Olena Mashkina’s husband defended Mariupol from the first day of the war. At the time, she never imagined that she would be able to hug Dmytro only two years later. Olena had to save the lives of her two sons and other relatives. 

During the first weeks of fierce fighting for the city, the family was divided. Olena sent her children to a safer area. She, her mother and mother-in-law survived as best they could. One day she felt that her husband was in trouble. Dmytro was seriously injured, and the next day, the place where the defenders were located was hit by an air strike. Part of his leg had to be amputated on the spot.  On the day the Mashkins’ house was burning down under shelling, her beloved was taken prisoner. 

The family managed to escape from Mariupol to Europe. For a long time, thousands of kilometres separated the couple. And even after Dmytro’s release, the family could not immediately reunite. For almost two years, the defender managed to hide his condition from his beloved and sons – he did not want them to worry. But an apartment from NGO “Heart of Azovstal” helped the family finally meet.