The story of Solomiya Stebelskaya from Irpen/Collage of Channel 24
The war found Solomiya Stebelskaya and her 2-year-old daughter Emilia in their home in Irpen. My husband was tens of kilometers away that morning. When he got home, the family decided to leave. To the sound of explosions, having collected the most necessary in a bag, they went to the Lviv region.
ShareFbTwiTelegramViberShareFbTwiTwiTelegramViber
- 1″Kyiv is being bombed”, tears , panic and uncertainty: the war has begun
- 2″We are at war”: my mother is crying into the phone, me too – February 24 was a shock
- 3″Fighters were flying over the house, it was shaking all over”: the first day of the war in Irpin
- 4Traffic jams, a long road from Irpin to Lviv region, explosions and help from loved ones
- 5In the entrance hall, 9 apartments were destroyed, and in their place there is a hole
- 6″I personally knew the people who were shot in Bucha”: about exposing the atrocities of the Russians and the shock from what they saw
- 7Wishing to return home and not being ready for it
- 8Communicating with other migrants and helping them
- 9Meeting new places and feeling “at home”
- 10The value of life and the need for evacuation from dangerous places
OWN. Stories of those who left to return
As part of the SVOI 24 project, it tells the story of Mrs. Solomiya, her husband Pavel and daughter Emilia. The war forced them to flee their home in order to survive.
Kyiv and the region, February 2022. The offensive of Russian troops from Belarus and the Chernobyl exclusion zone, saboteurs, fighting, shelling, explosions. temporary occupation. And then the exposure of the atrocities of the invaders in the Kyiv region. Bucha, Irpen, Gostomel. The names of cities and villages, which were associated with smiles, joy, pleasant memories, in the blink of an eye contained inexhaustible pain, tears, suffering, hatred. Such wonderful forests under the capital were filled with screams.
Solomiya Stebelskaya is from the village of Migovo, Starosamborsky district, Lviv region. However, at the age of 16 she left to study in Irpin. She stayed there – got married, bought a house, gave birth to a daughter. Therefore, since 2011, the house for a woman is Irpin.
During the decree, Mrs. Solomiya is engaged in wedding accessories. He says that this is a hobby that brings great pleasure.
“Kyiv is being bombed”, tears, panic and uncertainty: the war began
How did February 24 start for you, the morning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine?
The brides and I talked during January and February, on what dates to whom and what is needed. It so happened that on February 23, I had three huge ready-made wedding sets at my house. I was supposed to send them in the morning. She put the baby to sleep. My husband was working in Belaya Tserkov that day and stayed there overnight, and on February 24 he was supposed to return. We had plans for the day.
At midnight I was still finishing the last of the sets. And I went to bed very late, at about three o'clock. I didn't understand what happened next. Because through a dream I heard something like thunder. Only later did I realize that they were actually explosions. It was about 4:20 on the clock.
I finally woke up from the intercom ringing. I immediately thought: who is this calling at 5 am, probably someone unconscious, who does not understand that people are sleeping at this time.
Then I picked up the phone – there were more than 20 missed from my husband. At that moment the phone rang again and I picked up the phone. And my husband: “zaya, get up, we have a war.” In response, I threw a claim to him: “what kind of war, in our country it has been going on for 8 years, don't you know?” The husband replied: “No, you don't understand – Kyiv is being bombed”.
Solomiya with her daughter Emilia/Photo from the archive of Solomiya Stebelskaya
What were the first thoughts, actions, sensations when they realized that this was a war, and it was so close?
I am immediately shocked, tears are pouring from my eyes. The husband goes on: “open the door, the godfather has come, you have to pack your bags, go somewhere.” And we are without a car, we have a small child in our arms, who is 2.5 years old. We have not collected anything, there are only documents in the heap.
I have a misunderstanding in my head – where to run, what to do. My husband is ten kilometers away from me. I am with a child. There was nothing but shock and panic at that moment.
First of all, I ran and opened the door to my godfather Andrey. He is a former ATO fighter. He calmly looked at me and said: “Please, just don't panic. I will take you to my wife and 2 children.”
