"We clung to the fence and stood, and shells flew over our heads"

I once said, "There are earthquakes and cataclysms somewhere. The area we live in is forest steppees. So we will never have anything like this here." And then this horror began all of a sudden! It is hard, both physically and emotionally.

Shelling began in Shchastya at 11 o'clock in the morning. I went to the window and saw bullets flying and exploding in the area of the bus station. Apparently, something hit the panel cutout. The house collapsed there. This was the first day of the war, the first attacks.

Well, and then it got even worse. Fighting in the area of the traffic police post and on the road to Luhansk. We were afraid to move around the city. They could start shooting at any moment. Once we went to the grandmother's with my granddaughter Masha. She lives not far, a block away. When we were coming back, shelling started. We clung to the fence and stood, and shells flew over our heads. We could see red-hot shells flying over us. We stood under the fence until it was over, and then ran home.

The most difficult test was in the first months, when there was no money, no pension money. We got some potatoes and onions in stores. You know, the leftovers. I paid for my daughter's funeral in installments. They lived in Shchastia.

The father Andrii died in 2011. He suffered from asthma. His condition was severe. Then, in 2014, my daughter was taken to the hospital in Luhansk. They started putting in IVs. She was admitted on Saturday, and on Sunday they called me and said that she died. A blood clot broke off. The couldn't save her. And that's how we were left alone with Masha.

I had to raise my granddaughter. I have to live until she grows up. I wouldn't like to leave her until she is of the full legal age. What will happen to her if I'm gone? An orphanage? So I try to hold on even though it is hard. Maybe, the cancer I got is the result of all my worries. In 2016, I had a surgery. Doctors told me it was caused by stress. The bombings here were severe. So many people died on the streets accidentally. They were killed by fragments.

The roof started to leak. We often had no light. So we stayed in the kitchen, and rain water was pouring on us. So I, despite my bad legs and my hand, I began to make repairs myself.

I was afraid that I would not do it. But I could not afford to hire anyone. I did that for three weeks. I changed the wallpaper. I try to keep the house cozy and clean. And I teach Masha to do this.

She often gets ill. She was diagnosed with chronic otitis when she was three years old. Once she catches a cold, the infection spreads to her ear. I give her vitamins like the doctor advised. This is how we live. The girl is now 10.

We live in the "grey area". We're cut off from the world. It is very far to go to Sievierodonetsk. It's hard for people in Ukraine when we get such meager pensions. Most of the pensiones get pensions like that. Is it possible to buy products, to pay for utilities, to buy some clothes if you get UAH 2,000 a month?

Rinat Leonidovich's humanitarian aid has been very relevant. It helps people a lot.