Before the war, Artur’s life was typical for a Ukrainian teenager — school, computer games, and distance learning during the pandemic.

On February 24, everything changed. For the first three days, the boy just watched the news on the Internet. Then he spent two weeks in the basement, hiding from shelling. He lived without light for another month. Hope for the liberation of the territory from the occupiers appeared when it was possible to catch the Ukrainian mobile network. Soon, Russian soldiers entered the village, settled in the houses, and began to terrorize the local population.

Life in the occupation was all about restrictions and fear. You cannot safely go to the city, walk with friends, or even cross the road. Artur said that there were more Russians than civilians. Some new ones were constantly arriving, often shooting from machine guns and even MLRS Grad, which they placed in occupied Ukrainian yards. Then, the ground was shaking. It seemed that no shelter would last.

Once, a Russian jumped on Artur while riding a bicycle to get milk. The occupier interrogated the teenager for no reason but, fortunately, let him go. But the next time, he made the boy wash a military car.

“I can make sure that you would wash and clean everything here because I’m the boss here,” the boy heard from the invader then. And every Russian soldier felt this power over the Ukrainians during the occupation. And each of them began to put pressure on the locals.

But the most humiliating moment in Artur’s life was receiving a Russian passport. This worthless little paper was brought to the boy’s home. Collaborators forced him to sign some papers and then read an oath to the enemy country on camera. So that the boy would do it faster and not hesitate, the Russians threatened him with eternal service in the Russian army.

“At that moment, I felt only great hatred,” Arthur recalls that terrible day.

The decision to evacuate came after school ended. The young man understood that he had nothing to do in the occupation except household chores. And he dreamed of entering a Ukrainian university. However, the path to freedom was not easy. The minor had to go through several interrogations at the borders. But the support of Save Ukraine in this journey gave him courage and confidence.

And finally, one hot summer day, Artur ended up in Ukraine. A yellow-blue banner was draped over his shoulders, and his eyes sparkled with incredible joy. “Today is a happy day for me: I’m already in Ukraine! Little by little, I feel free,” said the young man, tightly clutching his native flag. He had not seen him for 2.5 years. Now Artur has a new goal in life — to enter a Ukrainian university because he wants to become a programmer. We wish him success and are ready to support him further.