Canadian-Ukrainian author Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch is no stranger to exploring difficult topics. Her latest novel, Under Attack, launched this week as the first installment in her new Kidnapped From Ukraine tackles themes of war, displacement, and survival through the eyes of a 12-year-old girl.
Set in Mariupol, Ukraine, Under Attack begins on the first day of the Russian invasion. It follows a family torn apart as bombs fall and chaos spreads. The story unfolds with twin girls and their parents separated during an attack. The narrative focuses on the mother and one daughter’s harrowing experience surviving in a basement during the siege before being captured, forced through filtration camps, and separated. The girl ends up in a re-education in Russia and placed in a Russian home.
While the book is fictional, Skrypuch says that its events are firmly grounded in historical accuracy and documented accounts.
“This is a novel, but everything that happens in it is true,” Skrypuch said. “I’ve created fictional characters, but the events described are based on publicly available testimonies, including those presented to the International Criminal Court, which has charged Putin with war crimes.”
Skrypuch’s decision to write the series was not made lightly. Initially hesitant, she was approached multiple times by her publisher, Scholastic, to tackle the ongoing conflict. Eventually, she recognized the urgency of the story.
“I was discouraged by all the disinformation circulating about Ukraine,” she explained. “I felt I had the responsibility and the platform to tell this story accurately. So I set aside the book I was working on and plunged into this trilogy.”
A veteran author, Skrypuch, from Brantford, has made a career of highlighting overlooked stories from history, many focusing on Ukraine. Her first book, Silver Threads (1996), addressed Ukrainian internment in Canada during World War I, while Enough (2000) was the first commercially published children’s book about the Holodomor—Stalin’s forced famine that killed millions of Ukrainians in the 1930s.
Addressing these sensitive topics has often come at a personal cost. Skrypuch received death threats following the publication of Enough, and in 2022 in response to the publication of Winterkill, her novel set during the Holodomor, she was officially banned from Russia.
“I consider being banned for life by Russia an honor,” she said. “I’ve faced backlash before, but I believe in telling the truth about history.”
Her new trilogy continues this mission, focusing on Ukraine’s current struggles. The research process was both rigorous and deliberate. Skrypuch avoided using personal stories shared by refugees she met, relying instead on documented evidence to avoid appropriating their experiences.
“I’ve spoken to many refugees who have hugged me and told me their stories, but I don’t have the right to write them into my books,” she said. “Their stories are still ongoing, and this war is still happening.”
Instead, Skrypuch immersed herself in news reports, legal testimonies, and published survivor interviews to craft her narrative.
Empathy is central to her work. Skrypuch hopes Under Attack will raise awareness about the stakes of the ongoing conflict.
“I want readers to see Ukrainians as people, not statistics,” she said. “It’s easy to ignore distant wars when you don’t see the human cost. But history shows that ignoring injustices allows them to spread.”
The Kidnapped From Ukraine trilogy is aimed at readers aged 10–14, but Skrypuch believes it will resonate with adults as well.
“I write from the perspective of a 12-year-old because that’s my inner voice,” she said. “But the themes—family, survival, and hope—are universal.”
The second book in the series, Standoff, is set for release on October 7, 2025, followed by the third, Still Alive, on January 7, 2026. Skrypuch wrote all three in record time, completing the manuscripts within two years of the Russian invasion.
“This was the fastest I’ve ever written,” she said. “I felt the urgency to tell these stories while the events were still unfolding.”
Skrypuch, who lives in Brantford, will launch Under Attack with a public appearance at Riverside Bookshelf in Paris, Ontario, on Thursday, January 16, 2025, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. She has also offered to do a presentation at the Paris branch of the Brant Public Library for for local schools about the importance of historical accuracy and empathy in storytelling.
Reflecting on her writing journey, Skrypuch remains committed to uncovering untold stories and amplifying marginalized voices.
“Empathy and awareness are the keys to change,” she said. “If this book can help even one reader understand the reality of war and inspire them to care, then it’s done its job.”
