Svitlana has left Avdiivka twice. In 2014, after the dwelling above her sister's apartment was hit and collapsed. Svitlana's mother almost had a heart attack. There was already no electricity, heating or communication by then. They moved to Sloviansk but returned to Avdiivka in 2017. And then a full-scale war broke out. There was shelling every day with a lull lasting only three hours a day. They cooked over a fire, walked with dogs under shelling. They managed to leave in August 2023.