She has temporarily left her 5-year-old daughter Sofia in the care of her mother in one of the towns in the Donetsk region because she hoped to quickly sign an agreement and return to serve alongside her daughter.

However, Russian full-scale invasion abruptly shattered her plans. Within a week of the war’s onset, Yevgenia and her daughter found themselves on opposite sides of the front lines.

Yevgenia learned about the complete occupation of her hometown by Russians on March 3 from a military brigade, as there was still no communication with her relatives at that time. There was no internet or mobile communication. The young mother researched any means to rescue her daughter from captivity, even contemplating a covert evacuation route known only to locals. However, the Russians quickly discovered and mined this path. Thus, Yevgenia had to maintain communication with her family through a messenger, send necessary items to her mother and daughter, and await opportunities for their reunion.

Meanwhile, the Russian military had settled directly opposite the house where Yevgenia’s relatives had moved, reminding the family daily of the imminent danger. Initially, locals were unaware of Sofia’s mother being in the military, so the grandmother and granddaughter had been living in peace.

Everything changed when the family discovered that children living in occupied territories without parental guardianship, according to Russian law, would lose parental rights, leading to placement in children’s orphanages. This fate befell Yevgenia’s acquaintances as their nephews were taken to Russia for refusing to attend a Russian kindergarten. The kid hasn’t been returned to their families.

Additionally, a law came into effect in the Donetsk region, requiring all children to obtain Russian documents and enroll in Russian educational institutions. Sofia’s grandmother understood that if she obtained Russian documents for her granddaughter, she might lose her to an orphanage. Disturbing news arrived that social workers from Russia were checking documents of Ukrainian children on the occupied territory.

From then on, Yevgenia and her family lived in endless fear that social services might come for Sofia at any time. Moreover, Sofia’s grandmother received persistent calls from the kindergarten director, urging her to enroll the child in a Russian preschool.

Unable to endure this situation any longer, Yevgenia started searching for help. Initially from the military, and eventually, she found a transporter who introduced her to the Save Ukraine rescue network. We immediately started a rescue mission, so within a few days, the grandmother and granddaughter launched on a challenging journey through Russia and Belarus.

Throughout the journey, Yevgenia maintained contact with her mother through her elder sister’s mobile phone. Despite all the risks, the grandmother and little Sofia successfully crossed all borders and set foot on Ukrainian-controlled territory. Both were exhausted after their trial.

In Kyiv, Yevgenia finally reunited with her mother and daughter, hugging them both for a long time. In particular, she hugged her little daughter, with whom she had been separated for 1 year and 10 months. Seeing her mother in uniform, Sofia was surprised and said, “There weren’t big men wearing such uniforms. Their uniform is not nice.”