Yuliya Musakovska, a Ukrainian poet and translator, performed at Poetry Africa Festival in Durban. She recalled Russia's brutal war against Ukraine and its goal of physical destruction of Ukrainians, as well as the destruction of Ukrainian culture and national identity. Yulia read English translations of her poems from the book “The God of Freedom”, published this year by Arrowsmith Press (Boston, USA), as well as new poetry from the period of the full-scale invasion from the book “Stones and Nails” (2024). One of the poems is dedicated to the memory of Ukrainian soldiers who died defending their country. The audience responded very empathetically and emotionally to the author's performance.