As war unfolds in her homeland, Solomiya Rozhko adjusts to a ‘painful’ new reality in Brisbane

Every day, Solomiya Rozhko wakes up inside an apartment in Brisbane and asks herself: "Is it over?"

"You just want it to be over," Rozhko says of the war in Ukraine. "You want your family and friends and your country to be safe."

As claims emerge of civilian executions, mass graves and atrocities such as rape, Rozhko watches what is unfolding in her homeland with horror.

This week, hundreds of bodies were discovered lying in the streets of Bucha after Ukrainian forces recaptured the territory from Russian troops.

"The atrocities are immense," Rozhko says. "I think the world is yet to see the extent of what's happened."I know if I was in those towns working, I could have been killed."

The 43-year-old arrived in Brisbane on 24 March with just three sweaters, a couple of pairs of jeans, her computer and some documents inside a small suitcase.

She is finding it challenging to get used to her "new reality".