"I didn't think I could get over this. But I did"

Mother Inna Shevtsova:

Life was good before the war. This is a small village of Mayorsk. It was always clean, beautiful, cosy, and quiet. Life was fine. The transport system was convenient. Buses went in any direction —to Artemivsk, and Horlivka.

When Grad launchers first started firing here,  we hid in the depot. Those were 2014 - 2015. And then we hid in any place we could. We hid in the basement or at home in the corner, under the window, on the floor, etc. There were different situations. We were sitting in the entrance hall, because we don't have cellars in our houses. By the time you get to the cellar, you'll be shot a hundred times. We took risks and stayed in houses. Praise be to God that  we are alive after for four years of constant shelling. Thank God.

I was asked to leave when the war started. Then they offered it again later. When it got quieter, I said, "We survived such bombings, so we can survive anything."

This is what my in-laws suggested. "At least bring Yulia to us in Rivne." But I refused. She'll be there, and I'll be here? 

Daughter Yuliia:

I finished Year 9 in Horlivka, School No. 84. Sometimes it was difficult to get to school. Shkolnik [the school bus] was allowed to go, but there were huge traffic jams, and he could not come here. In order to find the school bus, children and accompanying parents had to walk through the entire traffic jam.

People were leaving Horlivka. There was a large flow of buses and cars. The cars only had four rows in one direction.

There were only a couple of times when they started shooting in the morning, and people did not know what to do — whether to take us home or to school. So we left. We managed to get there somehow.

They were shooting there, too. We were lowered into a bomb shelter at school. I wanted to finish my school. However, I did not know where I would go with this secondary school certificate for further education. Praise be to God, I found a place. I passed exams in Bakhmut and was admitted there.

Mother:

She entered the university in Artemivsk. She's been studying for two years now. She lives in the dormitory. I'm here by myself, and she's under my protection in Artemivsk.

My husband died a long time ago, before the war. He was sick for a long time. He had high blood pressure. He fell asleep and didn't wake up. And so my daughter and I live together.

Who can I count on? We only have each other. Every time she started crying, I hugged her. I would cover her with my body. It was so scary. I was so scared for my baby. I was worried all the time. She starts crying, but there is nowhere to go. We sit in the entrance, and she shakes while mines are falling down. What can say, I am terrified and stressed.

I didn't think I could get over this. But I did. That is how we lived, daughter and I. She is still studying. I keep on working. I didn't quit my job during the entire war period. Even though worked for two hours, I still went to work.