At the time of the full-scale invasion, Olena Belichenko was at home in Kyiv. Her son called her and said: “Mum, if you hear explosions, the war has started.” However, it took her a while to realise that she was not dreaming.

First, she went to the store to buy food for herself and her grandmother, whom she takes care of. In the early days, she was confused, but optimistic: “Everyone thought it wouldn’t last long.”

What shocked Olena the most was the destruction of the cities: “I didn’t believe that in our time they could bomb and demolish entire cities. This is the biggest shock for me.”