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I am Liubov Shamota, the principal of the Yasnohorodka gymnasium. I have 44 years of teaching experience, including seven years as a teacher,

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28 years as a deputy director, and nine years as a school principal. I teach history. History, in my opinion, is one of the main subjects now because, probably,

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if everyone in Ukraine knew their history, they would have long ago decided who is dangerous for our country, for Ukraine.

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I understood that war would knock on the door because Putin was not gathering troops near the border and bringing troops from the Far East just for a walk. Of course,

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there was a danger, and it was a conscious realization of this danger. You know, just when Putin recognized the L/DPR, these so-called republics, I think it was on a Saturday...

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I came to school on Monday and told everyone, in the teacher’s lounge and in the kitchen, that the war was imminent. It was Monday, and the war started on February 24. On February 23,

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we managed to conduct an evacuation drill for children. I’m going to cry now... Honestly, I’m going to cry because there was such a sense of danger, but some people did not understand me.

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My colleagues even asked me, “Liubov Mykolayivna, what is this? How it could be?” And I said, “Yes, it’s very serious.” We parted ways; we didn’t say that to the children, of course,

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but there was a time when we... Every year, we used to send volunteer aid to our guys in the east. We collected the aid and organized meetings with the volunteers. We talked and I told them my story.

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Even parents did not understand that such things could happen — dangerous things like war. We planned because we were not the only ones who lived under such pressure and because I understand that these are children.

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On the 24th... On the 23rd, after school, we rehearsed for the day of the welcome of spring, prepared for Pancake Week, and organized dances here on the street. But on the 24th,

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this picture changed. The picture changed – the light colors were covered with blood and darkness. What did I feel? I mean, first impressions. Well, the first impressions were when we heard explosions

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and my Alsatian started barking. My Alsatian barked, and I realized everything. I live alone, and the first thing I did was turn on the TV and Facebook. I realized that the war had started. I immediately started crying. I cried my heart out, and then I called my children,

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and that was the end of my tears because I had to pull myself together and act. The teaching staff – we have 35 people in total, including 18 teachers. We have the kindergarten staff,

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technicians, and kitchen staff, so it makes 35 people. I immediately informed everyone that all classes were canceled. We had 135 students and children who were in kindergarten.

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On February 27... I live on that street, leading to Motyzhyn; Motyzhyn was occupied on February 27th, and tanks entered our village on the same day. 25 tanks passed by my house

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and turned back to the river bank, towards the ostrich farm. They split up, and some of them went to Buzova and Severynivka, but it was the first time that I had seen Russian military equipment,

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and it was terrifying. It was marked by a “V.” While we had power and reception, we communicated with our colleagues from neighboring villages, so we knew that the armada was coming.

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We heard and knew about Hostomel and Chornobyl, but in any case, that news... it was a necessity, like a sip of water, to find new information and orient ourselves. At that time,

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people said that Russian tanks got as far as to Obolon, and it was petrifying, but it was not myself whom I was worried about. I’m 65 years old, and I was worried about the children and about Ukraine.

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From March 2, in the evening... We were on duty at the school... We organized a first-aid station to help people who might need it. We had four people staying overnight at the school.

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They worked in Kyiv and were trying to get to Malyn. They were shot between Motyzhyn and Kopelove. There were five of them traveling together. One of them was killed, and they were already...

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and it was still cold and snowy, and they were crawling 800 meters along the roadside, along a ditch, in the direction of Motyzhyn. There was a civilian car coming towards them, and we stopped it too, because it was dangerous.

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They were brought here, and they lived at the school for six days. I brought them clothes, and we cooked them food. They didn’t take any risks, and they hoped that the situation would improve,

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but in fact, it was getting more complicated. They stayed here at the school. On March 3, a shell hit the wall. It flew in through the window, hit the wall in the classroom, and flew out.

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The debris flew into the schoolyard, and the roof was damaged. This was the first time it had happened. We were all at the school and when we heard an explosion, we realized that the situation was extremely dangerous.

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During that time, until March 5, we had people staying at our school who could not get to Zhytomyr, Severinivka, or Malyn. We had seven people, and we were rescuing them and helping them.

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An old man came to us. He was seeing off his wife; he was deaf, and his battery was dead, so he spent the night with us and continued his journey to Motyzhyn. I came in the morning from home while the boys stayed here,

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so I saw him off. He said he knew how to get there but he was lost. I wrote him a note because he was deaf. So, I wrote him a note, and he answered me. I wrote him his name, surname, patronymic,

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where he was going, the street where he lived, and that he was deaf so that someone could help him. Then, on March 5, when our guys from the Area Defense Forces were standing there,

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there were 12 of them, and it so happened that three armored personnel carriers went there and saw... They were shot. Some of them ran away, and some of them were just shot dead near the gas station.

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An older woman who lived near the gas station, you know, just looked out of the window and was shot. And from that time on, the shelling started, and fighting continued on the field. There was fighting near Motyzhyn, and you know, it was scary.

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As for the feelings, I’ll tell you. The first explosions, the first shelling – it was so stressful that my blood pressure rose, my heart was flying out of my chest, and I was in such a panic, but then,

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I’ll tell you, when you get used to it and when the shelling stopped, it was impossible to sleep. It’s like a breakdown in the psyche. I’ll tell you in the right order. After the shelling, they brought us...

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Four people died there, but at that moment, when the checkpoint was being shot, one man and his son were going to Yasnohorodka to pick up their relatives and friends, and they were shot.

