The village of Verbivka in the Kharkiv region survived six months of occupation. In the first days of the invasion, Liudmyla moved with her children (daughters and niece) to a neighbouring village. At first glance, it seemed safer there.

On the way, the car with the family was shot at, and their speed saved their lives. They spent the night in the basement of a kindergarten without heat or light. Liudmyla kept the milk in a bottle for her youngest daughter warm under her clothes. In the morning, a Russian plane started bombing the outskirts of the village, so the family returned to Verbivka.

A shell fell near the house. Liudmyla recalls running barefoot with her children to the basement over the shards of glass. The family spent some time in the shelter, and a few days later Liudmyla and her daughters left the occupied village. However, her niece Daryna, who has been deaf since birth, was not let go by her father. The child stayed with Liudmyla's brother and parents. Later, Liudmyla's husband was also captured by the Russians.