Lida and her daughter left the occupied Tokmak/Collage of 24 channels
Tokmak is a town in the Zaporozhye region, where local people did not believe in Russian occupation. There is no reason: no military bases, no key infrastructure. When the war began, the inhabitants were sure that the Russians would pass through the city, but would not stay. However, this did not happen. The invaders were unable to advance further and occupied Tokmok, Lydia's hometown.
- 1″Mom, I'm Ukrainian”: day, when the smiles were cut short by the war
- 2Useless attempts to leave: the occupiers did not let through at checkpoints
- 3We had to go under shelling
- 4The loud sounds of everyday life have become the sounds of war
- 5There is no medicine at all in the occupied territory, children are sick
- 6Family is safe: daughter sings “Two Colors”
We tell the story of Lydia as part of the SVOI project. At the time of the conversation, she and her daughter lived in a shelter for migrants in Lviv, but still did not feel safe. The siren and loud sounds now and then reminded how the Russians covered their city with “Grad”.
SVOI. Stories of those who left to return.
“Mom, I'm Ukrainian”: the day when the smiles were cut off by the war
The mention of February 24 brings tears to Lida's eyes. She asked for a few minutes to calm down. It's hard to remember the day when the smiles were cut off by the war.
I remember that day, my daughter wanted to buy our flag. We went outside, she says: “Mom, I'm Ukrainian.” She went everywhere with this flag, so happy. And then we found out that it all started … My husband said that we need to get ready, because soon they will reach us. At first we didn’t believe it, we thought, well, why do they need a small town, – Lydia recalled.
A few days later, the Russians did reach Tokmak. The column of troops marched right through the center of the city. Lida saw everything from the windows of her apartment. Further constant blows and shelling. The family hid in basements for a week: without water and electricity.
They wanted to leave immediately, but how? We decided to wait for the troops to pass. Friends assured that the Russians do not plan to stay in Tokmok. But they stayed. And they still are.
Little Lisa proudly shows her patriotic drawing, because she is Ukrainian/The photos were provided by the girl's mother
Useless attempts to leave: the occupiers did not let them through at checkpoints
The family tried to leave three times – each time the Russians brought them back. There are several enemy checkpoints around the city, at which residents must pass a check.
During the third attempt, everything seemed to work out: a day of waiting, only 5 hours at the penultimate checkpoint, in order to finally hear: “We won't get you anywhere skip”.
40 cars were on the track. And they just didn't let us through. People with small children went to negotiate, and they were told: “We don't care if you have children or not, you will all stand here.” And we slept on the track, – says the woman.
Then Lida recalls that the invaders ordered to line up and sleep on the track. The occupiers explained clearly to people who continued to try to negotiate.
They pointed their guns at people and said: “No one passes, everyone is standing here,” she remembered Lida.
These terrible events took place in Vasilievka. When it began to get dark at 20:00, the Russians opened fire – from “Gradov” they fired at small villages where the Ukrainian military were already located. This went on until 3 am.
All this time people just stood on the track with children in their arms. At 6 am, people tried to move again, they were not let through again, it was impossible to leave either from the city or to the city.
“Stand here and that's it,” the Russian mercenaries threatened.
Stand and watch how the fire eats up your houses, villages, kills your friends, your defenders. And hope that this fire is not opened against you in the next minute.
I had to drive under shelling< /h3>
The family decided to run away – to go through the villages. Luckily, the invaders did not know this road. Already approaching the Ukrainian checkpoint, the Russians opened fire on them.
When we got to the first Ukrainian checkpoint where our soldiers were, they opened fire on us. As the military explained to us, I don’t understand, they fired from an infantry fighting vehicle. The blows intensified and we were told: “Quickly get into the cars and run away from here,” Lydia says with tears in her eyes.
At the Ukrainian checkpoint, people had to go through passport control and wait for a “guide” who would help to leave safe, because the roads are mined. However, the shots were too close, there was no time to wait, people left at their own risk.
The loud sounds of everyday life became the sounds of war< /h3>
Fortunately, the family is safe. All the horror that they had to endure, Lida painfully recalls. Therefore, the family did not want to stay in Ukraine. Her psychological state and the state of the child is unstable. The loud sounds became the sounds of war.
Lisa and her mother came from the occupied Tokmak to Lviv/Photo courtesy of Lydia
A sense of security is one of the basic needs of the psyche. Conversely, fear is one of the most destructive emotions. Children should not grow up in the blink of an eye. Children should have a childhood.
The child is frightened by every loud sound, for example, when a truck is moving or a gate is opening. She says: “Mom, are you going down already (with the intention of going down to the basement or shelter – channel 24)?” It's difficult, – says Lydia.
The woman says that at the age of 3.5 years, her daughter Lisa understood everything. When the house was “shaking” from the explosions, she behaved like an adult: she quickly gathered the necessary things, told her mother that she was not afraid and was ready to run.
There are no medicines at all in the occupied territory, the children are sick
Lida's heart aches for the children left in the city. They are without access to medicines, without baby food.
Many acquaintances are simply afraid to leave, they are afraid of the road. And Lida was afraid, but she says that the fear of being left there, without food and livelihood, was stronger.
Little Lisa has a sister, they left together. A 10-year-old girl was taken to the hospital immediately after the evacuation. Because of the fungus in the basement, in which he had to constantly hide, the child's asthma worsened.
There are no medicines at all in the occupied territory, they are simply not allowed through. In the hospital, everyone was shocked at how neglected the child's condition was. I don't know how it would have ended if she had stayed,” adds Lida.
Children sleep in a cold basement because of Russian shelling/Photo courtesy of Lydia
He says little about dreams: he just wants all the children, and all the inhabitants of our country, to finally live in peace. Says she didn't think she'd cry again: “It seemed like she'd cried it all out.”
Lydia with her daughter Lisa in Lviv/Photos provided by the heroine
Family is safe: daughter sings “Two colors”
A smile appears on the face only when talking about the daughter. Lisa is very fond of Ukrainian songs, especially folk songs, and especially the Anthem of Ukraine. When leaving the city, the child asked to take the flag on the road.
“Why can't we take the flag with us on the road?” I say: “Because it's very dangerous. And it's a shame. But it's okay, we'll buy another one,” Lida remembered.
This baby is already safe. Before publishing the conversation, we contacted Lydia. Together with their daughter in Warsaw, they feel better. Lisa loudly sings Ukrainian songs and proudly declares to everyone that she is Ukrainian.
You can read the following conversations with IDPs within the framework of the SVOI project on the website soon.
< strong>OWN. Stories of those who left to return. Anastasia Zazulyak, Natalia Bodnar, Anastasia Lukashevskaya, Valentina Polishchuk, Konstantin Gabriychuk, Yuri Gerasimov are working on the project.
