One family, hailing from Makiivka in the Donetsk region, endured ten years of occupation as their city was seized by Russian troops in 2014. Tetiana vividly remembers the day when Russian forces entered Makiivka. Life under occupation was terrifying, particularly due to the constant shelling. Over the course of these ten years, there were no changes, no construction, and no development in the region.

Another family, a foster one, is raising two orphaned children aged 13 and 15. Unfortunately, only the father was able to reach Ukraine with the children. His wife suddenly fell ill and didn’t receive proper treatment under occupation, passed away two weeks ago. The family had to stay indoors constantly to survive in occupation with a pro-Ukrainian stance. Yet, the Russians still demanded that the elder daughter enroll the granddaughter in a Russian school. “You are nobody here, and nobody cares. We will take the child away. And if you don’t like it, go to Ukraine. We will deport you to Russia and then find your way.” she even had to hear such words. She was very afraid that they would take the child to study in another place and not return her.

Marina hid her two children from the occupiers for 2 years! On February 24, the daughter’s teacher wrote in the parents’ chat: “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine. But the war has started.” The next day, the stores were empty, and the village became scary, especially due to constant shelling. Marina always fell to the ground and covered the younger Yaryna with herself so she wouldn’t be killed. There was no work no money either, due to financial hardship, the woman hadn’t been to the hairdresser for two years. They survived on 2,000 hryvnias, which their grandmother from Ukraine sent them, thanks to neighbors who shared groceries. The whole family is very scared, in a state of shock, and still can’t believe they are safe now!

Another family with children found refuge with relatives in Poland. They spoke of the horrific crimes committed by the Russians that they had witnessed. They recalled an incident from the early days of the full-scale invasion, when several local teenagers confronted a Russian tank with crowbars. The Russians responded by firing at these children with an anti-tank machine gun, resulting in them losing their arms and legs.

Currently, all the families are taking time to rest. Ahead of them lies a challenging journey of psychological recovery and a gradual return to normal life

In the last 2 weeks, we managed to return 5 children from the registry of deported children listed on the “Children of War” portal. As of today, the Save Ukraine team has already rescued 273 children, including 69 orphans.