On the first day of the invasion, at 5 am, russian artillery and aircraft began shelling Kulbakyno Airfield on the outskirts of Mykolaiv. Liliia's family lived nearby. "Before the russian attack, local Ukrainian brigades managed to get all our aircraft into the air, and the equipment was saved.

Three days later, Liliia recalls, russian tanks entered the city. She and her children stayed under fire for 20 days until her sister invited them to the Odesa region. After that, Liliia's husband volunteered for the war. Sometime later, Liliia received the news that her husband had been killed in action.