The Polishchuk family is a dynasty of metallurgists from Mariupol. In early March 2022, they left their home in the village of Myrnyi and moved to another part of the city. They moved into a multi-apartment building where their son’s godparents lived. 

Fifty people hid from Russian shelling in the basement of that house. Among them were dozens of children. Each explosion left holes in the building walls and huge craters in the yard. At such moments, Valentyna recalls, the children would faint from fear.

When they ran out of food, they had to use fish food to make flatbreads. They washed their hair, washed, and shaved using only one bucket of water per family! One day, Valentyna’s husband and son decided to visit their relatives. On their way there, they were captured and interrogated by the Russian military. They barely escaped! That’s when they decided, “It’s time to get out!”

They left the city under fire. They even had to strengthen the dilapidated bridge to escape from hell.