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The father was killed, and the son, Danylo Kutsov, was brought to our school. He had a gaping wound in his hip. When he was brought to us, the guys... I had a doctor’s contact details, so I called her and asked her to come.

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The guys bandaged him; they bandaged his wound because it was a through-and-through wound caused by a machine gun, and his leg was smashed. She came running, started treating the wound and said, 

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“Lyubov Mykolayivna, this will suffice for an hour to take him to the hospital, so his leg will not be amputated.” He said in Russian, “It’s my birthday today, even though it’s tomorrow.

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I turn 20 tomorrow.” Do you get it? I wrote down his contact details, the phone number and address, and the contact details of his mother, in case something happens on the road. So, Katia treated the wounds,

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I jumped out, stopped... There were guys standing there. We stopped the car and turned it around, but he did not fit in the back seat of the car. We stopped a small truck and sent him away, but we had his contact details.

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He was treated for a long time because the bone was broken through and through, his leg was saved, and he is alive, thank God. It was March 5, and on March 6, I came to school, where Oleksii,

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who was going to Zhytomyr, stayed overnight. His car was shot, and he came back, spent the night here, and then went to Kyiv. There was another man, Ihor, who was on his way to Severynivka.

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Severynivka was occupied, but he said he would get there somehow because his family was there. He stayed with us for two nights, and on March 6, they came. Then everyone started to leave the village,

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including young people with children. When people started to leave, it was the right decision.  I’m not judging anyone, you know. People sometimes say, “They ran away.” That’s not true. Children are the future.

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What choice did they have? To stay and wait to see what happens next means putting yourself and your children at great risk. The power had already been cut off; there was no phone reception.

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We had a generator at the school, and on the sixth, when I came to school in the morning, [there were] these guys from Malyn. I said, “Guys, let’s get going somehow.” Because the danger was very serious. 

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They left and got to Malyn by the evening. The mother of one of these guys called me later and thanked us for our help. On March 6, only Ihor, who was on his way to Severynivka, remained,

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so I told him in the evening, “You are alone, it’s dangerous to be alone because of the situation. I’ll go and heat the boiler, light the stove up, and cook something. I’ll come back in the evening and pick you up,

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and we’ll stay in the cellar together.” Then, my neighbor shouted through the gate that my eldest son, called and told me to leave the village immediately, and he would come to get me.

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I called my friends in Osykove. I got on my bike. I left my two cats and dog behind, and I rode my bike to Osykove. This is the neighboring village, and the distance is four kilometers from the first street.

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I spent the night there, left the keys with Ihor, and told him that he could come with me or stay, but I couldn’t stay; I gave him the key because he could not leave in the evening, so he could spend the night and leave in the morning.

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I gave him the key. I gave the keys to the school to our neighbor, Mykola Serhiyovych, who works in the boiler room, and asked him to watch what would happen here. So, I spent the night there and called in the morning.

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There was no one there. I got on my bike and went home. I stopped by the school, and we had... We would bring milk and bread here, and people would come. I opened a supply room.

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We gave everything away to the people we cooked for, helped them, and thus the bread that was left over, the milk in cans because the neighboring village... There was nowhere to sell the milk,

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so the boys delivered it here, and people came here. For ten days, I rode here by bike every day. I knew I had the school, and I needed to see it. First of all, I came to the school,

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looked at what was left, and put it in my bag. Those who had not left were waiting for me outside. They told me to take down the signs so that no one would know who lived where and could not find their way around.

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Then, we organized everything. My teachers, who were in Zakarpattia, got to know the head of the local community. We contacted her, and she sent humanitarian aid to us, to Osykovo,

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and we started distributing humanitarian aid. The driver who brought us humanitarian aid helped us get in touch with the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany. We wrote a letter, and on March 16,

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I don’t remember whether it was March 10 or March 16, a truck with humanitarian aid arrived, and we started delivering aid to people. I’ve been distributing aid since then, especially to those who come. You know,

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we distributed some of the humanitarian aid, and then a lot of people started coming to help the village, so I... You know, knowing what might happen, I made an untouchable stock.

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Now people are coming from those regions, and I am helping them. I just loaded a box for one family yesterday. I know that I have something to give to these people, who sometimes come with one suitcase.

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The school, except for the first attack... There were more when the village was shelled by Grads and the fire started. I could see through the window which part of Yasnohorodka was burning.

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I called and asked how the school was, and they laughed at me because I was not asking how the house was, but how the school was. You know, after 44 years that I worked there, this is my child, this school...

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My late husband and I came to that school. He was a physical education teacher, and we gave the school... I don’t know what is done at home, but the school should be in order.

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I am not someone who wears a crown on their head. I take a broom, a brush, or a rag and work together with the team because it is necessary. One might say that we don’t have the conditions

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and we won’t resume classes, but I understand that we can’t sit in a cellar, and we have to somehow move towards the future. The children have been studying online for four years.

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This is not proper education, you know, and this is the truth; this is the cruel truth when children suffer the consequences of war. We teach the children of war.

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We honored the children of war who were children of the Second World War, and we have already found ourselves in a situation where we are participants in the war

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and children of war are growing up in this state. I held a series of meetings for parents on the eve of the school year, in each class and in the kindergarten separately,

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and we talked. I asked the parents to isolate their children from the negative emotions a little bit,

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to give them good emotions – to hug, kiss, talk, and read together – and to give the children hope that everything will be fine.