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The story of Lyudmila, Vasyl, and Nina Oleksiivna

When the War Started

We were at home when the war started. We stayed at the same place for a very long time, we could not evacuate because of my old mother. Nowhere, to no one, without money. There are three of us retired, and we are not rich. It was overcrowded at the Kharkiv railroad station, everyone was leaving, dropped everything, and left.

Explosion

We live on the seventh floor, the elevator did not work. There are no bomb shelters nearby, it is simply impossible to go down to the basement with my mother. During the sirens and shelling, we sat in the apartment and prayed. We cried and prayed. Why did we decide to leave? We went with my husband to the market and to the pharmacy. And right there, behind our backs, an explosion rang out. The projectile hit the pharmacy, which we did not reach. This time we were saved. I realized that I could not do this anymore. I almost don’t cry while telling you about it.

No, I'm crying.

The Roads

Yana: "Lyudmila told me in detail about all her forced displacements and I lost count of them, everything started to get confused in my head and connect into one tangle of endless roads and other people's houses: Kharkiv, Kamyanets-Podilskyi, Chernivtsi, the border, Romania, Sofia, Bansko, back to Ukraine, and in between thousands and thousands of kilometers, trains, buses, minibusses, planes, overnight stays at stations, in tents, in kindergartens, hotels, and hostels, finally back to Ukraine, at least a little closer to home... And somewhere in all this, I saw Lyudmila in tears, silent Vasyl, who was trying to hold on, as the only man, and somewhere nearby, old Nina Oleksandrivna with a walking stick).

Like from a Fairy Tale

We boarded a train to Bulgaria, were going nowhere, and suddenly a girl appeared who determined our future life. You see, suddenly, a person appears, as in a fairy tale, out of nowhere, who simply took us by the hand and is still leading us. Maria is our sunshine. She still protects us.

Under a Kind Roof

In Bulgaria, we had a little rest from the sirens, but we couldn't find a place with heating there, because it's mountains, it got cold, we got sick, we couldn't stay there. That’s why we decided to return to Ukraine. We knew that Maria would not leave us. We were accepted into the Under a Kind Roof program, they found us a place to live. We are now in Kamianets-Podilskyi, there are sirens again here, of course. My mother and I cannot go down to the basement. As soon as we hear this siren, we pray "Our Lord”. But here we live in an apartment, the program has been paying for our rent for six months already. It has been paid until April, for now, we can live peacefully here. A low, low bow to the earth from all of us, for all of us for the work that volunteers do.Infinitely grateful! Now I'm going to sob again. It's like with Maria, I just start a conversation with her - and I immediately sob. I could never even think that such people exist, we are not used to such miracles and such people. I remember how Stanislav met us at the border in Chernivtsi, and accommodated us in a hotel, although we resisted. After three nights on the road, we were able to take a shower and rest. Oh, he recently sent us flashlights and a power bank. It is not a little thing at all. You know, he also put candies in the package. It was so pleasant, soulful as if you were back in childhood. When you are getting older, you begin to appreciate such moments.

Nina's Second Great War

On March 8th, my mother turns 86 years old! This is the second war for her. Oh, Yana, you are also from Dagestan, wow! Now I will hand her the phone. Mom, Yana wants to talk to you, she is also from Makhachkala. (Yana: "I heard the absolutely amazing young voice of Nina Oleksiivna. Somewhere from the beginning of her story about her family, a Ukrainian song suddenly started playing on my phone in the most mysterious way. Nina Oleksiivna also heard it, but she was not at all surprised. And her whole story was sung before my eyes, in the Ukrainian language, of course. She was born in 1937, she is from the village of Zeleny Gai - from the Holodomor - to the Caucasus, to the street of Magomed Hajiyev in the Caspian city - through Germany - back home, where she began her long, interesting, and difficult life. Grandma Nina did not say a word about the current war)

I Really Want to Go Home

We lived in Kharkiv, on Heroyiv Kharkiv Street. Ugh, our house is still standing. They attack our city every day, it is not so far from the border with Russia. We pray every day so we can return home. We will definitely return by summer. In the spring I really want to go home. Very much.

Yana Sikorskaya communicated and recorded the conversation.
Marta Kaplan edited and translated.