“We tucked our beloved yellow-blue flag into a jar and buried it in the basement”.

In Melitopol, under Russian occupation, the Korniyevski family’s home was frequently searched. The family, branded as saboteurs by the occupiers, endured routine document checks and mocking inquiries about their resilience. Tetiana and her husband, Mykhailo, steadfastly refused to accept Russian documents, including pensions.

Their survival, with two young children, was made possible through the support of their older sons, who had left the city in 2022 and regularly transferred money to their mother’s bank card. A friend helped by converting the money into rubles, enabling them to purchase food and medicine. “The food bought with rubles somehow tasted worse…” Tetiana remembers.

Tetiana has been struggling with diabetes for six years, a condition that worsened under the occupation. The situation escalated when the Russian forces threatened to strip Tetiana and Mykhailo of their parental rights and deport their children to Russia unless they enrolled Sofia and Artem in a Russian school. This school, reportedly lacking professional teachers, focused more on excursions to the Museum of Russian History and trips to sanatoriums, the latter of which were notoriously dubious. The school’s director, notably, had been a kindergarten guard just a day earlier.

Despite these threats, the parents refused to send their children to the Russian school, leaving the family in a constant state of fear. They hid all Ukrainian symbols, particularly their phones, as Sofia and Artem, both 15, continued their education at a Ukrainian school online. The fear of deportation became so overwhelming that the children stopped going outside, prompting Tetiana to plan their escape.

The family managed to find a transporter and embarked on a harrowing journey through Russia. After three hours in the rain, they crossed the border from Kolotylivka into Ukraine. “We were uncertain of our destination, but certain of what we were fleeing from,” Tetiana said. Once in Ukraine, drenched and exhausted, they were intercepted by Ukrainian soldiers and taken to Sumy. There, volunteers from Save Ukraine offered them a chance to stay at the “Hope and Healing” center in Kyiv.

“We spent a month at the center, where we rediscovered laughter, freedom, and the joy of connecting with other families and the center staff. The kindness and support we received there are immeasurable”, Tetiana reflects.

The family received comprehensive assistance at the center, including help with documents, psychological rehabilitation, medical check-ups, and basic necessities. The greatest boon for the Korniyevskis was the chance to move into a modular house in Ivano-Frankivsk, part of the Fort Home project.

In this picturesque and serene location, they immediately found the peace they had long sought. Sofia was thrilled to finally see the Carpathians, a dream of hers, and to relax by the mountains. The cozy, well-equipped house was perfect for their long-term needs.

Today, the family’s sole wish is for victory and the chance to return to their liberated home, where the Ukrainian flag still lies hidden in a jar.