The morning of February 24, 2022, began for Nataliia with a text message from a friend who informed her of a full-scale invasion. Then her son, who is a soldier, called and assured her that everything would be fine. Nataliia had an emergency bag, but decided to stay in Kyiv, experiencing the terrible uncertainty and fear.

Her son was defending Mariupol and stayed in touch until May 2022. He sent his last message before leaving Azovstal, still confident that he would return soon. But he has been in russian captivity for more than two years. During this time, Nataliia has had no contact with her son, only short messages from her comrades who returned after exchanges.