For 12-year-old Ilona Kosyak from Lubny, the worst day was January 27, 2023. That day her father, Borys Hryhorovych Kosyak, died on the front. He had been fighting since 2014 and was wounded in the Donbas.  After the full-scale invasion he again went as a volunteer. In the battle near Bakhmut Ilona’s father covered his comrades. They later relayed his last words to the family of the fallen soldier: "Comrades, run — I will cover you!"

At 12, Ilona dreams of following her father’s path. She attends a shooting club. She wants to serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine or work in the police — to protect people as her father did.  She says that this is how she feels connected to her father.

Ilona told her story for the project “Peaceful Rest for the Children of Ukraine”, implemented by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation to support children affected by the war.