Olena and her family are among the Ukrainians who transmitted data from the occupied villages to the Ukrainian military. They counted enemy vehicles and watched the direction of movement. It filled the day and kept them going, because they felt that they were also fighting their own war against the occupiers.

On March 5, 2022, the connection in Prybirsk was completely cut off. But people still found ways to get some information from outside. They listened to a marathon on old radios and told each other. It was difficult, but in the hard times we found medicines and food to cook something to eat. A bag of spoilt flour was a real salvation, which was sieved and baked into bread and bagels.