Mriya runs out to meet us. She has a kind look in her eyes, and it immediately becomes clear that she is called that way for a reason. The large black shepherd dog has a gentle disposition. "But if necessary, she will stand up for us, and no enemy will be able to hurt us anymore. Right, Mriya?"
Mriya's host, Mr. Leonid, invites us to his home. To be more precise, to the temporary conditional housing in which the elderly couple from Chernihiv has been living for over a year and a half.
"I never thought that I would have to live in a garage in my old age," the man sighs, "Thank God the fire didn't touch it, so we have some kind of shelter. Our house was burned down. But the greatest happiness is that we didn't burn to death in it..."
It took the family over 10 years to build this house. They worked hard all their lives, bought a plot of land, and invested all their savings in the construction. They dreamed of a cozy nest where they would spend a peaceful retirement. Mrs. Alla is 59 years old, her husband is 10 years older. The children live separately and have their own families. In their new home, they have arranged everything as they had long wanted: spacious rooms, underfloor heating, comfortable furniture, and modern appliances. There is a video on the phone that was filmed in their backyard on December 31, 2021. Light snow, lanterns, their beautiful home... We were waiting for the new year 2022 to come. We hoped it would be happy.
"But the Russian invasion came, this plague came... They came, as they said, to liberate us," Alla is unable to hold back her tears, "and they did - from normal life, from health, from property... They liberated us from everything. We were left with nothing..."
Mrs. Alla and her husband met the beginning of the full-scale war at home. They were suffering from covid, so they could not hide in a shelter to avoid endangering others. They survived all the shelling in their house. Both air strikes and mines. We could hear everything flying, whistling, and burning. "We just sat and prayed to God. And God had mercy on us, because he let us live, but one terrible day two mines hit our house. The rescuers who later dismantled the rubble said that they were Russian 120-caliber mines. A fire broke out, and we could not get out because the door was jammed. "My husband started to knock it out with his body, broke his ribs," the woman cries, "He pushed the door open about 30 centimeters, we got out sideways, and then I look back... We had a dog, a German shepherd, a disabled dog with three legs, and a cat lived with us... And while we understood what was happening, the animals did not, they were very scared because of the shelling. I look - the dog is standing and crying. I had never seen our dog cry before. He must have realized that we had jumped out and he was still there... I don't know where I got the strength from, but I ran back and pulled him out of the flames. But I did not find the cat. It burned down with the house, because they didn't even find any bones...
I don't remember much about how we ended up in the bomb shelter. I had a terrible shock. The shelter was very cramped. We slept on the floor: my husband put cardboard under my skirt, and they found a thin bedspread for me. Our dog was next to us - he warmed us with his warmth. It saved us a little.
We live almost on the outskirts of Chernihiv, and Russian troops were standing nearby and bombarded the city mercilessly every day. There was not a moment of peace. Our boys defended us as best they could. But the forces were unequal... Our soldiers were dying, volunteers were dying... I can't remember those days without tears. Volunteers brought us at least some food under fire. But once they did not come. We sat in the basement for three days, hungry. And there were three hundred of us there. Then we found out that the Russians had shot at the car of our volunteers, and they were killed. We were crying for them in the basement... How could we survive? We started collecting food - everyone brought what they could find from home. We had some canned food and vegetables in the cellar, so we took everything out. We had a large cauldron, and our neighbors had large cast-iron pots. We gathered everything and started cooking for the whole basement. Some pasta, some soup. Every day we cooked something and distributed it in small portions to everyone to survive. All this was done under fire. We took turns coming out of the shelter to cook. People went to cook even though they knew they could die. It was hard. Everyone got sick. It was cold, there was no fresh air, no medicine. People suffered a lot..."
"There was no bread at all," adds Mr. Leonid. "Sometimes volunteers managed to bring it to Chernihiv by some miracle. Once I heard that bread was being distributed near a store and went there. Under fire. But I didn't get there... A cluster shell exploded nearby, I was hit by a fragment and wounded in the neck. A man was following me - his leg was broken. I came back without any bread. And the whole line that was standing near the store was shot. Many people died then..."
There was no water in the city at all: the enemy cut off the water supply. To wash, cook something, and even take medicine, we had to go to the Desna River to collect water. "And on the other side of the river, an enemy sniper was sitting. He started shooting people just because they came to collect water.... "It was just a horror... Like in a shooting range, he was sitting and shooting at people," the woman cries, "He hit one man in the head... I don't know if he survived. I'm afraid not..."
For the first week after those terrible events, Ms. Alla could not walk - her legs gave out. Her condition was such that she just sat and cried. Why do they hate us so much, she thought. "What have we done to them? Why are they destroying us?" .... We lived peacefully, we did not touch anyone. So you should live at home, stay away from us. But these are not people, they are barbarians. How can you call them people?"
