From the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the residents of Zelenodolsk in Dnepropetrovsk Oblast had no peace until October 2022. Before the liberation of Kherson, Zelenodolsk bordered the front line in Kherson Oblast: the town was only 6 kilometers away from the active combat zone. The town and its surroundings were under fire almost every day. Iskanders, cruise missiles, Tornado, Smerch, Uragan, and Grad missiles, cluster munitions, and phosphorus bombs rained on the streets and houses of the town. 

On April 19, 2022, Svitlana, a shift supervisor at DTEK Energy’s chemical department, was working the night shift. At midnight, she asked her husband to go to a bomb shelter. Two hours later, a shell flew right through the window of their apartment. Fire destroyed everything.

On April 29, 2022, the territory of the TPP was shelled for the first time. Svetlana was doing the shift. She was just outside when the shelling started. Glass and debris were flying everywhere. The plant was shelled with cluster bombs. By a miracle, Svitlana survived unharmed... And that was not the only attack that Svitlana and her husband had to endure. It happened again when Svitlana was at work, and bombs, missiles, and shells fell in the yard, hit nearby houses, and her country house…

In spite of this, Svitlana is full of optimism; she believes in victory and is waiting for the return of her son-in-law who is defending the motherland…