“My name is Viktoriia. I am 30 years old, my husband Andrii is 36 years old, and our son Damir is 1 year and 5 months old. I never imagined that my child would be a child of war… but such is life. Until February 24, when the Russian army invaded Ukraine, we lived a good and peaceful life. We traveled and we had many plans. But it all came crashing down that morning. It was very scary. When I woke up at 5 a.m. to explosions and a million messages, I couldn’t believe it.
For the first 5 months of the war, we did not leave Ukraine but went to live with friends on the edge of the country, in Transcarpathia. My little son was 9 months old then. It was the most painful thing to watch children suffer in terrible conditions, hide in basements, and go on a long, exhausting journey to save themselves. The hardest thing was that we didn’t know what to expect, and we couldn’t plan anything. Every day we prayed that a bomb wouldn’t fall on our house. Rockets flew dozens of times over our house, and our heads and I will never forget that horrible sound. The siren that announces the air alarm and that rockets will soon fly in our direction is also scary. Children shudder at the sound every time. After 5 months of the war, when a rocket hit a house next to ours, we decided we couldn’t sit in fear any longer and we had to escape to safety.
The first month in the States seemed very difficult to us and we had many difficulties. We lived in a small room without a stove, refrigerator, or washing machine. But we didn’t give up and after 4 months, every day San Diego is becoming more familiar. We love it here and are so thankful to all of the kind people we have met who are willing to help us at one of the most difficult times in our life. Every day we thank God for our life in America and for the Americans who offer their help and kindness. Our only wish is for our son to grow up in peace. It is difficult to start life over, but it is people like you who are making it so much easier for other Ukrainians and us.”
“My name is Viktoriia. I am 30 years old, my husband Andrii is 36 years old, and our son Damir is 1 year and 5 months old. I never imagined that my child would be a child of war… but such is life. Until February 24, when the Russian army invaded Ukraine, we lived a good and peaceful life. We traveled and we had many plans. But it all came crashing down that morning. It was very scary. When I woke up at 5 a.m. to explosions and a million messages, I couldn’t believe it.
For the first 5 months of the war, we did not leave Ukraine but went to live with friends on the edge of the country, in Transcarpathia. My little son was 9 months old then. It was the most painful thing to watch children suffer in terrible conditions, hide in basements, and go on a long, exhausting journey to save themselves. The hardest thing was that we didn’t know what to expect, and we couldn’t plan anything. Every day we prayed that a bomb wouldn’t fall on our house. Rockets flew dozens of times over our house, and our heads and I will never forget that horrible sound. The siren that announces the air alarm and that rockets will soon fly in our direction is also scary. Children shudder at the sound every time. After 5 months of the war, when a rocket hit a house next to ours, we decided we couldn’t sit in fear any longer and we had to escape to safety.
The first month in the States seemed very difficult to us and we had many difficulties. We lived in a small room without a stove, refrigerator, or washing machine. But we didn’t give up and after 4 months, every day San Diego is becoming more familiar. We love it here and are so thankful to all of the kind people we have met who are willing to help us at one of the most difficult times in our life. Every day we thank God for our life in America and for the Americans who offer their help and kindness. Our only wish is for our son to grow up in peace. It is difficult to start life over, but it is people like you who are making it so much easier for other Ukrainians and us.”
