Ilona Tatarova from Mykolayiv
On February 24, we woke up to explosions. There was a fire at the airport and military units. From that day there was not a single calm day, constant bombing. It was scary for the children, for their psyche. We stayed at home and rarely went outside because we could explode at any moment. My husband went to the store, but he returned very quickly. We were very worried about him. The scariest thing was when rockets flew over our house at night, the ceiling vibrated, a light was visible, then, of course, an explosion and fire. After 2 weeks of such a life, I decided to leave Ukraine with my children. The children were very afraid. At the first explosions, they fled to the basement and remained there until it became quiet. My children: Yuliya is 17 years old, entered the university, niece Katya is 8 years old, she lives with us because she only has a father, who is my brother; her mother is deprived of the right of guardianship. I left with them. I did not have time to issue guardianship because of the war. We even issued permission to leave later. In Romania, we received a one-time payment of 330 euros from the Red Cross. There was supposed to be another payment, but there is none yet. In Romania, we are treated very well. We don’t have enough money for food. Ukraine suffered a lot from the war. It’s scary to think about what will be left of our country, our hometown. Our city was just beginning to be rebuilt, new roads were being built there. Now the city is surrounded by barbed wire. Now we live in another country, we live in a foreign land, and we do not know what will happen next, whether we have a future in our country, or whether Ukraine will continue to exist. Most of all, I am afraid for my relatives who remained in Mykolaiv, who live in permanent fear. My parents are 83 years old. My husband and brother are holding together, hoping for a quick end to the war. It is very scary to be left without relatives, without a home, and in a foreign country.