The Shaikhudinov family returned to the Donetsk region, in the hope to revive their lives in native Sofiivka.

At the beginning of the full-scale war, Olga, a single mother, took her two sons to Vinnytsia. The family lived in a safer and calmer region for about a year, but all the time they were indescribably missing their relatives who remained on the frontline territory. Eventually, homesickness won and the family decided to take a risk.

A few months ago, Ms. Olga, along with 14-year-old Kirill and 15-year-old Ilyan, returned to Sofiivka and was horrified. The shelling of Kramatorsk, which is very close, became more frequent. Several times the russians attacked the village where the Shaikhudinov family was keeping up.

In such conditions, there was no discussion at all about the future of the children: the boys’ school was destroyed, and it was extremely dangerous to go outside – an “arrival” could happen at any moment. Besides, there was unemployment in the village, so the mother and sons survived thanks to the humanitarian aid of volunteers.

Olga deeply regrets the decision that put her children in danger. The mother wanted to take the boys to Lviv with her brother as soon as possible. However, the woman did not know how to get out of the village, which has no transport connections and constantly is under fire. While Olga was looking for an opportunity to evacuate, the russians managed to shell the street of their village very close to the Shaikhudinovs’ home. Everyone was frightened.

And then one day in the church, the woman finally received the contact of the Save Ukraine team.Our volunteers effectively evacuated the family from Sofiivka to our partner hub and then took them to the train station for a train to Lviv. Saying goodbye, the mother sincerely thanked us for rescuing the children. Now the woman will wait for the war to finally retreat from their village to return home with her children.

0 800 333 129 – all-Ukrainian hotline of the Save Ukraine rescue network with the support of USAID Ukraine.