‘All brothers at the front’: Ukraine’s Roma find acceptance in war

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Viktor Ilchak, a soldier fighting for Ukraine and a member of the country's Roma community.
Viktor Ilchak, a soldier fighting for Ukraine and a member of the country’s Roma community. © AFP

The estimated 400,000 Roma scattered across Ukraine have long faced entrenched poverty, discrimination and segregation. But with Roma soldiers fighting on the front lines and members of the community helping Ukrainians in need behind it, some say attitudes are beginning to shift – and hope that it lasts.