My name is Viktoria, and I am 18 years old. I am from Vinnytsia.
I have a very ordinary family. My dad works as a public transport driver. My mom works in a store. I
have a little brother who’s in kindergarten.
I was in the eleventh grade. On February 24, it was supposed to be a normal school day. It wasn’t my
alarm clock that woke me up but my mothers words: that the war had started.
We were all scared and there was tension among the neighbors. The news and the radio added to the
tension. Unfortunately, no one believed that that war would break out, so we hadn’t packed or
prepared anything.
Dad immediately started calling all his relatives to ask about their situation and plans. I collected
documents and basic things on my own. My mom was still at work. My father and I quickly got ready
and went to my grandmother's house in the village. On the way we went to the pharmacy to buy some
food and some medicine, just in case. The queues were long, and the shelves were already half empty.
We got to my grandmother's house, but the tensions were still running high. We were all very scared,
but together!!! I loved going to my grandmother's house because there were many of my friends there
and we had a lot of fun together, so I thought I wouldn’t be so sad, and I didn’t regret going to the
village.
My grandmother doesn't have internet, so it was hard to keep up with the latest news. I had to go out to
the garden because there was signal there and I could watch something.
I had nothing to do, so I helped my grandmother with household chores and looked after my brother.
The electricity was often cut off and it was just awful. My grandmother would turn on the radio and
somehow, we managed to get Russian radio. It was very interesting to listen to them accuse us of
everything. Our hatred for them and for Putin was and is incredible. This is not Nazism, any nation in
such a situation will hate the enemy. Worse, their propaganda has zombified the whole of Russia, and
now so many people have no idea what their army is doing on our lands.
I stayed in the village for a month. I could hear explosions and it was terrifying. After I came back to
Vinnytsia I immediately went to Poland because my sister was already there, and she wanted me to join
her, to be safe. She helped me with everything, and I am extremely grateful to her.
I was able to go to university to study logistics. I didnt go home or see my family for a year. I left without
a passport when you could still do that, and then I managed to get one in Krakow, but that was much
later.
My mom didn’t join us because she kept working. But recently I went back and I was very happy to be
back with my family, whom I love very much! We all cried when I left for Poland, and when I came back,
I cried even more. I love Ukraine, everything here is dear to me, and it can't get any dearer. I dream that
This war will end, and all people will live peacefully, happily, and calmly. I have faith!
