‘We live on Myru (Peace) Street, but we have no peace’

We live on Myru (Peace) Street, but we have no peace. Shells fly over our houses almost every night. It is very scary for us, and for children, for young and old. We want peace. After all, we live on a street called Peace Street. We hope to see peace on the Earth.

In 2016, a shell exploded near my yard and a shell fragment hit the house. The fragment hit the plastic window. It damaged the gas stove. It happened at midnight when we slept. If the fragment had flown further, it would have hit my head.

A shell exploded behind the fence and fragments flew apart. There were some six or eight holes in the fence, but one fragment flew in through the window. Then, it flew through the open door and hit another window. I have a gas stove with a glass lid. At midnight, such a strong explosion happened! I woke up. I thought that half of the house was destroyed.

I realized I was alive, but I was afraid to get up. At two o'clock in the morning, a neighbour who lives three houses away from us came over. He came and knocked. I got up and walked on broken glass from the gas stove. I don’t know how I didn't cut my feet. I opened the door and he asked: ‘What happened here?’ And I said: ‘A shell hit the house.’ He said: ‘Another shell fell upon my house and broke four windows. The fence was damaged too’.

We live near the front-line zone as our street is the last in the village before the wood line. And behind that wood line is the place where soldiers are based. And shellfire comes from the side of Horlivka. This is why shell fragments land at our place.

In 2016, we spent almost the whole summer in the cellar. Even my acquaintances came over to me. We were 8-9 people staying in the cellar, both children and adults. The majority of people who live here have small children. There are five-month-old babies, three-year-old kids, five-year-old kids, and four-year-old kids. And there are 80-year-old women (old ladies). Everyone stays in the cellars; everyone wants to remain alive.

It is very scary. Every night there is a shelling here. The house is shaking and moving, even the flooring is shaking. My plasma TV fell down from the wall, that's how strong the house was shaking. But how can I leave it all? And where to go? And where is money to pay for it? My pension is 1,200 hryvnias and I am also a caretaker. The child is studying. How can I leave my mother's house? My mother died a year and a half ago. She was 91. She also stayed in the cellar. And then lately it was difficult for her. We carried her down there in our arms and carried her out in our arms too.

We live in fear. An evening comes and you think: ‘Oh my God, I hope they will not shell today.’ When they start shelling, I don't know where to go. My granddaughter and I hid under the beds. We spread a blanket under the bed and hid there. We went to the back bedroom and lay down under the bed. Well, we thought if the house collapsed, we would be under the beds, and maybe God would save us. Well, you see, he does save us. A fragment flew in, but it did not reach me. And if it had reached me, I would be gone.

We hope for the better. We watch TV and hope that it will be reported that the war is over. We hope that they will report that a truce starts. We wait for it every day. Every day. And all the old ladies gathering on the bench, they all say: ‘Lyuda, did you hear anything?’ ‘Nothing’. Well, a morning comes and I meet my neighbours again and they ask: ‘Lyuda, how are you?’ I say: ‘Well, I am in fear.’ – ‘Oh, Lyuda, how long will I live? I want to live more.’

My daughter leads a hectic lifestyle so the child lived with me. I took guardianship. I'm with my granddaughter all the time.

It was easier for me before the war. Well, now it is very hard. The apartment is very expensive. Prices have gone up for everything. Food prices have gone up. And we are thankful to Rinat Akhmetov that he does not forget people, that he cares. We are thankful for his understanding. People are all happy and wait for it as if for manna from heaven. And they just keep asking: ‘Lyuda, have you heard any news? Lyuda, have you seen any announcement when the aid from Rinat Akhmetov will be given?’ What a good man he is! We are grateful to him for that. He's our fellow townsman. And he cares about people.

I cook jam from apricots. Cucumbers were burned by the heat, so at least there are some apricots. We will put the jam in the jars and will take them to the cellar. And if we have to stay in the cellar, we will eat it.

We stayed in the cellar in 2014 and in 2015. Even the cellar was shaking. The cellar has brick walls inside, so all the plaster between the bricks just fell off. This is how strong the cellar was shaking. It was very scary. We thought we would all be buried in that cellar, but God saved us.