Svitlana did not leave Bakhmut until October 2022 because she had to take care of her elderly, sick parents, who would not have been able to endure the difficult journey. During this time, she worked as a saleswoman, living without electricity and water, under constant Russian shelling. In the end, her job saved her life; the rocket hit her house while Svitlana was at the store. Her mother died, but her father miraculously survived. Svitlana left with him for the Kyiv region. Despite the family tragedy, Svitlana remained resilient, looking to the future with optimism and dreaming that her children would one day be able to visit their homeland again.