At that time, Anastasia and Kyrylo, along with their children and a relative, took shelter in the corridor of their apartment. And it saved their lives. 

Twice that night, the family with their little sons in their arms rushed to the corridor amid Russian shelling. The first attack damaged a building in their area, prompting the family to go to sleep after the air alert subsided. However, by 7 AM, they were running to a safe place due to sirens again. Russians attacked the Saltivsky district, and then the Cheban family’s home shook as a missile hit nearby.

Kyrylo remembers how he and his wife covered their children even more, sensing the next missile heading straight for their home. In just 5 seconds, a powerful explosion occurred. Doors and windows flew off in their apartment. Kyrylo felt glass fragments hitting his back, and when the shockwave receded, he saw his leg bleeding. Fortunately, he suffered only a minor injury from shrapnel, and no one else was harmed. However, the psychological impact on 1.5-year-old Mark and his 2-week-old brother Gleb is hard to fathom.

The Save Ukraine team from Kharkiv evacuated the family directly from the help point to our Hope and Healing center in Gatne. Now we are making every effort to provide the family with support, comfortable conditions and everything they need to adapt to a new place and continue their lives.