I started asking him: “what's next?” He asked to collect things, in particular warm things for the child, because it was not known where we would end up. You might have to sit somewhere in the basement. He also said to put a bag of groceries. I hastily began to pack my suitcase, throwing everything that came to hand into it.
I couldn't connect the thoughts. We heard several explosions. Then my legs buckled. Something panicky happened to me. Kum asked me to sit down and calm down. He asked if he could give me valerian. I doubted if she would help.
Then I continuously phoned my husband, who could not leave Belaya Tserkov. He rented an apartment there. There was an explosion behind her. The husband immediately jumped to his feet. He said it was scary. He decided to go on foot to Akademgorodok (the distance is about 85 kilometers – channel 24). Tried to find some way. Everything stood on the roads, people began to leave en masse, huge traffic jams formed. I really understood that as long as he came on foot from Belaya Tserkov, a day could pass.
Before lunch, I did not find a place for myself. We were waiting for my husband. The child did not understand what was happening. When we left our entrance, a huge fighter jet swept overhead. She was just starting to talk and asked me: “Mom, is this a plane?” I answered yes. The daughter said she was scared. I reassured her with the words that I was with her. This is the only thing I could get out of myself without crying.
This is how the kindergarten that Emilia was supposed to go to looks like/Poslavska_photographer
“We're at war”: mom is crying into the phone , me too – February 24 was a shock
Did you communicate with your relatives that day?
I called my parents in the Lviv region. I say to my mother: “we have a war.” Mom is crying into the phone, I'm starting too. To say that it was panic is not the right word. I realized that I might never see my parents again. Because no one then knew what would happen next.
I have relatives in Kyiv, the military. They also started calling me. I asked what we should do. The most surprising thing for me was that even the military could not predict the course of events. They did not know what would happen and could not predict in any way that such terrible destruction would occur in Irpen, Bucha and Gostomel.
When did your husband manage to return home?
On the same day, thank God, my husband got home – under the planes, explosions. When he arrived, there were more gray hairs on his head. He was not like himself – he was terribly worried, his face was black. We rushed to him.
Then we put down some of the most necessary things. From the products they took bread, pates, children's curds and yogurts. I also ran into the last open store, because everyone hastily closed them. I bought a bottle of water and a few juices for the child. And that's all. There was nothing else to buy. When we were standing near the car, we heard several explosions. We ran quickly back to the house. Then we set off.
“Fighters were flying over the house, it was shaking all over”: the first day of the war in Irpin
That is, the first you spent the day of the war at home. Did they hide somewhere and how did the child perceive it?
That day fighter jets were flying very low over our house. It was very scary – the whole house was shaking. I didn't know it was flying. This is our plane, not ours. At such moments, I picked up the child in my arms and ran to the bathroom. She looked at me with big eyes and asked why we were running somewhere. I replied that it was necessary. I did not want to say that a war broke out in the country. I didn't know how to explain this to a small child. Considering that even I, an adult, cannot fully understand this.
One of the streets of Irpin after the liberation of the city from the invaders: Photo provided by Solomiya Stebelskaya
Traffic jams, a long road from Irpin to Lviv region, explosions and help from loved ones
What was the road from Irpin like? Who helped you leave to get to safety?
We left in the evening, at about 5 pm, after the children's lunchtime nap. We did not plan to stay longer, because we realized that the Russians were already almost here, near our house. At first they planned to leave through Gostomel. But when the godfather Andrey was informed that a landing force had landed there, they realized that this path was no longer for us. It was necessary to look for an alternative.
Departure from Irpen took 2 hours. Under normal conditions, this path can be traveled in 5 minutes. The bumps were terrible. Helicopters flew over us. We heard explosions. They realized that military actions were already taking place somewhere in the Gostomel region. But not only there. The war was all over the country.
We left thanks to our friends, who kindly agreed to give us a lift to where they were going, we left too. Because we needed to go somewhere. But if our godfathers hadn’t taken us away or didn’t want to wait for my husband’s return, then it would have been so, we would have stayed at home.
