In March 2022, 26-year-old Tetiana left her son, Dmytro, with her mother and ran to another building to collect some belongings. She promised she would be back within an hour. Soon afterwards, the neighbourhood came under shelling. The explosions were so powerful that they shattered the windows and blew open the doors of the hostel. People took shelter. Dmytro cried and called for his mother. Mariia reassured her grandson: “Mum will be back soon.” They waited until evening and then spent the night in a cold basement.

The following morning, Mariia was about to go and fetch water when one of the women told her that a stranger was asking for her. He handed her her daughter’s handbag and said: “Your Tania is gone.”

Tetiana was killed during the shelling. Mariia saw her daughter again only in the morgue; the municipal services carried out the burial. Because the city was under constant shelling! The next day, volunteers evacuated Mariia and Dmytro from Chernihiv.

Losing his mother was devastating for Dmytro. At first, he could not believe that she would never come back and kept waiting for her. For a long time, the boy continued sending his mother voice messages…

Psychologists worked extensively with Dmytro. Even now, he falls asleep with the last toy his mother gave him, often remembers her and sees her in his dreams.

A year after his mother’s death, Dmytro’s father enlisted in the Armed Forces, and in the summer of 2023 he was taken captive by the russians. Mariia searched for her son-in-law, contacting government institutions and the Red Cross. Together with her grandson, she attended rallies calling for the release of prisoners of war. Dmytro held a placard reading: “Bring my dad back.” In 2025, he was released in a prisoner exchange! After rehabilitation, he reunited with his son, but later moved abroad.

Mariia obtained legal guardianship of her grandson and is raising him on her own. She works as a trolleybus driver. Last year, they bought a small house. The renovation is still ongoing, but Dmytro already has his own room, a garden and a dog named Leila.

The boy attends a music school and plays the piano. Dmytro has already won prizes in three competitions and wants to become a musician. It was his mother’s dream, but she never had the chance to fulfil it.