Pavlina met the beginning of the full-scale invasion at home in her village of Zarudyntsi with her husband and mother. Her children and grandchildren were in Kyiv at the time. On the night of February 24, when enemy missiles and planes appeared in the sky, she first thought it was a drill. However, she soon realised that war had broken out. Her husband, who was already 55 years old, silently gathered his documents and went to the military registration and enlistment office the next morning. Volunteering has been her main focus since the first days of the war.