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Iryna and her daughters Oleksandra and Olha experienced true horror when their village was under russian occupation. After February 24, the life of the family turned into constant fear and humiliation. The russian military could break into their homes at any time and start searches. Once, they came to their house at half past three in the morning and were in the house until 6 in the morning. They sought through all the belongings but were most interested in equipment and gadgets. They gathered the laptops and phones of all family members and looked around. After that, Iryna was told that they were on the wrong path, nothing good would come of their daughters, and they would be girls with low moral responsibility because she was raising them too Ukrainian.

“The biggest fear was when there were two or more of them. They were afraid that they would be raped, come on,” Iryna recalls. The daughters were sitting in their rooms and shaking with fear. The occupiers threatened to deprive the woman of her parental rights if the children did not go to a russian school.

17-year-old Oleksandra tells about the courtship of the russian military: “They didn’t care that I was only 16-17 years old. At that moment, I was terrified that I might be kidnapped.”

Iryna had been planning to leave the occupation for a long time. Still, circumstances kept appearing that prevented her from doing so. Now, the contacts of Save Ukraine had fallen into her hands, and she had finally decided to go on a difficult trip.

From the beginning of the rescue mission, Iryna received support from our team. She was in touch and completely trusted us. However, it was not without trouble because, at every checkpoint, the russians arranged grueling interrogations. “They had been interrogating us for hours, threatened us, forced us to say what they wanted to hear, and recorded it all on video,” Iryna still remembers these hours with excitement.

However, thanks to the support of the Save Ukraine team, the family managed to leave the occupied territory to Ukraine. “They helped us with the route, tickets, housing, and necessities,” says Iryna gratefully. Now, the family feels safe and is making plans for the future.

Oleksandra dreams of becoming a bartender, buying her car, and traveling by sea. Her mother will continue her studies at a pedagogical university. “When I saw the Ukrainian flag at the border, I felt a huge relief. I’m finally home,” shares Iryna.

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