At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Roman was a schoolboy. Just yesterday he had heard about the possibility of war on the news, and the next day — he was running from it. He lived with his mother in Irpin, and only one day separated them from the city’s occupation. Today, Roman recalls with horror how many times they could have died. Their bullet-riddled home became a symbol of the city's resilience. The church where they waited for an evacuation convoy was also shot at. The road they escaped on turned into a site of mass tragedy just hours later. Roman could have stayed safe — his mother took him to France. But he came back. Because the war gave him the most important realization — true patriotism and love for his homeland.