Daria's story about the evacuation from Kharkov region/Channel 24
Young mother Daria is from Kharkov region. When all-out war began, her newborn daughter was only 2 weeks old. At first, the family did not plan to leave. We hoped that everything was about to end, but later there was no choice – we decided to save ourselves.
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- 1Panic, shock and fear : how the war began for the family
- 2Products ran out, there were hours in the cold for humanitarian aid: the first days of the war
- 3″I was afraid that I would wake up tomorrow and have nothing to feed my child”
- 4The train came under fire on the way
- 5″Dad
- 6Fleeing from the war to Lvov, and then there are explosions
- 7Food was brought by strangers: how families help in the West
Daria is 23 years old. On maternity leave, the girl worked as a confectioner. She and her husband bought a house in Zolochiv, made repairs, then a child appeared. However, the war changed everything. Daria told the story of the rescue to channel 24 as part of the project SVOI .
Despite the fact that the threat to the Kharkiv region was discussed earlier, there were no thoughts about leaving. Daria admits that no one could even think that there could be a war in the 21st century, and so cruel.
Life before the war/Photo from personal archive
Panic, shock and fear: how a war started for a family
February 23-24 night. How did it all start for you?I woke up at 5 o'clock to feed the baby. We were going to go to register her, to make a birth certificate. There was a call from dad. He says don't go anywhere today. I didn't know then, I didn't read the news. At first I did not believe it.
When the first arrivals were, we thought that they would only hit military targets. They said that they would not deal with the civilian population.
Daria recalls her first emotions: panic, shock and horror. She admits that she cried a lot. First of all, she worried about her child. The husband ran to the supermarket to buy groceries. Nobody knew what would happen next.
Did you hear explosions then?
Explosions were heard in Zolochev around 9 am. My husband has gone to the supermarket. This was followed by 3 loud explosions. I called him. I shout: “run home, I'm scared.” And he dropped everything – he came running.
I had a panic and a very big fear. Even then I realized that it had begun, that this was really happening.
We ran out of food, there was a watch in the cold behind the humanitarian aid: the first days of the war
< p>What were the early days of the war like? You didn't leave right away, did you?
There were no cereals, no milk, nothing in the shops. In the first days of the war, people had already bought everything, but they didn’t bring anything else. We sat like this for two weeks. We went for humanitarian aid, but we had to wait for 2-3 hours, stand in line, in the cold, to be given some kind of a liter cup of flour or sugar. It was very hard.
My milk was gone. I was very worried because there was no infant formula either. There was nowhere to take her.
The girl says that on the first day of the invasion, a family from Kharkov came to them – Daria's mother, brother and stepfather. At first they thought about where it would be safer. We decided that it would probably be calmer in Zolochiv.
When they were driving to me, my mother stood in line for an hour and a half to buy formula for the child. We didn't know what would happen next. For the first week of the war, I had no milk, and then the mixture was over.
“I was afraid that tomorrow I would wake up, and I would have nothing to feed the child”
What did you do when the mixture ran out?
< p>I cried a lot and was worried. I was afraid that tomorrow I would wake up, and I would have nothing to feed the child. Then we were told that we can dilute cow's milk with water, add sugar. I had such a panic – not for myself, but for my child.
In addition, Daria remembered the terrible roar of the planes. It was so loud that the whole house shook. Near Zolochev there is the village of Cossack Lopan, which has been occupied since the first days. They probably took off from there and headed towards Kharkov – they dropped bombs there.
We decided to leave when the mixture ran out. We left on March 8, and on March 9 we arrived in Lviv. Then my baby was exactly one month old.
< /p> Humanitarian aid lines/Photo from personal archive
How did you manage to leave?
We have a car, but there was no gas anywhere then. There are 3 gas stations in Zolochiv: one was already broken then, the second was immediately closed, and the third worked. After the end of the curfew, it was necessary to stand in line from 6 in the morning. The queue is about 200 cars. There was not enough gasoline for everyone.
First, they refueled military equipment. It was possible to get gasoline only on the third day. The departure was very fast. I didn't take anything, no things, no clothes. In what she was, she left in that. She packed her suitcase and left. All left. When we were driving from Zolochev, we already saw the destroyed tanks of the invaders on the road.
