The stories of little Ukrainians Nazar and Yehor are sad testimonies of the trials that families had to go through under the occupation.

The war broke into the home of 4-year-old Nazar the day after his birthday. The whole family had to sleep dressed and in one bed so that it was possible to get up quickly in case of shelling. Later, the occupiers began to search the family and demand that the older children, Polina and Makar, start attending a Russian school, or they would be taken away from the family. So the mother had to send the children to that school. But there was no time to talk about the safety of children there. The military did not let the parents into the premises. The occupiers made fun of the children who didn’t know the Russian language.

The story of 6-year-old Yehor, whose father was taken several times by the Russians to the basement and brutally beaten, is also shocking. He returned home with a lot of bruises and wounds. But many fellow villagers were much less lucky. The Russians tortured to death more than 30 soldiers who had been in the ATO since 2014. Even more people disappeared. Although Yehor was still small, he realized something terrible was happening around him. The boy constantly had to hide in the room during shelling. The Russians put pressure on the parents, demanded to get Russian documents for the child, and threatened to take him away. Therefore, the family had no choice but to leave their home to save their son. When Yehor crossed the Ukrainian border, he was jumping for joy. He also said how good it is when there is no military hardware on the streets.

The families of Nazar and Yehor had to go through great trials under the Russian occupation, but they persevered. Thanks to the coordinated work of the @Save Ukraine team and the efforts of our partners Charity Fund Humanity and #WeAreAllUkrainians, they can finally feel free.

P.S. The names of the characters have been changed for security purposes.