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Refugee stories

A Happy Story

My name is Kateryna or Kate in English. I am a mom and we are from Mariupol .....

Seventeen to sixty

My name is Sveta. I am originally from Kherson. Here is my story of what I witnessed first-hand from Russian occupied Kherson....

Days of Kherson Occupation

From the very first days of the war my daughter would go to the bomb shelter during the air raids. It was not a specially built bomb shelter but a basement in the building of the Institute for Teachers’ Refresher Courses.  The Institute was located right opposite our apartment house. It does not exist at the moment ...

Bucha Story

On the 24th of February 2022 I was woken up at 4:45 am by Slava, my husband, who told me that war had broken out. At that moment I was on a sick leave and our children were staying with their grannies. Barbara was in Bucha while Ivan and Anna were in Vynogradar (a district of Kyiv). Getting dressed in a matter of minutes we jumped in our car.

Escape from Occupied Kherson

This is what happened on 20th of June 2022 in occupied Kherson. Kateryna’s sister-in-law received a message that the Russians were breaking down Kateryna’s door.

The Main Thing is that we are Alive

I want to share with you how I experienced war without even shooting a single bullet.   The situation in Kyiv during the first days of the Russian war against Ukraine was really very tense.

Life in the Occupied Territories of Ukraine

Due to Ukrainian president Zelensky unfortunately ignoring the warnings of the best intelligence agencies in the world as well as Ukrainian intelligence, Ukraine was not ready for the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. As a result, 20% of Ukrainian territory is under Russian occupation at the moment. So what is life like there? Here are some facts.

The Azov Regiment

Let’s talk about AZOV. Among others, they were the main defenders of Mariupol for 86 days out of which 82 were under full siege (from 24th of February – 20th of May 2022). After the Russian invasion suddenly began in February 2022 they stood up and defended their land from Russian aggression.

POW stories

Prisoner of war stories

What Happened at Olenivka

"Probably the smell I remember the most. An incomprehensible, even some kind of poisonous smell of smoke, burnt bodies,". This is how the 23-year-old Azov soldier "Craft" recalled the night of 29 July 2022 .....

Kostyantyn Bobryk, Defender of Mariupol

Kostyantyn Bobryk was born in Luhansk and lived there until 2014. In his civil life he worked as a freight train driver. He worked at Ukrzaliznytsyya (Ukrainian Railways) for more than 30 years. He had a big family (four children - one girl and three boys). At the beginning of this war in 2014, when the Russian aggressors started to occupy Luhansk, Kostyantyn sent his wife and the children to Mariupol in July of that year......

Unconquered.  The story of a Ukrainian Prisoner of War

This is the story of one of the 5,000 Ukrainian POWs who spent nearly 15 months in Russian captivity.

Olexander Zarva, a Border Guard story (21 Months in Russian Captivity)

Olexander Zarva worked at the Novator plant as an injection molding machine foundryman with third degree skill qualifications.  In 2015 he received his military summons to the recruitment office to go and defend his Fatherland. So since 2015 and up to the date when he was taken prisoner Olexander was serving in the border patrol.

Anatoliy Voloshyn, the Oldest Man in Russian Captivity

Anatoliy is 64. He was the oldest man in Russian captivity. His native city was Mariupol. He used to work at Azovstal as a bulldozer driver. Then he became a pastor.

Nazariy Gryntsevych from Vinnytsia. One of the Youngest AZOV Fighters

Nazariy had dreamt of joining the army from childhood, determined on a military career from the age of 14.

Olexiy Anulya, the former Chernihiv kickboxing champion

This story will let you know what is really happening to the Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russian captivity. You will understand that the Geneva Convention on prisoners of war is completely ignored by the Russians.

Maryana Chechelyuk, a 24 year old National Police Service investigator

Among the 75 PoWs exchanged on 31st of May 2024 there were five women: four civilians and one military.

Yuriy Gulchuk

22 year old marine Yuriy Gulchuk was in Russian captivity from April 2022 to 14th of September 2024.

Andriy Stepanov

Because I was tortured with electric shock on my neck after having a shower my heart stopped beating.

Olexiy Ryzhynenko

A border guard from Kherson region. Olexiy Ryzhynenko spent 28 months in the Russian captivity.

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