I come from Makariv, an urban-type settlement in the Kyiv Oblast. I was born there and live there – or rather lived. I have a 14-year-old daughter and a 75-year-old mother. I used to work in Kyiv, commuted to the capital every weekday. On February 24, I didn’t go to work. On February 25, the military forces were already in out settlement.

There were “Buks” [surface-to-air missile systems], “Grads” [multiple rocket launchers], tanks – all no further than 1,5 km from my house. We hid in the basement, with blankets and pillows. On February 27, the power went out. We kept staying in the basement for days on end: it was very dangerous outside because of constant street fighting.

On March 5, there was an extremely loud blast very close to us. I went out to see what has happened and saw an enormous hole in the neighbours’ yard. Having returned to my family, I told them we are leaving in 5 minutes. We escaped via the so-called Road of Life – a kind of corridor laid by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which was the safest option available.

We have come to the Western Ukraine and are safe here now. Until March 31, I had no contact with my brother and his wife as well as other residents of Makariv. In April, the settlement was liberated and the mobile connection restored. They still have no electricity, water or gas. Now we know about the horrors committed by the occupants. Men were shot to death; women and teenage girls were raped…

Women and children are urged not to return to Makariv yet because of the humanitarian crisis there and the area being full of mines. I am looking after my sick mother who has survived a heart attack and a stroke. We are not planning to leave the country – my mother is unlikely to survive the relocation abroad.