Mykhailo had buried a Ukrainian flag under a tree before his large family was forced to leave their homeland. The family cherished this flag for the entire year and a half they spent under occupation. It was by their side when the occupiers searched their home, when they forced the parents to send their children to a Russian school and threatened to take them away if they didn’t. However, the brave couple never did so, each time coming up with some reason.

The pressure of the “russian world” weighed heavily on pregnant Daria with three small children. Moreover, after the self-proclaimed authorities took over, her husband lost his job, forcing the family to constantly think about survival. Despite these challenges, Mykhailo continued to do good deeds, such as helping locals in clearing fields after Russian missile strikes and allowing people to sow their fields.

This family preserved their humanity, faith, and Ukrainian stance, even when they faced difficulties obtaining proper care for their newborn son, Veniamin, in the hospital due to the lack of Russian documents: “They forced us to obtain a Russian birth certificate. But if you do it, you won’t be able to take the baby out. So, we never did it until the very end”, Daria explains.

Instead, the woman managed to obtain a fictitious Ukrainian certificate for her son, so that she could replace it with a real one in the Ukrainian government-controlled territory. But then the family still had a tough journey to leave the occupation with interrogations, searches, and constant fear.

After three days on the road, the family finally left the last Russian checkpoint. However, in the end, the Russians started shooting in the air to further intimidate the mother and children. Everyone was extremely frightened, but no one stopped walking toward freedom.

From the government-controlled territory, the Save Ukraine team evacuated Daria and her children to our Kyiv-based Hope and Healing Center. Here we made every effort to take care of the family and help them recover. We helped to arrange payments, provided psychological and humanitarian support, accompanied the children to medical examinations, and resumed their education at our day center.

Unfortunately, the family recently suffered great grief. Daria’s husband, who served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, died defending Ukraine and his family. Now we are giving this incredibly brave family our strongest support. 

P.S.: all names in the story have been changed for security.