“Take off that rag! It shouldn’t be hanging here!” Hanna’s 10-year-old daughter shouted when she saw the Russian flag on the streets of her city. All the time during the occupation, Liza was angry. She could not understand why the military of another country came to their city, destroyed everything Ukrainian, forbade them to speak their native language, and forced everyone to live according to their rules, constantly threatening them with death. Only her mother’s words that the armed forces would come soon and it would all be over calmed her daughter’s stormy reactions. After all, Hanna understood that her children could pay with their lives for such words.

During the first year of the occupation, the Khorolski family hardly left the house. They survived thanks to the neighbors who gave them vegetables and preserves. But in the end, they began to grow vegetables at home. Hanna remembers when she and her daughter were cutting the grass for rabbits, and two fighter jets were flying in the sky. Every time the shelling began, the woman immediately covered Liza with herself so that only her child would remain alive. After such horrors, the girl screamed and cried at night. And her older brother Andrii’s hands were shaking, and his eyes twitched. The Russians often picked on the boy and bullied him for no reason.

One day, eight soldiers came to search the Khorolskis’ house. They checked the documents, looking for men. And then they said: “You must write an application to the school.” Since then, the occupiers constantly put pressure on the family, which had to fully ‘convert’ them to Russians. There was no shelter in the same school where Andrii and Liza were supposed to go. During the air raid, the children simply went out to wait in the hall, while in another part of the facility, the Russian military hid boxes of ammunition.

“What will I do if I love the Ukrainian national anthem?” — once said one of the students in class. In the evening, unknown people took him in an unknown direction. That is how the Russians treated children who mentioned their love for their country.

Hanna did not let her children go to school, making various excuses for the teachers. Before the New Year, the mother decided to save the children from the occupation because she could not bear this psychological pressure, and she was not willing to take Russian passports. And living in the occupation without those documents is very dangerous.

When the Khorolskis finally crossed the border, they cried happily and were glad to be able to talk freely about everything.
During the occupation, Liza dreamed of a big Ukrainian flag on the entire wall. And our team presented her with such a flag. Today, the girl has a new dream — to become a volunteer at an animal shelter because “there are a lot of abandoned pets because of this damn war.” Nowadays, all Khorolskis fall asleep without fear or tears. But they believe the Armed Forces will liberate their home sooner or later.

PS.: Names in the story have been changed for security reasons