When the first Russian rocket arrived in Kramatorsk, the parents of Olena and Mykola were very scared for their children: 11-year-old Daryna and 8-year-old Danylo. So the family quickly packed up and left for a village a few kilometers from the city, hoping that there they would find peace and safety.

It was really quieter in the suburbs. Here, the Ivantsov family settled in their parents’ house, planted a garden, got domestic animals, and gradually got used to the new living conditions. It seemed that the war wouldn’t affect the small village in which its economic life continued. However, after a year of peace, the first explosion sounded here.

The projectile hit a medical facility. Elena and Mykola were horrified, as were all the residents of the village. Since that time, their small safe world has been subject to constant Russian shelling: “In our village, almost all public buildings have been destroyed. Workshops, hospital, school, my children stopped sleeping peacefully,” says Mykola.

The last straw was the shelling of a nearby street and a tractor factory when several residents of the village were killed. After that, the Ivantsovs finally decided to run away. However, another question arose: what if there is no transport connection in the village?

Then the neighbors, who were previously evacuated by the Save Ukraine team, gave Ms. Olena the contacts of our hotline. The very next day, our volunteers took the family to Kyiv, where relatives were waiting for them.

Now parents can finally have peace of mind about their children in a safer region.

If you, your family, and your pets need evacuation from the frontline areas of the country, call the Save Ukraine rescue network hotline with the support of USAID Ukraine: 0 800 333 129