Since Russia launched a full-scale military invasion into Ukraine on 24 February, more than 100 civilians have died while tens of thousands of Ukrainians were forced to leave a life they know to flee to other countries.

Two who managed to escape in time were the Ukrainian mother and grandmother of University Student Evgeniya Cutajar, whose father is Maltese.

Speaking to The Malta Independent on the phone, Cutajar, a university student, explained how her family members wanted to leave from Ukraine from day one of the invasion, as there were “bombs flying above my house”.

Evgeniya, 21, was in Malta when the invasion took place. She said she took the first possible flight from Malta to Poland, to meet them at the border with Ukraine. The three of them are now safely in Poland, but their thoughts are with the Ukrainian people.

“We just have to fight to get our country back, that’s it,” Cutajar emphasised.

Cutajar said they knew that the possibility existed that Ukraine would have been invaded, but did not believe Kyiv would have been affected. It has been since October 2021 that Russia started to move troops and military equipment near its border with Ukraine, raising concerns over a potential invasion. But they never imagined that matters would have escalated so quickly, with Russian troops moving close to the capital city Kyiv in a few days.

“Nobody expected to have bombing all over the country, as we were thinking it (the invasion) was going to affect only the east side of Ukraine, where such things have already been happening for the past eight years,” she said.

Cutajar explained how although she feels relieved that she is with her mother and grandmother in Poland, observing their Covid-related quarantine before they head to Malta, her brothers are still in Kyiv together with her friends.

She said that she still has to figure out all the paperwork for her family members, especially her grandmother, as she does not have a Maltese passport, like her mother does.

She remarked that she feels happy that her grandma is with her as she was helpless as news reports said Russians were moving closer to her home.

“What is my grandma going to do? She’s not going to take a gun and start shooting,” Evgeniya said.

To aid for expenses stemming from having to help her family members come to Malta, Evgeniya has launched her Curlybeauty Malta business earlier than anticipated.

Cutajar explained how she had been working on her business idea from when she first came to Malta. She said that although she saw many girls with curly hair, she couldn’t find the right products, and ended up ordering them from abroad, having to pay high shipping costs.

“The aim is to give my mum work, so that she can live independently,” Cutajar explained.

She added that this is the only manageable way for her to support her family while still attending University.

Evgeniya has no hope that the war will end anytime soon, but is happy to have managed to get her mother and grandmother out of the country.

One day, perhaps, she will make it back to Kyiv.