‘We want that life to be back, when we used to live calm and quiet’

Rayisa Topalova, 77 years old:

War is a very scary thing. When a person had everything going smooth and calm, and then suddenly their nervous system is shattered, and everything is crumbling before their own eyes and in their soul – what was built, made by our parents, grandfathers and great-grandfathers. And you think, ‘Who gave the right to destroy what belongs to people, what has been done for centuries?’ You think, ‘Who could issue such an order?’

Everything collapsed, the East was on fire, and everything was burning and blazing here. The doors were bursting open, and no one knew where to run. There was shelling at night and we moved into the cellars. We just did not think of it that even there it could all collapse and no one would come out.

Viktor Topalov, 81 years old:

I did my military service in Kyiv and first met her there then. We registered our marriage there and have been living together since then, since 1960, to this day. My daughter was buried here. It was of cancer disease. She had a surgery, chemotherapy, but nothing helped. They could not save her. Almost my entire pension is spent on medications. Prices in the store grew up for everything. I have forgotten the taste of meat. Saying nothing about black or red caviar. I don’t even think about it… And once there was a time when I could eat both black and red caviar.

There is a constant shellfire. My windowpanes were blown out. This is scary. There was an explosion here. My wife was here outside and she managed to run inside the shed, while I was in the house. The windows shattered... A hundred and twenty millimetre shell fragment. It exploded and all the windows in my house were broken. There were many shell fragments here. I threw them all away.

I am sensitive to any noise, to every rustle. Because I heard heavy gunshots. That is scary.

Rayisa Topalova:

As the war began, life became much worse both financially and emotionally. We suffered emotionally a lot, sure thing.

It looked as if the fire was right inside the house. I am quite patient… But I said, ‘I cannot come in’. There was such a fiery glow and the window glass shattered.

I was outside when a shell landed some ten meters away from the fence. The door burst opened and I did not know where to run. It’s good that the door opened and I ran in there.

It was scary when shells exploded. It was Grad [rocket launcher] hitting. Not far from here a kid was wounded by a shell fragment. They did not make it to the hospital. Well, and where to go? The bridge was destroyed.

We want peace very much. We want that life to be back. The life we used to have, friendly and calm life. We want to hear the voices of children, to see smiles and people around, to meet, to talk and understand each other.

Viktor Topalov:

See you, Rayia.

Rayisa Topalova:

I want to see a bright day so much. We live in hope for it and by belief that this day will come.

Viktor Topalov:

It was in 2016, after that terrible explosion we had. I wrote this verse... I have many of my own verses.

It flared up more and more, shells exploding,

Grad was hitting and the east was burning,

Cities collapsed, towns and villages were in fire,

Soldiers, children and elderly were dying,

People suffered and left their home,

They left, they moved wherever they could.

The Earth moaned in pain,

Oh Lord, what a terrible grief?

We are one family, one mother Ukraine.

Yes, the battle did not stop,

Connection was cut off, the telephone turned silent,

My heart was worried, squeezed to pain.

My soul was crying.

How many mothers will not see their sons anymore?

The earth and heaven know where their innocent souls flew.

I bow to them.