Daria's family has two more pupils – 2 dogs of 35 kilograms. Therefore, the husband, brother and stepfather went with them in a car, and the girl and her mother went by the evacuation train.
On the way, the train came under fire
What was the way?
When we were on the train, there were so many people – I just can't convey …. They shouted something, climbed somewhere. People also had a panic, because everyone wanted to leave. The journey on the Intercity train lasted 14 hours. There was nowhere to go to the toilet. People were lying on the aisle, children were sitting. Mothers with small children were sleeping near the toilet.
We came under fire. We stopped near the Kyiv region. Shots were heard. We stood there for about 20 minutes, and then set off – we drove very slowly.
Daria emphasizes that she did not know what to do and where to go. Panic gripped her as she was responsible for a small child. She admits that it is even difficult to describe what she experienced then.
“Daddy, won't we sleep in the basement anymore?”: the story of a 2-year-old boy from the train
And how did the child endure such a journey?
strong> Thank God the baby was asleep. There were a lot of children there, 2-3 years old. They already understood that they had left theirs, that they were going … I remember one moment. There was a father with a boy, he is 2 years old. And he asks: “Dad, are we going to sleep in the basement today?” When you hear such words from a small child, your heart shrinks. Did you know right away where you were going, where you would stay? No, we decided that we would go to Lvov. I read on the Internet that volunteers help there, but they didn’t know what and how, they were going nowhere. We arrived, at first the volunteers said that there was nowhere to accommodate us. There were also a lot of people at the station, women with children, who slept on suitcases, on carimats. Then a volunteer girl called us about housing, she agreed for us. We lived in the complex along with three other families. We were settled, given a small room. How did the men arrive, did they drive separately? Husband, brother and stepfather drove by car for 3 days. They said that the road was also difficult. Everywhere there were signs “beware of mines.” You don’t know either, you’ll get there – you won’t get there today … Still with dogs. They stayed overnight in Kropyvnytskyi. There people fed them, gave them a bed, put them to bed. These are strangers. They just found them on the Internet, called and they accepted them. When you already settled in Lviv, did you feel any relief? When Daria arrived in Lvov, explosions were heard in the city. It was the first time since the beginning of the invasion. When my mother and I woke up, there was an explosion in Lvov at 5 am. We woke up from this sound. Silently they seized the child. We went down to the first floor. They sat down, hugged each other and looked silently at each other. They didn't understand what was happening. They ran away from the war, arrived in Lvov, and here, too, explosions. Then the owner of the complex arrived, he was in Teroborone. He began to reassure us that there would be no more such explosions. Maybe he said that to make us feel a little better, so that we would not be afraid. Mom and I were sitting on that couch and didn't know what to do, where to run again.
Daria's mother with her granddaughter/Photo from personal archive We were treated well in the complex. The child was immediately brought a bath so that I could bathe her, and a few days later – a crib. Helped. We were in Lviv for a month. Our guys rented an apartment, but it was very expensive. We gave about 30 thousand a month for housing. After that, Daria and her family moved to the Ivano-Frankivsk region to live with relatives. Before they did not communicate, but then again, the war changes everything.
Strangers people brought things for the child/Photo from Daria's personal archive When we arrived in Kalush, strangers brought food to us. On Easter they brought Easter cakes, cereals, butter. We have a small garden, so people gave us potatoes and all that to plant. They also brought the child. There are also mothers on the site, we communicate with them. But I miss my family friends and Kharkiv region so much. By the way, a close friend of Daria is now in the temporarily occupied Volchansk. She tells horror stories. invaders take out and plunder everything. There are stories of torture. A friend says that there is a place where screams are constantly heard. Those who were previously in the ATO are taken there. What do you feel when you hear this, read the news, see photos of the broken Kharkiv region? I want to scream and cry. I want it all to end. It is impossible to watch how small children suffer, elderly people who cannot be responsible for themselves. The list of plans after the victory of Daria is small. Most importantly, I really want to go home. The girl admits that even now such thoughts arise. Despite this, she already calls the Ivano-Frankivsk region her second home. Daria is grateful to people for their help and care. However, the parental home is special. It's there, and it's hard to replace it.
Daria's patriotic daughter/Photo from personal archiveWe ran away from the war to Lvov , and here, too, explosions
Food was brought by strangers: how families help in the West
