KYIV (Reuters) -When Natalia Lipei pulls up her sleeve, the 66-year-old Ukrainian pensioner reveals a colourful tattoo: a winged sword, symbolising the air-assault unit her son Viktor served in before he was killed in 2022 fighting Russian forces.

“It felt like when I got it, my child would always be there,” she said, pulling her forearm closer. “He wouldn’t be in heaven, where he is now, but near me.”

Ukrainians like Lipei have turned to tattoos as a way to heal the deep emotional wounds of war, commemorating fallen loved ones or lost homes through vivid images, words or symbols.

Fighting has raged for nearly four years, killing hundreds of thousands and ravaging vast swathes of land. There is no end to the conflict in sight as Russia grinds forward on the battlefield and attacks Ukrai

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