WEBVTT - Made with VTT Creator 00:05.298 --> 00:15.835 position:50% align:middle It was in the summer, at the beginning of it… when the russian federation began large-scale shelling. That day… Okhmatdyt, Adonis… It was the beginning 00:15.835 --> 00:28.163 position:50% align:middle of a summer of horror, when missiles kept coming, and coming, and coming… My name is Kateryna Brahutsa. I am 16 years old. I am Viktor Brahutsa’s daughter. 00:28.163 --> 00:41.068 position:50% align:middle He was killed in July 2024 in a hospital as a result of shelling. When Vitia was already being laid to rest and we were near the medical centre, a young woman 00:41.068 --> 00:56.058 position:50% align:middle came up to me and said: “Your husband saved my life.” They had been unable to diagnose her with cancer, but Vitia spotted it himself. And he saw it at a moment 00:56.058 --> 01:07.226 position:50% align:middle when surgery was still possible and, essentially, the condition could be kept under control. She was crying so much and kept saying that he had saved her. 01:07.226 --> 01:19.921 position:50% align:middle A family also came up to me, showed me their little child, and said that thanks to my husband, their child had recovered. There are so many stories like that, 01:19.921 --> 01:30.652 position:50% align:middle where it was precisely because of Vitia and how much he cared… He did the impossible. Even when everyone else said, “There’s no hope,” he would simply… 01:30.652 --> 01:49.389 position:50% align:middle It was as though some kind of miracle happened. My name is Svitlana Brahutsa. I am 47 years old. Until 2014, we lived in the Donetsk region, in Makiivka, and then, in 2014, 01:49.389 --> 02:03.378 position:50% align:middle we moved away. We left in 2014, and it happened suddenly. My husband took us to my mother’s hometown, Berdychiv. It is in the Zhytomyr region. 02:03.378 --> 02:15.874 position:50% align:middle We lived there for seven years. Of course, we did not think that all of this would last very long. But after about four months, it became clear that things would 02:15.874 --> 02:33.794 position:50% align:middle not be resolved quickly, and we became internally displaced persons. And it felt like a small label. And it was unclear whether it was a good label or a bad one. 02:33.794 --> 02:46.957 position:50% align:middle Because you are either homeless or… Who are you, really? We stayed there for seven years, and in 2021 my husband was offered a position at the Adonis Medical Centre in Kyiv, 02:46.957 --> 02:58.364 position:50% align:middle so he moved there. Later, the rest of us joined him. The children enrolled in a technical lyceum and began their studies, and I found a job. So from 2021 onwards, all of us… 02:58.364 --> 03:08.386 position:50% align:middle Each of us was getting on with our own life in Kyiv, and life there had become more settled and predictable, because the children were older and studying 03:08.386 --> 03:18.950 position:50% align:middle at the technical lyceum. And that was entirely their achievement. They gained admission on their own merit. We were in Kyiv when the full-scale invasion began. 03:18.950 --> 03:32.345 position:50% align:middle Vitia was an ultrasound specialist with an exceptionally broad range of expertise. He was an outstanding prenatal diagnostician. A highly qualified and highly professional doctor. 03:32.345 --> 03:44.433 position:50% align:middle He was greatly respected in Kyiv, and people even travelled to see him from other regions because they trusted him so much as a professional. 03:44.433 --> 03:55.890 position:50% align:middle He provided excellent medical care, and at the same time he was a very modest and reserved person. The same was true of him as a father. 8 July… 03:55.890 --> 04:04.327 position:50% align:middle The children were on their summer holidays. Our elder daughter was at home, while our younger daughter had gone away – we had sent her to Bulgaria. 04:04.327 --> 04:18.283 position:50% align:middle That morning, the strike on Okhmatdyt took place. And of course, we all saw the emergency services… We saw the smoke. I was at work, and I saw it myself. 04:18.283 --> 04:27.793 position:50% align:middle There was a huge commotion. All the Telegram channels were writing only about the strike on Okhmatdyt. At around one o’clock, the air-raid alert sounded, 04:27.793 --> 04:38.593 position:50% align:middle and literally a few minutes later there was an impact near us, by Livoberezhna. We did not understand exactly where it had hit. We only heard that there had been 04:38.593 --> 04:49.399 position:50% align:middle a very loud explosion. But about half an hour later…We did not check the Telegram channels straight away. At first, they did not say where the missile had struck. 