It was the year 2014.  We had a heavy shelling here. One evening we were outdoors and saw some shells flying above our house. That was especially scary then, when I was staying in the cellar with my four kids and everything exploded somewhere close by…

‘We even fear that the roof can fall upon our heads’

Some of our streets and houses came under fire and were damaged. My kids were so scared then that my little Mykyta [very small then] gets scared even now when the thunder rumbles. Or when he hears some shelling somewhere far away, he immediately runs inside the house. He is afraid of this.

‘We even fear that the roof can fall upon our heads’

As for recent times, it is more or less quiet, but sometimes there is some shelling somewhere. We can hear some rumble, some shelling somewhere. For example, we could hear it yesterday. It was not clear from which side it was. It is still scary, very scary. I am scared for the children.

I want them to finish their studies well. I want to raise them well for them to stand firm on their feet. So that they could continue to study. So that the kids would be growing up as good children. It is not easy, but I'm trying my best.

We are thankful that humanitarian organizations help us. I regularly receive help from Rinat Akhmetov, and I am thankful to him for this, that he helps out with this all. It saves us indeed. I am raising my kids myself, trying as much as I can. I buy them clothes and provide for their studies.

One corner of our house collapsed. It fell off down completely. Some cracks appeared because our house always shakes when explosions burst. We have cracks everywhere in the house. Everything barely holds up. Sometimes we even fear that the roof can fall upon our heads.