When the full-scale war began, Liubov was only twelve. Her father, border guard Mykola Kurkurin, was serving in the suburbs of Mariupol. The girl stayed at home with her mother and grandmother. Her older sister was living in Kharkiv at the time.

When enemy shells hit their house, the family moved in with acquaintances. Liubov remembers that she stopped eating and sleeping. One thought haunted her: was her dad alive? 

They learned about her father’s fate on April 12, 2022: Mykola had been taken prisoner. He was able to call only once — saying briefly that he was alive. After several months of silence, on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2022, the phone rang. Her older sister cried with joy: their dad had been exchanged! That same evening he called himself from the hospital. Liubov saw him via video call — very thin, exhausted, but alive.

Her father underwent treatment and rehabilitation and returned to service. The Kurkurin family received their own housing thanks to the “Heart of Azovstal. At Home” program, which helps the defenders of Mariupol and their families. On the day they were given the apartment, Liubov shared her war story with the Museum of Civilian Voices founded by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation.