In the steppe region of Donetsk, where the streets were bathed in the warmth of the sun, there was a small, cosy town called Vuhledar. For thirty years, Valentyna Tkachenko and her family had led a quiet life in this miners’ town until the war destroyed the town.

February 24, 2022 was a turning point. Every morning began with the hope that the war would bypass their area. Their small town of 18,000 inhabitants seemed to be safe from harm. But the russian shelling, at first distant and quiet, began its hellish symphony, and Valentyna and her family found themselves in a horror film. A month of life under fire!

When the mayor of the city announced the evacuation, there was no time to think. The family packed two bags – they had nothing left but their documents and the most basic necessities. In desperation and fear, they left their home. Valentyna remembers their bus crawling through the devastated streets, where life had become a memory. The possibility of returning home disappeared like a dream that dissipates at dawn. They found themselves in Dnipro, and then Odesa.

“It was a state that is impossible to describe,” Valentyna admits, “suddenly there was nothing left. Our home, our town, all the dreams we had built.” They felt like homeless people whose world had suddenly shrunk to two suitcases. “How will we live on?” asks Valentyna.