04:49.399 --> 05:05.067 position:50% align:middle Then a colleague at work showed me a photograph and asked whether it was my husband’s branch. And I saw that it was. I went there. At first, I did not understand 05:05.067 --> 05:17.101 position:50% align:middle what was happening, because the end of the building was not as badly damaged as the side facing the railway tracks. There was literally a hole there. 05:17.101 --> 05:28.592 position:50% align:middle There was no building – just open air. That was where it had hit. From the outside, though… I did not think that things were this bad… They told me that an ambulance 05:28.592 --> 05:41.045 position:50% align:middle had taken him away somewhere. They did not say where, so I got in the car and went searching for him in all the hospitals. We looked and looked, but we could not find him. 05:41.045 --> 05:51.471 position:50% align:middle He was nowhere. And I do not know how much time passed – perhaps three or four hours we were away. We returned to Adonis, and it was there that they told me 05:51.471 --> 06:03.842 position:50% align:middle he had been killed. And you know… Perhaps because I was in shock, but I could not comprehend it. I wanted to see him. I did not believe it. 06:03.843 --> 06:12.901 position:50% align:middle I ran around searching the mortuaries because nobody told me which mortuary he had been taken to. Then, late in the evening… 06:12.901 --> 06:24.397 position:50% align:middle In the end, I found out which one and where it was. They would not let me in. They only allowed me in the following day. You see, our younger daughter was in Bulgaria, 06:24.397 --> 06:34.162 position:50% align:middle and somehow we had to tell her. We managed to bring her back thanks to an amazing form teacher who was there with her. She arranged for Dasha to travel back 06:34.162 --> 06:42.470 position:50% align:middle with a group that was returning to Kyiv. I wanted Dasha to be at the funeral. I would not have buried my husband without our daughter being there. 06:42.470 --> 06:57.238 position:50% align:middle And her form teacher did something incredible – she got Dasha back in literally twenty-four hours. But we still had to find a way to tell the child why she was coming back. 06:57.238 --> 07:06.961 position:50% align:middle And I am grateful as well… There was a medic there who, so to speak, explained everything to her beforehand. And she stayed by her side. My daughter was supported. 07:06.961 --> 07:14.737 position:50% align:middle But I simply could not grasp that… Well, that was it. And what’s next? How do you go on living afterwards? It felt like a nightmare. 07:14.737 --> 07:30.366 position:50% align:middle The community at the lyceum where Katia and Dasha studied were incredible. They simply stayed by the girls’ side while I was running around, because there was so much 07:30.366 --> 07:44.154 position:50% align:middle that needed to be done. They spent time with them and gave them attention. They were there for them, helping to distract them a little, chatting about things – 07:44.154 --> 07:56.377 position:50% align:middle just as teenagers do. When I found out, I mainly tried to support Mum. I did not want to make it even more painful. It hurt me, and Mum, and my sister, but somehow… 07:56.377 --> 08:18.349 position:50% align:middle We simply hugged each other. Vitia was a doctor gifted by God. He was a man with an enormous heart, do you understand? He took every patient’s story to heart. 08:18.349 --> 08:27.608 position:50% align:middle I realise that perhaps that is not entirely the right way to do things, but he cared deeply about their problems, and he was genuinely happy when... 08:27.608 --> 08:39.428 position:50% align:middle He was an ultrasound specialist. And we have so many stories... He was, you know, like a child. He would become like a child whenever he told us about some interesting case. 08:39.428 --> 08:52.052 position:50% align:middle For example, when a woman became pregnant – something unexpected for her, but very much wanted... It was her dream. He would come home and tell us about it. 08:52.052 --> 09:02.567 position:50% align:middle He was happy for people whose dreams had come true. Although he had very little free time and was often exhausted, he was always happy to spend time with us. 09:02.567 --> 09:14.301 position:50% align:middle For example, at weekends, whenever we had free time and wanted to go somewhere, he was always enthusiastic about it. And I valued that very much. 09:14.301 --> 09:22.956 position:50% align:middle That is what I appreciated about my father. He was always reading, always learning. He understood that he needed it, so he wanted to broaden his knowledge 09:22.956 --> 09:35.724 position:50% align:middle as much as possible. And, of course, that was the kind of doctor he was... He always used to tell me... Even when I was little and could not solve a maths problem, 09:35.724 --> 09:42.006 position:50% align:middle when I would say that I could not do it, he would always tell me: “No, you can. Just believe in yourself. Never say that you will not succeed.” 