At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the occupation forces advanced rapidly in the Kharkiv region. They had been trying to capture Izium since early March. As a result, they managed to do so only in early April. Civilians in the city suffered from terrible shelling. Almost everyone who was left was hiding in basements, as it was extremely dangerous to be in apartments or houses. Vitaliy and his mother also lived in a basement. Before the evacuation, they changed three different shelters because there was not enough space for everyone.