"The poor child didn't know whether to get into the chest of drawers or under the bed"

I lived in the village of Hnutove with my mother before the war. She died recently. I have been living in Hnutovesince 1969. I didn't leave because my mother was old and couldn't walk well. I still feel sorry for my house and household even though they were bombed. The area got robbed constantly. Some people searched the houses, wearing masks and having machine guns. This was at the beginning of 2014. Later, when the guys from Sloviansk were decent, they would come to exchange greetings.

It was awful. I was so scared. I remember how I dragged my mother to the basement, and she said, "I'm going to die here." I didn't worry or suffer for myself. Whatever happened, has happened I was worried about my children and grandchildren. I can't remember without a broken heart. My children lived in Talakivka. Grandchildren were little. The poor child did not know where to run. Whether to get into the chest of drawers or hide under the bed. I would rather not remember it.

 It is a good thing you mother didn't hear that. Roaring sounds here and there, shells flying above us. God forbid anyone to experience this.

 The lights were turned off for two or three days. A shell exploded not far away, on the next street. It got into the barn and killed the geese. 2014-2015. The windows shattered from the explosion. I have recently found a fragment of [projectile]. They're all over the vegetable garden. And a neighbor found one, too.

We supported each other. We ran to each other with the neighbors. People's roofs were bombed. We gave them slate to fix it. Rinat Akhmetov helped us. His Foundation brought  us food packages. My mother always had sugar, butter, cereals, canned food, and salt. We are very grateful. People don't have any money.