Today I pray to God that my husband and my parents are alive! After everything, what is happening in Ukraine in the 21st century? War. A war that can take the lives of the people dearest to me! A war that ruthlessly takes away the lives of hundreds of Ukrainians every day!
My name is Victoria, I am 36 years-old. My husband’s name is Yuri. He is 43 years-old. We were born and raised in Kyiv. It is also where we studied. We have a wonderful and friendly family. We have two talented children in our family. Our son Myroslav is 6 years-old, he goes to the senior group in kindergarten and ice hockey in CYSS. February 26th was supposed to be his first hockey championship but he did not get to play in it because of the war! Our daughter Ivanka is 4 years-old, she goes to kindergarten and participates in ballet at a ballet studio where more than 1000 ballerinas from different countries, including Italy, China and Japan, all dance together.
Our life was like an interesting story of people who reach great heights and contributed to society! But in one moment our lives were divided into “before” and “after” and the exact moment our lives split was on February 24 at 06:25 a.m. That is the moment my mother called and said that bombs were falling on the city in Kharkiv. Yuri’s phone rang almost immediately after and he was recalled back to the police force from vacation because the war had started in our country! Kyiv, Brovary, Chernihiv were all being bombed from the borders!
After getting my mother’s phone call, we had only 10 minutes to leave our home. We just indiscriminately threw things in a bag and left the house at 6:40 a.m. The air outside was full of gunpowder. Half the houses were already glowing and people were gathering outside. Some people were leaving. Some were already in their cars! We got into our car and my husband said that he would take us to the Cherkasy region, on the right bank. We approached the Metro bridge at 06:45 a.m. and saw a traffic jam. It was like rush hour. There was no point in sitting in the traffic jam because we didn’t know where the bombs will fly from. My husband decided to turn around and go to Brovary and the drive was hellish. As we drove we saw lines for refueling that were more than 50 cars long. The feelings of fear that my family and I felt simply cannot be described. We heard buzzing sounds and commotions and we were constantly looking up at the sky to see if anything was flying from there towards us.
Once we arrived on the route to the Cherkasy region, which is in the center of Ukraine, we calmed down a bit but the danger still remained because of the military units located on the road to the village. Once we arrived in the village, my husband calmed me down, kissed the children and returned to Kyiv. I will not forget the 4 hours we drove; in peacetime we cover this distance in an hour and a half. Today my husband remains in Kyiv where he is working as a policeman. I am proud of him and I believe that he will stay alive. There simply cannot be another way!
My children and I were staying with my mother in the village. My mother and I managed to create and organize a defense plan for the entire village. In the village there were air raids three times a day both day and night. When it happened, the little children would get out of bed quickly, get dressed and go to the shelter. We would have to be there sometimes from 1 a.m. to 5 p.m. This is not a normal life for children. Children’s games have turned into games to hide in a bomb shelter and others.
On March 6th I had a conversation with my husband where he said that we should think about how to go west because things were getting very dangerous. He said that it was worth going while the roads through the villages could still be passed safely. At first I refused but said that I would think about it. Our opinions were different because I was worried that it would be difficult to travel west with two small children and a bag. Eventually, though, my rational thinking prevailed. I did not want my children to experience the psychological and mental pain that comes with being in environments where there is shelling and bombing. The effects that can have later in life can be significant. I thought of all of the extreme dangers that were occurring in the Cherkasy region along with the Odessa region where things were even less calm. As a mother, I wanted to protect my children from such things. I thought about how I would blame myself if I did not! I wanted to protect my children so I decided to go west with my children.
On the 8th morning I called my husband and told him that I agreed to go west for the safety of the children. So again we packed our belongings in 40 minutes and left to head west. The road was difficult. There was an extremist an with a weapon in our vehicle who should not have been there. He was eventually removed and handed over to the police. We had stops in the fields for the safety of the women and children where we had to disable our phones. The entire trip took more than 15 hours. Once we arrived in the west I began to feel a little bit of calm. I sincerely thank everyone who helped me stay in the city for a couple of days, those who helped my children and I to cross the border, and those who gave us protection in Poland! I believe that in our country, Ukraine, the war will stop in the near future and we will clear Ukraine of thieves! Fire force! Ukrainians are a strong nation in spirit! They are free! They are strong! But these children will never forget what Russia, the so-called “brother” country, has done.
