While Mariika fought to preserve her culture, others her age faced darker pressures. In the northern Sumy region, Oleksandr watched his house shake from blast waves while his father served on the front lines. For teens like him, "normalcy" was a luxury found only at rare summer camps on the opposite side of the country, where for a few days, they could talk about things other than the war.

: Before a single word was read, they checked every window was bolted and scanned the apartment doors for "informants" who might report them to the Russian security services. Between Duty and Destruction

Despite the trauma of lost homes and disrupted educations, a new wave of "teen entrepreneurs" emerged from the chaos.