How Andriy Shevchenko first found his homeland was under attack was when his mother, Lyubov, phoned from her home in Kyiv.
‘I was sleeping,’ says the Ukrainian, fiddling with a blue biro. ‘I got a call. It was my mum. She…’
Shevchenko stops. He throws the pen across the table and walks to the window to compose himself. ‘I’m sorry. This isn’t easy. I promise you.’
His voice still cracking, he continues: ‘She said, “The war has started”. We couldn’t