Lyudmyla's story, Kotlyareve, Mykolaiv region, South Ukraine  

Photo Caption:

Lyudmyla inside her house in the village of Kotlyareve, Mykolaiv region, South Ukraine. Lyudmyla lives with her husband. Both never left since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

Full story:

Lyudmyla is 71 years old. She lives with her 74 year-old husband in Kotlyareve, a village located a few kilometers aways from the administrative border between Mykolaiv et Kherson, Southern Ukraine. Villages in the area were largely oblirated during hostilities until Kherson was retaken by UAF in November 2022.

Lyudmila used to work at the gaz station, she and her husband are now retired and live on their pension and humanitarian assistance. She received support from NRC to repair her roof.

The couple spent their whole life in the village. “I was born here, grown up and married, both me and my husband.”, Lyudmyla explained. When the full-scale invasion started, they decided to stay in their village: “We stayed, we didn't go anywhere. We remained, me, my husband and a cow. I'll tell you why. Firstly, I felt bad to leave our cow. And secondly, well, we're old people, why we would wonder around the world. Our daughter left, our son left, and grandchildren left. But we are old and didn’t want to leave”, Lyudmyla shared.

Lyudmyla’s house was very quickly damaged: “Immediately, three shells fell and immediately damaged ceiling, we had no windows. That window burst completely, and then the glass just fell off. We stayed a year and a half without windows. There was no electricity, there was no gas, there was no water. Military helped us, they were at specific hours connecting some appliance at the water station, with diesel and pumped up the water for us.”

When asked how they managed to go through such hardships, Lyudmyla explained: “We were just praying with my husband. I go to church, honestly, we prayed all days. We just sat and prayed, we didn't go to the basement, nowhere. We sat and prayed, we had no windows, no roof. Well, we had a kitchen, the wall fell to the ground, the ceilings fell. But we sat and prayed. Asking God. When it was very loud, there was three of us going to the church. The church was hit, also near the kindergarten, they are repairing now.”

For Lyudmyla, the lack of access to communication was very stressful: “the most difficult was not to know how our kids are, there was no connection. We sat just like that and thought where are my children, grandchildren, how are they? And they were worried about us. They were angry that we didn't leave. This was the scariest, yes. We could only communicate once a week, just for two words, so that they do not worry, that we are alive.”