"The worst period of occupation was when the “Donetsk People's Republic” military entered the village,’ Kateryna Smoliar recalls. "They were doing real lawlessness. They went through the houses, looking for alcohol, and ate cooked food. The woman recounts how once the military put a grenade on the table and forced her daughter to play the Murka on the piano. After long ordeals of shelling and basements, the family crossed the river towards Kryvyi Rih at their own risk. The terrifying journey took 12 kilometres. But staying in the village was even more dangerous.