Before the full-scale invasion, Svitlana Kartashova was the director of a kindergarten in Mariupol. On February 24, 2022, she spent the entire day at work. Late that evening, on her way home, she regretted one thing: leaving the staff’s employment records locked in the safe instead of taking them with her…

On March 23, she and her large family — fourteen people in total — left Mariupol on foot. Just two days later, on March 25, a missile struck Svitlana’s house. All that remained were ruins.