... The shelling of Chernihiv lasted for one month, one week and one day. It ended in early April, but Ms. Alla and her husband remained in hiding for another four months: there was nowhere to return to. Due to nervousness, the woman began to have severe abdominal pain. She was taken to the hospital by ambulance and operated on immediately. The doctor later explained that under the influence of severe stress, the gallbladder began to literally spread. If they had wasted a little more time, they would not have been able to save him... Chronic stress has had a severe impact on his health.
The man cleaned the garage, and volunteers helped him get wooden pallets and two mattresses. And it was in this garage that Mr. Leonid took his wife from the hospital after the operation.
But the series of hospitals was just beginning. The woman cried every day. She was admitted to neurology several times. Once, she was walking down the road and couldn't see anything behind her tears - she fell and broke her arm. Another hospital... "And then I pulled myself together, thinking: what am I doing to myself? Am I destroying myself to the delight of my enemies? And I went to a psychologist. She actually saved me. She recommended art therapy. In her classes, we painted and made candles with our own hands. And I realized that I had to live this way."
By profession, Ms. Alla is a labor training teacher. She has long been fond of embroidery. Just before the war, she began to embroider icons with beads. It was as if she sensed a future threat... She embroidered many personalized icons and gave them to her friends. And God must have heard her, because all the friends to whom she gave the icons survived. And their property survived. "They all supported us later, and I am very grateful to them for that. Everything burned down, we had nothing..."
Alla's embroidered works adorn the walls of the small room in the garage where the couple now lives.
"After what I went through, I didn't pick up a needle for a long time," she says, "and before the last New Year, I wanted to embroider Christmas decorations. And so I gradually returned to this hobby. I also learned to make motanka dolls. I attend art therapy classes and sing in an amateur choir once a week. It distracts me from sad thoughts and helps me to keep going."
The dog that Ms. Alla rescued during the fire became a kind of "psychotherapist" for the people in the shelter, especially for the kids. It was as if he was trying to take away their stress. And he couldn't stand it - after a while he fell ill, and the veterinarians fought for him, but they couldn't save him.
They were very sad, because he was like a family member to them. And then they decided to take the animal from the shelter. And during their first visit, they met their Dream there. "As soon as she sat down next to us, she never left. And when we found out her name, there was no doubt about it. Now it is our Dream."
Thanks to the help of charitable organizations, the family began to gradually rebuild the destroyed house: they restored the roof, installed windows, internal doors, and part of the ceiling. But there are still many things missing: no electricity, no heating, no water. Although it is not a home yet, just a box with bare walls, Alla dreams of having indoor flowers growing here again.
"We were very supported by Polish families," the woman says. "When I learned about the Family to Family project in September 2022 (a joint project of Caritas Poland and Caritas-Spes Ukraine aimed at supporting Ukrainians affected by the war - Ed.), I felt in my heart that I had to write an application for participation. And we are very grateful to everyone who responded to our request for help, who helped us through the difficult times for more than a year. It warms our hearts to know that these are ordinary people, Polish families who donate their own money to support those in need. By the way, a long time ago we were in Poland and met with people. I love the Poles, they are so friendly... I wish them health, peace, that they never know such suffering as we have experienced, that neither they nor their children hear the sound of sirens that we hear every day. Many thanks and a low bow for helping Ukraine in such a difficult time.
When the first funds from the project came, I didn't know how to rejoice... Because I realized that I had a chance to live on. That I could buy medicine, food, and put my life in some kind of order. My pension is tiny. And after the surgery, I'm addicted to medication, I just can't live without some drugs... Sometimes I divide some pills in half to save money. But not all doses can be reduced, for example, blood pressure medication. Otherwise, I will end up in the hospital again. The doctor said I have to follow a strict diet, food should not be fatty, steamed dishes. But to buy fish or vegetables... Everything is very expensive now."
When asked what they dream of most, the couple answers unanimously: that the war ends with our victory. To completely drive the enemy out of the Ukrainian land. For peace to come and for there to be no war in the world. For people not to suffer and for children to have a childhood.
"Our children grew up very quickly. They have learned to distinguish between where they are shooting from, whether it is air raids or bombs," Alla states bitterly. "Instead of playing games or learning something interesting, our children have to experience it... And how many children died, how many people lost their lives. My biggest wish is that our boys and girls do not die in the war. I understand that it is not easy for us to live in a garage, and that it will not be possible to build a house again so quickly. But it is hundreds of times harder for our defenders in the trenches. I dream and pray for the Victory. I know that when peace comes, we will rebuild everything. We, Ukrainians, are very hardworking, we can do anything. We will stand on our feet again, and everything will be fine."
"I am not so much sorry for the house I lost as for the time the Russians took away from us," adds Mr. Leonid, "For my animals - a dog and a cat who died because of the war... For the people I will never meet again. You know, I rarely cry. But now I could not hold back my tears. But when I talked to you, I felt better..."