Kateryna and her family were in Hungary when the full-scale invasion began. Her parents and relatives were in Bakhmut. And at a time when there were queues to leave Ukraine’s borders, the family had only one question: how to return to defend their loved ones. Kateryna’s husband immediately joined the ranks of the Bakhmut Territorial Defence Forces despite his disability. Kateryna took care of the children and tried to persuade her family to leave the city. Unfortunately, she could not save everyone.

During a russian cluster shelling, Kateryna’s father was seriously injured – incompatible with life. Later, her great-uncle died. At that time, people were dying en masse right on the streets, funeral services were not working, and cemeteries were being shelled. Eventually, Kateryna’s family left. All their property is now destroyed. It is not easy to start life from scratch, but Kateryna continues to hold on to her family and believe in victory and the end of the war.