Alisa (Teacher), Donetsk region, 21.03.2022

Donets’k region - my homeland, my cradle, the land where I was born and live now…Before the war, I used to travel a lot around Ukraine, I was involved in multiple projects, I took an active part in youth politics, and thanks to it I made friends in each region, each part of Ukraine. I met a woman in Uzhhorod and when I told her where I was from, she cried and hugged me. (She said): 'Baby, we are worried about you here and do not believe the news, hold on.' These words were uttered in October 2021, and today I hear propaganda news that Nazis and nationalists are mocking people in my prosperous, picturesque, native Ukraine!? I despair, as if an invisible rope is tied around my neck and I can't shout at the Russian people - 'There are no Nazis here! Peaceful people live here and it has always been so. Stop your tyrant!'

The news keeps breaking my heart… I started volunteering so as not to go crazy. At first, we were knitting camouflage nets with colleagues from school. I could never have imagined in peacetime that I would have to master such skills. The nets were handed over to the humanitarian headquarters, and then… Then I started helping the refugees from Popasna to start a new life in my city.

I continue to wage war against disinformation on social media. I feel for the children the most. I have a five-year-old son. While praying in the temple, he asked God, 'I want my mother not to cry. I want to live.' Now he does not walk around the flat on his own, he is constantly next to me. And when he hears the cannonade he shouts like crazy.

I also work as a teacher. I asked the children to draw and write a letter to the soldiers of the Armed Forces. A week later, a student wrote to me: 'I'm sorry I didn't send you a picture right away, it hurt a lot to write to our soldiers…' These are the hardest words. My heart can no longer bear this pain. If only the defender who received this letter knew how much love and soul was put in it!

I believe that Ukraine will become even stronger, because our youth feels more related to our country than ever before. Moreover, it is as if we have all become relatives - one big family, in which no relatives are left alone in trouble!'