All the way we drove 40 – 50 kilometers per hour, no more. It took us 15 hours to get to Rivne (under normal conditions – 3.5 – 4 hours). Relatives met us there and took us to their place. Slowly we got to the Lviv region. Stayed at my parent's house.
How difficult was it to leave your home and go without knowing if you would get to a safe place?
That I then I experienced this as the biggest fear of my life. I was worried not so much for myself as for the life of my child, husband.
But inside I had another spark: what next with work? I'm a workaholic, but here I leave everything, taking only the most necessary. All kits, tools, computers, everything I worked with – everything is in Irpen. And I'm leaving.
Then I had a lot of notifications from the girls. Some wrote: “hold on, everything will be fine.” But there were also those who demanded the immediate return of their deposits. Added to the stress of having to run away was worries about how to give people money.
How did you explain to your child that I had to move?
When my child first asked me why we were running away, where we were going, I decided that I would tell him everything. But do it in a way that is not traumatic. At the same time, so that she knows and tells her children and grandchildren who the Russians are, who the Ukrainians are, and what this struggle is for.
In the entrance hall, 9 apartments were destroyed, in their place – a hole
Have you been at home after the liberation of the Kiev region from the occupiers?
When the occupation was over, my husband returned home. He loaded the most necessary things into the car – children's things and those of my tools that he could pick up.
Has your apartment been damaged as a result of bombing, shelling? Has anything been stolen from the house?
Fortunately, our apartment survived. And all my work, everything that I had to send to people, for a large amount of money, everything was.
We live in a 10-storey building in the center of Irpen. Our porch suffered the most. It does not have 9 apartments at all, in their place is just a hole. Our apartment is on the 9th floor. But she miraculously survived. Around it, the windows are broken and cracked. And in our apartment – whole. Such is the power of God, faith, prayer, I don’t know what else helped us.
But our neighbors, friends, unfortunately, were left without apartments. And all the property that was there was lost. The ceiling and walls have fallen down. Although our house was new, it was handed over only in 2018. Other entrances were also damaged. This applies to both the roof and the facade. People had their balconies torn off. We learned about the state of our house from the head of condominiums. She alone remained there.
The Russian army stood in front of our house, and the soldiers of the Armed Forces behind it. They had shootouts. Therefore, the building from the entire area suffered the most. All flying shells flew over our house. In addition, several cars burned down on the territory of our residential complex.
View of the house in which the family has an apartment there is an apartment after de-occupation: Photos provided by Solomiya Stebelskaya
“I personally knew the people shot in Bucha”: about exposing the atrocities of the Russians and the shock of what they saw
When, after the de-occupation, footage from Irpin, Bucha began to appear. How was it to see such a disfigured hometown? What feelings did you have?
I knew some of the people who were shot in Bucha personally. It didn’t fit in my head how what happened in the 21st century could happen. How can anyone attack a huge nation, country? Why is this possible?
When I saw footage of little crumbs, a photo from the children's park in Irpin, where their mother and son were killed, it was beyond the limits. We were crying as a family.
My dad is at the front now. He was wounded. Fortunately, he has already recovered and returned to the front again. Further to the front. All the horrors of the war I missed very much. In addition to the fact that I was actually at the very epicenter of the events, by a miracle we managed to leave and not injure the child with even more terrible shots that took place there just a few days after our departure from Irpin. So even now, when we have experienced and felt this pain, there is another one, when you are afraid that in one second you can lose your dearest person.
I helped dad's company a little. His company commander's daughter and I opened a fundraiser for thermal imagers, tents, raincoats, and everything their company needed. I transfer money from each earnings to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Summing up, I can say that I experienced great pain and fear then. I still cannot understand how one country could attack the civilian population of another. Considering all these horrors, inhuman trials and torture that the Russian army performed on the inhabitants of Irpen and Bucha, I do not have enough words to describe my emotions. I think I will be in shock for a long time.
Desire to return home and not ready for it
Do you plan to return to Irpin?