09:42.006 --> 09:56.409 position:50% align:middle And I still remember those words – that I can do it, just as my dad told me. My dad had a great sense of humour, and I remember his funny sayings, 09:56.409 --> 10:04.386 position:50% align:middle the things he would say with a smile on his face. I would not say that I have as good a sense of humour as my dad did, but I would like to. 10:04.386 --> 10:15.394 position:50% align:middle I always had fun when I was with him. On the day of the strike on Okhmatdyt, we were surprised that the news did not immediately report what had happened 10:15.394 --> 10:32.298 position:50% align:middle at Adonis. At Adonis, five staff members were initially confirmed dead: two doctors and three women who worked there. Senior nurse Taniusha Sharova. 10:32.298 --> 10:43.769 position:50% align:middle Viktoriia Bondarenko, who worked as a cashier. Oksana Korzh, who was the housekeeping nurse. Vitia and Svitlana Poplavska. Vitia and Svitlana were doctors, 10:43.769 --> 10:52.465 position:50% align:middle while the other women also worked there in different roles. Two patients were killed, as well as two other people who were in the same building – 10:52.465 --> 11:03.744 position:50% align:middle not in Adonis itself, but elsewhere in the office premises. In total, nine people lost their lives that day. Svitlana Poplavska was a gynaecologist, an excellent one. 11:03.744 --> 11:14.233 position:50% align:middle Taniusha Sharova was our... She was from Makiivka. She and Vitia had worked together for many years and had known each other for a long time. 11:14.233 --> 11:26.102 position:50% align:middle She was a senior nurse, truly wonderful. And the other women as well. Later, when we began getting to know one another more closely... I was the only girl, 11:26.102 --> 11:38.095 position:50% align:middle and there were four boys. One date shared by all. And one shared grief. They are wonderful families. Truly wonderful families, and I would like more people 11:38.095 --> 11:50.271 position:50% align:middle to learn about them. Ihor Sharov and Taniusha had a son who had been held in captivity. His story, too, has been incredibly difficult. When this happened, 11:50.271 --> 12:05.837 position:50% align:middle Ihor Korzh’s daughter had just given birth to twins. The babies were only a few days old. Oksana had been a grandmother for only a matter of days. And that, too, 12:05.837 --> 12:15.386 position:50% align:middle was such a tragedy, do you understand? She was a young woman as well. She had two children. And every one of them has a story to tell. 12:15.386 --> 12:33.793 position:50% align:middle And she kept much of her grief to herself, so to speak. Just as we did, in truth. You know, I think about him every day. Because it was twenty-three years of life together. 12:33.793 --> 12:46.037 position:50% align:middle Twenty-three years. These are his children. They are a reminder of him, his legacy. Of course, my story with Vitia began in a very unusual way. 12:46.037 --> 12:58.517 position:50% align:middle We met in Donetsk at a Shakhtar football match on Miners’ Day. As it happened, we lived in neighbouring apartment blocks. 12:58.517 --> 13:17.078 position:50% align:middle So he walked me home and then went home himself. He was a devoted fan. Shakhtar was his team, his home team. And for us, every last Sunday of August is Miners’ Day. 13:17.078 --> 13:30.829 position:50% align:middle The last Saturday of August is City Day. Shakhtar would always organise some kind of friendly match. And then the celebrations would follow. That is where we met. 13:30.829 --> 13:43.717 position:50% align:middle And somehow, our lives came together. That was our fate. And perhaps... You know, I believe in fateful meetings, in things like that... And it was... 13:43.717 --> 14:03.793 position:50% align:middle There are not that many coincidences in life. Meetings are not accidental when two people are drawn to one another. It was hardest at home. 14:03.793 --> 14:12.279 position:50% align:middle There were times when the tears would not come – simply because I was exhausted. And then they would come when I least expected them. 14:12.279 --> 14:23.873 position:50% align:middle When I felt that I should be crying, for some reason I could not. And then... It all came in waves. I know that I was not especially strong... 