Nataliia has a large family. Together they survived the fighting and the subsequent occupation of Mariupol. They survived in their home. In the first days of the full-scale invasion, Nataliia and her daughter stocked up on food and later cooked not only for themselves, but also for relatives and neighbors. They went to feed them under the explosions. Once they came under mortar fire. Nataliia’s jaw was hit by a shrapnel. Because of the blast wave, she now cannot see in one eye and is hard of hearing.

Mariupol was a living hell. The occupiers were destroying entire streets with shelling. Corpses were lying on the roads, torn apart by dogs.

The occupiers forced her daughter to work as a cleaner. After being tortured and shot, she had to wash the premises. Because the family had relatives in the military, their lives were in danger. So they decided to leave as soon as possible.