Good news at the beginning of the week — Save Ukraine rescued two more children from the occupation, one of whom is an orphan.

Before the war, Olena Zakharchenko worked in the Social Security Administration. She’s been helping others all her life. But after February 24, she could not accept that she and her family needed elementary social assistance. Within the first days of the full-scale invasion only civilians remained in her city. So, it was quickly occupied without a fight or resistance. The connection and the Internet disappeared, and people only heard explosions somewhere far away. The atmosphere around was terrible. It was terrifying to stay home after the news from Bucha and Irpin, so no one walked the streets. They tried not to catch anyone’s eyes, not to drive between populated areas. The only thing that kept them going all this time was the synthesizer they had at home. They closed all doors and windows tightly, and then 8-year-old Yarynka learned how to play it by herself. She played the National Anthem of Ukraine, Red Kalina, and Glory to our Armed Forces. Olena and her husband listened, and there was hope in their hearts that it would all end soon.

Marta Oleksandrivna finally decided to leave the village, which was constantly under shelling, when a shell landed in their yard at half past six in the morning. The shock wave destroyed the part of the house where the bathroom was. Her grandson Nazar, who she has been taking care of for seven years, was sleeping in his bed and covered in mud. He then had to wash off the dirt for a long time. For the next three days, Nazar slept dressed because he was afraid that he would not have time to escape when they would start firing again. It was hard for the family to leave the occupation. At the border, the Russian special services subjected an elderly and an orphan boy to abuse — they gutted all their belongings and threw everything out of their bags. Moreover, there was no reason for this. During the stressful journey, Marta Oleksandrivna started having problems with her legs.

Even when Ukrainian families decide to leave their homes and all their possessions, even when they do not threaten the occupation authorities in any way, the Russians still try to mock Ukrainians as much as possible. Humiliating, interrogating, torturing — this is the whole essence of the Russian Federation, which seems to have never heard of the existence of the Geneva Convention.
That is why our first responsibility today is to save as many children and families with children as possible from Russian aggression and return them to Ukraine. Today, we have 284 rescued children, of which 73 are orphans. Thank you to everyone who helps us serve this enormously complex mission.

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