14:23.873 --> 14:34.753 position:50% align:middle But then we made a promise to each other that we would stay together, support one another, and get through it. By staying strong themselves, the girls helped me. 14:34.753 --> 14:51.136 position:50% align:middle When all of this happened, people came together, and the support from ordinary people was extraordinary. I know that the women I am friends with, 14:51.136 --> 15:04.408 position:50% align:middle along with the parents of my child’s classmates, set up a separate Monobank account and raised funds. Later, when Tania said to me: 15:04.408 --> 15:16.677 position:50% align:middle “Svitlana, you do not even realise how many people knew your husband,” everything finally came together in my mind. I understood: if I continued living in a rented flat, 15:16.677 --> 15:26.858 position:50% align:middle my salary would not be enough. And every day I would be living with the fear that something might happen and that I would be left, with two children, out on the street. 15:26.858 --> 15:37.999 position:50% align:middle So I bought a flat. I borrowed some money. My parents helped me a little as well. I bought a home, and I am now a little more at peace about tomorrow. 15:37.999 --> 15:50.016 position:50% align:middle I want to become a doctor. Mainly because my father was one. I hope my father will be proud of me, because I will also become a doctor. 15:50.016 --> 16:04.496 position:50% align:middle And I am continuing this path because I want to be a doctor. At the same time, I am very proud… I very much want to be like my father – just as skilled, 16:04.496 --> 16:19.546 position:50% align:middle just as composed and professional a doctor. I am working towards that. You know, my memory has become worse. So much so that, in order to piece 16:19.546 --> 16:26.820 position:50% align:middle together certain events, I need to actively reconstruct them. Sometimes I get confused about what happened when. I do remember, 16:26.820 --> 16:42.084 position:50% align:middle but I need to sit down and recall it properly. I need to gather it all from the beginning. Sometimes the emotion I felt a year or two ago is slightly different from what I feel now. 16:42.084 --> 16:54.270 position:50% align:middle Your life has already been shattered. Just like that – in an instant – and it is gone. In a single moment… And I kept replaying that day, 08.07… I still replay it. 16:54.270 --> 17:05.090 position:50% align:middle Every day. I still replay it now so that I do not forget. The number of those who died is currently simply enormous, very large. And their memory must be preserved. 17:05.090 --> 17:16.991 position:50% align:middle Without question. Because this is our history, these are our people. Each of them had a family, had plans for life. And in one day, they were simply taken away. 17:16.991 --> 17:30.508 position:50% align:middle When you lose someone close, you understand that your previous life remains back there. And you need to leave it and step onto a new path. 17:30.508 --> 17:40.195 position:50% align:middle To move forward on a different road, carrying the good that remains with you. And may God grant that on that road there are people who support you. 17:40.195 --> 17:50.657 position:50% align:middle And you do not have the right… If you are able to stand on your feet, you must go on, because you cannot fall. If you have children, you are responsible for them, 17:50.657 --> 18:03.560 position:50% align:middle and that responsibility rests on your shoulders. And you must understand that you need to keep going. Life is movement. People should see strength, resilience, 18:03.560 --> 18:18.354 position:50% align:middle , the fact that they are not alone, that despair is not an option, because above all there are many people who can support you. And in such a difficult state, 18:18.354 --> 18:30.284 position:50% align:middle in such a difficult situation, they reveal themselves. And you reveal yourself too. And you realise that the world is not without kind people. 18:30.284 --> 18:49.039 position:50% align:middle When you watch a video recording of a person telling their story, it is like a film about life. If you are internally ready to let another person’s pain pass through you, 18:49.039 --> 19:03.550 position:50% align:middle and then another, and another, and to understand the scale of what has been happening in Ukraine… you may feel somewhat shaken by what the Ukrainian people have 19:03.550 --> 19:18.632 position:50% align:middle endured. Those who remained. Those who defended. Those who lost. How families survived, what they went through. And some lost children. 19:18.632 --> 19:27.205 position:50% align:middle It is so terrible – burying your own children. Do you understand? And how is a person supposed to go on living after that? 19:27.205 --> 19:34.235 position:50% align:middle Who will support them? I believe this needs to be spoken about. People must know what Ukraine has gone through.