Yelyzaveta recalls that on the morning of February 24, 2022, her parents began to pack. It was decided to go to her grandmother’s house in Kyiv region. Many relatives came to the village and ended up being trapped in the fighting, which was going on everywhere. Yelyzaveta hardly ever left the basement.

After two weeks in the unknown, they decided to leave at their own risk. The first attempt to leave the war zone failed. Only the second attempt was successful, and Yelyzaveta and her family managed to get to the Odesa highway.