On February 24, 2022, Nataliia saw the first military aircraft in the sky. On February 25, a convoy of russian vehicles entered her hometown of Tokmak. From her attic, she watched an unequal battle between the russian military and a small group of city defenders. Since then, life under occupation has been difficult.

Nataliia worked as a postman, secretly delivering Ukrainian pensions to people through russian checkpoints, continuing to speak Ukrainian and sincerely believing that the city would be liberated. One of her collaborators informed her of the danger to her life – Nataliia’s son was serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the time. She received the news of her son’s death in Vasylkiv. The memory of him does not allow Nataliia to stop – she is an active volunteer with the NGO “Vidsich”.