While the three-week break at Hendy has been a welcome respite for her two children, Mariia’s work at UNAF has not relented. Indeed, on the day of our interview she is also conducting virtual meetings with colleagues and journalists back home, amid news that Russia has carried out missile attacks on Ukraine’s Black Sea coast following the end of the Ukraine Grain Deal.

The agreement, struck in July 2022, had permitted Ukrainian grain to be exported via southern ports. However, Russia’s withdrawal and subsequent military action resulted in 60,000 tonnes of grain being destroyed and storage infrastructure severely damaged.

The realities

While the attention of much of the Western media has slowly waned since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year, Mariia’s accounts of the challenges and atrocities facing her farming members brings the reality into sharp focus.

Dubbed ‘the Breadbasket of Europe’, Ukraine’s rich, fertile soils are naturally suited to grain production and the nation’s farmers are among the biggest food producers on the world’s stage. Pre-war, Ukrainian farmers were exporting 6.7 million tonnes of grain and oilseed by sea every month.

Providing food security

“Even though farmers have a huge role in Ukraine, not only for providing internal food security, they guarantee global food security and incomes to the Ukrainian budget, because we are an industry which is accounts for 40% of the value of all exports.

“At first it was very stressful. The distribution channels were destroyed and farmers were left without fuel, seeds and veterinary medicines. But they carried out a great spring sowing campaign on 25% less area of land due to occupation. This was possible because they had bought seeds, fertilisers and fuel in advance of the war."

The Russians’ targeting of Ukrainian agriculture has not been limited to the country’s arable sector, however. Mariia stated that horticultural farmers in the Kherson region – an occupied territory in the south of Ukraine - were badly impacted in their bid to grow fruit and vegetables.

The onion harvest was badly affected and prices for onions increased greatly owing to the need to import the vegetable. Similarly, many areas where tomatoes are grown have been occupied and the machinery used to harvest the fruit has been destroyed.

Farms burned to the ground

Elsewhere, over half of the largest Ukrainian egg farms had suspended production due to the Russian invasion. Mariia recounted the story of a large poultry business in Donetsk that was destroyed at the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014. The owners had restored the farm over subsequent years only to see it burned to the ground by Russian troops in 2022.

In addition, 800 commercial dairy farms have been affected by the war. 100 industrial dairy farms in affected regions have been heavily damaged or destroyed, while the national herd has been depleted by over 13%. Similar losses have been reported in the pig sector, where domestic pork supply has reduced by approximately 100 million tonnes and the commercial swine population has decreased by 12%.

Damages to Ukrainian agriculture

“I really want to show my sons that a normal life still exists in peaceful countries. It’s almost like they don’t believe it because they’ve become so normalised to the situation they are living in back home.

“I’m very grateful to Aled and Eilir for their hospitality and their support. I can’t change my position, I can’t leave Ukraine because I’m a patriot, but I can organise a short break for my children.”

At Hendy farm

Aled and his family have a long-running affiliation with Ukraine and its people. Over three decades ago the Joneses hosted a Ukrainian, Olexander Kosnoziu, on a sponsored visit for six weeks and in more recent times Hendy has played host to Ukrainian refugees seeking sanctuary away from their homeland.

Aled said: “When you are a farmer, even if we don’t speak the same language, we can still speak to each other. We have the same things in common, we look after the land and farm our animals. When Russia attacked Ukraine, I was thinking about Olexander, who we’d lost contact with because he didn’t speak any English. However, through another Ukrainian family we hosted last year we managed to get in contact with Olexander through Facebook. We discovered his two boys, Sergei and Rwslan, who are the same age as my two sons, Osian and Prysor, had both been conscripted into the army. It really made me consider how I would feel if it was my two boys who had been taken away to war.

“If someone was to attack Wales, I’m sure Mariia and people in other countries would help us. We have a house, my mother’s house. She would have been very pleased that the house is being used by people who really need it and she would love to hear the laughter of happy children.

Voice of farmers

“It has been excellent to have Mariia here and to appreciate the work that she does on behalf of her members. We are trying to do the same thing here. Agriculture is the oldest industry in mankind, but there’s a disconnect between our consumers and how we farm, as well as decisions being taken by people who don’t understand what farmers do. While some of the challenges we face are worlds apart, others in core farming terms are very similar. Mariia and I hold a shared belief that we must safeguard our industry and ensure that the voice of our farmers is heard clearly.”

Despite her ongoing work commitments, Mariia and her sons have been able to explore their local surroundings and see what agriculture looks like here in Wales.

'Wales is amazing'

“Farming here is completely different. Starting with the weather. For me changing between the rain and the sun is very unusual,” she said. “Wales is amazing. The landscape, the views, the cows and sheep in the mountains. It’s exciting for us to see.”

The family’s travels have seen them visit Richard and Harri Parry and family at Crugeran farm on the Llyn Peninsula. Mariia described her visit to the Llyn Peninsula as visiting 'the land's end' and it inspired optimism to take back to her homeland. She said: “I never thought that I could visit the end of the world! Seeing it has given me strength and power. If I, a Ukrainian woman, can come back from the end of the world, Ukraine can definitely win the war.”

Watch on S4C Ffermio

Ffermio visited Mariia while she was staying with Aled and his family. Watch the Ffermio interview here.