Kateryna Iorhu survived the missile strike on Kramatorsk railway station on April 8, 2022. At the moment of the explosion, a volunteer who was pouring tea for people shielded the girl with his body. According to witnesses, everyone at the scene was killed –  some instantly, and others later in hospital. Except for the girl. Katia’s mother, Maryna, was also a victim of the shelling. 

That day, Kateryna, together with her mother, younger sister Yulia and aunt, was trying to leave Donetsk Region to stay with relatives in Khmelnytskyi Region. 

At the railway station, Katia and her mother went to get some tea. The girl recalls that suddenly people began shouting: “Get down!”. She did not have time to understand what was happening when the volunteer shielded her with his body. The girl’s legs were left unprotected and were riddled with shrapnel. Some of the fragments are still lodged in her body.

After the explosion, Kateryna saw injured people all around her. She could not get up. She was eventually taken to a local hospital and then transferred to Dnipro, where she underwent several operations. She learned about her mother’s death from messages from acquaintances on Facebook. At first, Katia could not believe that it was true.

It took years after what she had experienced to learn how to live with the loss. Katia and her sister are now in the care of their aunt. Their home in Donetsk Region has been destroyed, and their grandmother Nina dreams only of seeing the girls get an education, have a home of their own and live peaceful lives.

Kateryna paints, working with watercolours and acrylics, and is studying to become a graphic designer. Her works, along with paintings by her younger sister, are displayed at Art Ukraine Gallery. Katia herself says that her strength lies in creating vibrant paintings and bringing people joy through them.

Kateryna and Nina shared their story with the Museum of Civilian Voices to preserve the memory of mother and daughter.