Ukraine, and not to silence the pain that people feel.

“In this podcast I invite Ukrainians and we discuss the unique challenges due to language barriers, cultural differences and experiences of displacement or trauma.”

Petersfield has become a place for Iva to “recover from her injuries” and she’s extremely grateful to the town and its residents, who continue to donate to people in her homeland.

But finding work hasn’t been easy at times and there’s a stigma of being a refugee. The lack of certainties for long-term visas for Ukrainian refugees is also a concern.

She said: “I have two masters’ degrees and additional education in working with people with disabilities.

“But the hardest thing three years ago was finding a job. It’s no secret that no one likes refugees.

“Now Ukrainians have had their visas extended for 18 months. What’s next? Many of my friends can’t find a job or rent housing because it’s unknown what will happen in 18 months.”

Ukraine has been the big talking point in recent weeks, with Trump – who boasted he could end the conflict in a day, lest we forget – excluding Ukraine from peace talks and calling Zelenskyy a dictator.

Iva supports the words of Zelenskyy in saying that Ukraine’s victory will be when the territory returns to its 1991 borders, including Crimea and Donbas.

Anastasiia misses her homeland, but doesn’t see it through the same rose-tinted glasses. On a recent trip back to Kharkiv her eyes were opened to corruption and “a lack of regulations on all levels”. Things will seriously need to change if Ukraine does join the European Union.

She can see peace on the horizon, but she believes making it a permanent one is another question.

She said: “I think it will end eventually because everyone has their own problems to sort. How can the governments of the European countries justify putting that much money towards Ukraine?

“Will Trump really establish peace? Until Russia ceases to exist as it does now then I think it’s unlikely.”

“But three years ago I didn’t expect I would be here so I can’t predict what will happen. I guess we’ll just have to see.”