“You’re 18? A wonderful age to go to war!” — that is what Dmytro heard at the military recruitment office under occupation. The boy had brought the officers a certificate confirming he was enrolled in the eleventh grade and told them he planned to enter university. From the expressions on their faces, Dmytro understood that they envisioned a very different script for his life. He moved quickly — enrolled in university and obtained a deferment. But his best friend was not able to do the same and was forcibly taken into the Russian army, made to sign a contract. To this day, there has been no word from him from the front. Dmytro understands all too well that he could have shared that fate — because that is precisely what Russia seeks: to drag as many people as possible into its war.

Dmytro recalls that the machinery of military pressure reached even his younger sister, who was still in kindergarten. The teachers there ordered her to march to Russian music, while parents were also compelled to financially support their propaganda events. As for Dmytro himself, his school introduced “Yunarmiya “classes, where children were taught to become future soldiers — issued real uniforms, instructed in tactics, honed their marksmanship skills.

University enrolment had bought Dmytro a deferment, but it offered no certainty about the future. He watched as students were taken directly from their lectures and sent to war. He knew: his own mobilization was only a matter of time.

That is why Dmytro made the decision to leave his hometown. His family reached out for help to Save Ukraine and made it to Ukraine.