Stories that you confided to us
We live together — me, four children and my mother. In 2014, the armed hostilities unfolded. We saw heavy machinery and tanks coming to our village. By autumn, we could hear explosion attacks.
At first, we went from here to Zaporizhzhia Oblast. My friend and I took the kids and left when they first started bombing. At first, we rented a house. However, it was expensive, food was expensive, so we had to go back.
We hid in basements with no electricity. It is very distressing to remember all this: how the children endured everything, how they cried. Those constant hysteric attacks... At that time, my eldest daughter was 10 years old, and my son was 5. The little ones weren't born yet.
In 2015, I gave birth to twins. There was nowhere to go. So I went to the cellar with cradles and spent nights there. Sometimes we did not have time to leave the house to go to the cellar.
Everyone sat down and waited in the corridor, because the shards were flying here, clattering on the roof. The shower is broken, the garage is hit with fragments. Luckily, the house was not damaged, but the vibration caused cracks and crevices.
We found fragmentation pieces around the yard. We had a lot of them. I threw them away. I remember how we would go out after the bombing and collect these fragments.
We didn't risk getting the children off to school during the bombing attacks. It just so happened they they would start bombing when the children were at school. They were taken to a bomb shelter.
They would sit there, and we weren't even allowed to come pick them up. And the windows in the classrooms would shatter from time to time when the children were still inside.
We were very scared for the children. Now when they hear even the slightest clap of thunder of a storm, they become terrified. The war affected them very much.
We were supported by Rinat Leonidovich Akhmetov. We appreciate his help very much. He helped us a lot. Food packages were brught constantly. I didn't work, so it was a big help for us.
He still helps us and supports us in the hour of need. He is mostly the only one who helps us. We don't have any any aid here. We see his deeds on TV. He saves children, pensioners, and disabled people. This assistance is priceless. We probably don't have such people any more in our country.
The only thing we are waiting for is for the peace to come. That everything will calm down, and we will live as we lived before. In peace and quiet, not worrying about the children when we send them to school. What if?! Let's hope for the best.
When quoting a story, a reference to the source – the Museum of Civilian Voices of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation – is mandatory, as follows:
The Museum of Civilian Voices of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation https://civilvoicesmuseum.org/
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