Yana and Natalya knew that their children’s lives were the most important thing of all when they decided to flee from eastern Ukraine and search for a safer place in the west.
The Malta Independent sat down with two Ukrainian mothers at a Salesian community centre in Lviv, where they are being temporarily sheltered.
Both women come from the Luhansk region, although they did not live in the same town.
“Before the war, we were planning our life, dreaming of getting a bigger home,” says Yana, the more outspoken one of the two.
“On 24th February, we woke up to the sound of explosions in the distance. People started to panic-buy. Bank cards stopped working, and only those who had cash could buy food and other items. The area we lived in was surrounded by the Russians, so supplies began to run short. After two weeks, food ran out. The electricity and heating went off and we had to start living in just one room in the house.”
The situation was getting worse with every passing day, the young mother continued. “Our neighbours and us started helping each other out with cooking and other chores, we had to share the little we had.”
“In March, the war came much closer. We started hiding our children under the bed during the shelling,” she said, tears now rolling down her cheeks.
Yana, here seen with her children.
“The 29th of March was the worst day of all. The children were crying so much because of the sound of the explosions and gunfire. We made sure they stayed away from the windows. We lived underground for a week.”
This is where she met Natalya and her three children, a young girl and two older boys.
Natalya cried during most of the interview while Yana recounted her experience, which was only too similar to hers. Beside her, her young daughter caressed the family’s Dachshund, which slept peacefully on her lap.
Yana continues. “We were living in the dark in the cellar. Then, one day, Don Oleg, a Salesian priest who would visit the village bringing supplies and food brought us a small generator.”
Natalya, seen here comforting her young daughter.
One day, the two families got the fright of their lives when some tanks rolled up outside the home. Luckily, they were Ukrainian.
With the help of the local school head, they managed to leave their town and make their way west, passing through Dnipro, Slaviansk and eventually arriving in Lviv.
“We were travelling blind, with no idea where we were going. All that was going through my mind at the time was that I had to save the children,” says Yana, whose husband had to stay behind.
He is now in an area that is completely surrounded by Russians and cannot join her for the time being. She hopes that day will come soon.
Natalya now joins in, having mustered up the courage to speak. She tells us that the invasion started on her birthday.
“We just want peace. We are very saddened by what is happening to our country, but we know that this is the fault of the people in power, not the common people.”
Natalya's two teenage sons - Danilo and Maxim.
Likewise, her two teenage boys, Danilo, 16, and Maxim, 15, say they do not harbour any anger at the Russian soldiers who forced them out of their home. To them, this is not personal, but they are very upset by what is happening to their country, nonetheless.
Yana’s eldest, Casandra, was asked the same thing. What feelings does she have towards the Russians?
“Fear,” came her reply.
Photos: Giuseppe Attard