I am a mother of five children (ages 4, 6, 10, 12, and 20). We are internally displaced persons (IDPs). In May 2024, we were evacuated from our native village of Halytsynivka in the Donetsk region, which is now under occupation. We left our home with only what we had on. Everything else was left behind. Before that, a tragedy occurred: on September 7, 2022, our village was shelled, and a shell landed in our yard, killing my husband.

We are now renting an apartment in Oleksandriia, Kirovohrad region. My eldest daughter is a medical university student in Dnipro. My mother, who is 81 years old, evacuated with me. She is not bedridden, but she walks with two sticks and is struggling to cope with the loss of our home and the horrors we experienced. I am also ill, suffering from rheumatic heart disease, and I need to take medication daily. I am in despair and don’t know what to do next.

We are starting our lives from scratch."