Gryshchenko: 'A lot of Ukrainian artists have joined the military and I am proud - but I am better at drawing than with a gun.'
Gryshchenko travelled with girlfriend and fellow illustrator Olena Staranchuk - once he had obtained the necessary authorisation to leave Ukraine.
Getting them out of Kyiv was further complicated by the recent Russian missile strikes there, said Sofia Cheliak of the Ukraine Book Institute, part of the culture ministry. But the stand was there, with a wide array of Ukranian books of every variety. It also had a stage, above which a large red light flashed when air raid sirens went off back in Ukraine.Ukrainian officials see high-profile events such as the fair as key to pushing back against Russia's attempts to wipe out the country's identity.