Yulia Yurina and Yana Polupanova

Masterskaya, a 6-year-old Kyiv label, recording studio and “house of culture” founded by singer Ivan Dorn, functions today as a shelter for about 15 musicians, actors and directors and their families. The windows are barricaded with tables, tape and garbage bags. Inside, Yulia Yurina

(right), a 27-year-old singer whose band YUKO competed in Ukraine’s national final to select its song for Eurovision, divides her time between distributing food and medicine to needy Ukrainians and releasing new music under the name YUYU. Yurina is frustrated that her parents, who live in her native Russia, believe Russian government propaganda about, for example, supposed Nazis in Ukraine. “We all understand this is bullshit,” she says through a translator during a Telegram call where she’s seated along with Masterskaya marketing director Yana Polupanova (bottom). Yurina hopes to change her nationality to Ukrainian. Meanwhile, she teaches Ukrainian songs to fellow volunteers.