When the full-scale war began, Valeriia was only 15. Childhood ended abruptly — together with the first explosions. Air raid alerts in Mykolaiv, her hometown, were not warnings — the missiles would arrive before the siren or at the very same moment. One day, her mother said: "Just don’t cry, but your school is gone” — two Russian missiles destroyed the building where she studied.

Together with her family, Valeriia left the city — it was too dangerous to stay. And when she returned to Mykolaiv for the first time, she didn’t recognize it — the once lively southern city had turned black and white. Today, Valeriia studies acting at the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, performs in the theater, and says that the war taught her the most important thing: how to convey deep feelings through creativity. Because if you experience loss since childhood — you truly know where to draw real emotions from on stage.