Award-winning Canadian author Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch launched her latest novel, Kidnapped from Ukraine: Standoff, at a community event hosted by The Ukrainian Village at Harmony United Church in Brantford on Thursday evening.
The book is the second in a trilogy inspired by real accounts from the ongoing war in Ukraine. A portion of the evening’s book sales was donated to the Canada–Ukraine Foundation, supporting humanitarian relief efforts.
“This is a way of launching my second book of this series,” Skrypuch told BrantBlog.
“It’s a fictional series based on true stories. The war that is happening in Ukraine right now is historical, but it’s also contemporary — and that made it difficult to write. I needed to write it in a way that protected the people who are living through it now.”
The author explained that by framing the narrative as historical fiction, she could both reflect real experiences and safeguard the identities of those affected by the conflict.
The series, Kidnapped from Ukraine, tells the story of twin sisters separated by war, with one captured and placed into a Russian family, and the other trapped with her father during the siege of the Azovstal Steel Plant.
“Putin himself has bragged about stealing 700,000 Ukrainian children,” Skrypuch said.
“We only know the names of about 30,000. Some of those children are now being trained to be soldiers — brainwashed to fight their own country. This is something we need to know about.”
The trilogy began with Under Attack, published earlier this year, and Standoff continues the story from a different perspective. A third book, expected next year, will conclude the series.
For Skrypuch, whose work has often centered on themes of war, survival, and resilience, the books are not about delivering a political message but rather about illuminating ongoing realities.
“People get bored of the news — they think they already know everything that’s happening,” she said.
“Just last week someone asked me if the war in Ukraine had ended. Wouldn’t it be nice if it had? But Russia is bombing Ukraine with more fierceness now than even six months ago. These books are a way of putting eyes back on Ukraine.”
The launch drew members of Brantford’s Ukrainian community and local supporters, many wearing blue and yellow or traditional embroidered attire in solidarity with Ukraine.
The event concluded with a book signing, photo opportunities, and reflections from attendees — including recent Ukrainian refugees who thanked the author for “seeing” their experiences represented in literature.
“People who have fled the war tell me, ‘You see me. You see what’s going on there. Thank you for writing these books,’” Skrypuch said.
Kidnapped from Ukraine: Standoff is now available through Scholastic Canada and major booksellers across North America.
