Raisa Zakletska, director of the “Vitryani Hory” Center for Children’s Creativity in Kyiv’s Podilskyi District and leader of the children’s ensemble “Zernyatko”, recalls how in the early days of the invasion, she wanted to join the territorial defense forces. She accomplished a great deal in her position. In those days, the creative center became a refuge for everyone in need of support. Teachers continued to work with children in their groups, and families with children stayed overnight.

"We had a corridor with two walls -  because they said it’s safer between two walls - so that’s where we set them up. And they told me, “When you’re here, we somehow feel calmer”, and I knew I had to be that kind of person - not fall apart and stay strong," the woman recalls.

Raisa's family stayed in Kyiv. Her older daughter, who has three children, said: “Mom, when you’re with us, we’re not afraid”. Her younger daughter, a journalist, said: “I have to stay here too”. “And we were all together, helping each other”, Raisa recalls warmly.

A month and a half after the invasion, the “Zernyatko” ensemble went on a charity tour to Germany.  They also performed at the Council of Europe on the day a decision was adopted regarding the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to russia. “We were invited. I asked the organizers: “Can we start our performance at the Council of Europe with the air raid siren we hear every day?” Because that’s what the children hear. They replied:  “Why not?  A lot of influential people are here today, and you can start with that.” Many people were crying. They felt our pain,” the founder of the ensemble recalls.

Thanks to the ensemble’s performances in Germany, the Armed Forces of Ukraine received an SUV, two ambulances, generators, and medical supplies. “The ensemble gave up to four concerts a day. The organizers from Germany asked me: “Maybe you’re getting tired?” And I said, not as much as the guys in the trenches. We must do everything we can to help them,” adds the ensemble’s director, who was once a soloist  in the Hryhoriy Veryovka Choir  and has been passing on the cultural code to the new generation for many years.