To be honest, I'm not mentally ready to go back yet. When I imagine what happened there, especially on those trails and in the parks where my daughter and I went for a walk. Right now – I'm saying this, and ants are walking through the body. While I'm not ready to return.
We are waiting for the victory of Ukraine. I don't know if we will be in the Lviv region by that time, or if we will return a little earlier. The child really wants to go home. I understand that she aspires to her friends, to the kindergarten. I want to go home too. There is my apartment, all my usual days passed there.
Only now my husband and I realized what a happiness it is to live in a peaceful country, in your own apartment, when nothing threatens you.
Communication with other IDPs and helping them
Did you help other IDPs, for example, friends or relatives from the Kyiv region?
There were many settlers from Gostomel and Irpin in our village. We met after they were evacuated. They left on the 8th and 9th day of the war. Therefore, we saw terrible shots, destroyed cars, bodies of people. They were driving along the Zhytomyr highway. They were already shooting at civilians. After the meeting, we talked here, I offered them help.
I wanted to understand their emotions. They also left everything. Couldn't leave with everything they took. Because the road was closed. I even had to let the dog go. They left a lot of valuables right on the bus in the middle of the road.
As for our close relatives, they stayed in Kyiv, they did not even leave the city. We talked to them every day, we were very worried. This is my mother's sister and her husband. And their children came to us on March 7th. Here local volunteers met them. They stayed with us until the end of May. Then we returned to Kyiv.
Meeting in a new place and feeling “at home”
You resumed already in the Lviv region?
Here, where we settled, I continue to work. There are some problems with logistics, because “Nova Poshta” is far away, we live in a village. But all the brides who wanted it got their orders on time.
Did you manage to make contact with someone new or, perhaps, renew your childhood acquaintances?
Yes, you did. I couldn't shut myself in here. My child and I began to go outside, walk on the playground, communicate with people. The child made friends here. I started talking to their parents. Therefore, we now often gather in the evenings or on Sundays at church, go for a walk with the children. Therefore, yes – we found new friends.
You have repeatedly said that Irpin is your home. Do you feel at home here, in the place where you were born?
I do live in my parents' house. But the feeling of “home” I probably had only a month ago. I'm already used to being here. By that time, I felt like I was visiting. Although I lived here until I was 16, Irpin is my home. Because most of my conscious life was spent there. And therefore, when I invite my parents or friends, I say: “come to our house”, meaning Irpen. There my husband and I built a family nest. Our family starts from there.
Happy family footage in Irpin/Photo from Solomiya Stebelskaya's archive
The value of life and the need to evacuate from dangerous places
Now many people, despite the risk to their lives, remain in dangerous places. What can you say to those who are afraid to leave their homes?
It seems to me that in this everyone decides for himself what is more important for him. I put all priorities on the value of the lives of the child, husband and mine. For me, the most important thing was that we were whole and healthy, and where it was, I did not care.
We considered going abroad, but that was before the war. When we talk about this with my husband now, we understand that no one will let him out of the country now. Yes, he does not want to. If they give a summons to my husband, he will also go to war. He is already set up for this.
In general, now there is nothing better for us than just returning to Irpin.
If there are no relatives in Ukraine and friends, a person closes himself and thinks that he will wait it all out himself. That it is enough to sit for a day or two, everything will stop. So I would like to say to such people: you can be wrong. Everything will end, but not as quickly as we would like. We all strive to win. But we do not know how and when it will all end. Naturally, everyone wants to return to normal life.
We made our choice, realizing that we can lose everything we have acquired. But our lives are very valuable to us. Because we understand that it will be possible to earn money for everything material again, but you will not return life.
What will you do after the victory?
First of all, I would like to hug my dad, who will return to us healthy and alive from the war. Then the whole family will go to our beloved Irpin. There we will meet with relatives and friends. And we all definitely go to a picnic, which we planned a very, very long time ago.
The enemy's plans to take the Ukrainian capital were broken by the courage of people. The Russians will never be able to capture Kyiv – neither the military nor the experts have any doubts about it. The region is slowly recovering from the experience. But it will be a long time to cherish in memory all the insignificance of Russia and the improbability of Ukrainians.
