It was Thursday, February 24th, and the war began

War Begins

Slavik tells us of the day that changed everything.

I’m Slavik. This is the story of me and my twin brother Sasha.

It was Thursday, February 24th, and I was getting ready for school together with my brother Sasha. Suddenly our sister Yana rushed into the room. She was screaming and running around, shouting that the war had begun. I did not believe her at first. We went to ask mother if we should go to school. Then we heard explosions quite near us. We started wondering what to do.

We could not sleep at all the next night. The explosions from missiles were deafening. After a while, we sat together and read the news. Russian occupiers would go through our village Nova Basan. Next day, we heard explosions from the village they had entered.

Occupation

A Month of Fear and Survival

Some people in our village gathered arms and tried to stop the Russians at the bridge. But they started shooting. All those who defended us were taken prisoner, except for one man. He blew up the bridge with Russians on it. The occupiers executed him.

The Russians settled in our village. We were occupied for a whole month. It was a ghastly time. The enemy destroyed the link mast. Our water pump had broken and we had to fetch our water from our neighbours.

Our sister Tanya was pregnant and the baby was soon due. The family decided she would have to flee. We wondered how this could happen. Brother Yura had heard how others had escaped the village. They went that night.

We were terribly worried about them. Yura returned home at night, and Tanya had managed to flee together with her husband. We went to bed, and at night, the phone rang. Tanya’s husband told us that a little girl had been born. The entire family was overjoyed.

Out of the Village

Sasha’s story of the dangerous journey to freedom

Sasha continues:

After Tanya left, we had to consider the situation for the rest of the family. We often sat in the cellar, as there was shooting and explosions in the village. We did not quite trust our own cellar, so we went to the neighbours’ better one. Talking about leaving, we all started to cry, because mother could not walk due to her illness. As heart-rending as it was, we had to leave her to our friendly neighbours. They took good care of her, and I am forever thankful for that.

We were afraid to leave at first. But the next day, we prayed together, and we left at 9 pm. We walked without a noise, as Russian soldiers stayed in a neighbouring house. My brother led the way for us and some neighbours who had stayed with us ever since the beginning of the war. We were seven people. We stopped at times. When we reached the fields outside the village, the Russians flashed a light behind us. We threw ourselves down to wait that they go by. We prayed that they would not find us. It was terrifying, but on we went.

We could not tell how many hours had passed or where we were. We had walked really long. I was so tired that I started to see houses where there were none. When we approached, there was just water. We reached the neighbouring village, which was not occupied. We knocked on all doors to escape staying out, where it was dangerous to be. A very kind woman opened the door of her house. She invited us in, gave us food and let us stay overnight.

The next day, a voluntary worker came for us. He said that if we did not leave now, there might not be another chance. We went with him to a larger town. He gave us food and let us phone our brother who promised to fetch us. We cried thinking that mother was there in the middle of explosions. Even now that I write this, I start crying. Our eldest brother Tolik took us to his home.

Back Home

The family gathered, and we returned to the destroyed village

Our brother had been worried sick about us. When he saw us, he started to cry. We hugged each other hard with tears in our eyes. For the first time in a month, we were together.

During the first week, we worried about mother who was in the Russian-occupied zone. When the Ukrainian army liberated Nova Basan, the volunteers helped mother come to us. She said that the time of liberation was ghastly – even Russians sought shelter in cellars, as the shooting continued.

In a few weeks the situation in Nova Basan was better, and we decided to return home. Driving through the village, our hearts broke as we saw the destruction the Russians had done. How sad to see your own village in ruins in the 21st century. All the shops were destroyed.

We had settled at home, and our sister Tanya came from Kyiv to meet us and to show her newborn daughter. It was great to be together again.

Tanya’s husband asked us to work for him. We accepted the offer, as we wanted to earn some money. It was a hard time both mentally and physically, especially because the shooting had not fully ended. 2022 was a difficult year for everyone, us included.

We celebrated New Year as a family and tried to leave the awful year behind us.

On a summer day in 2023, Mirjam and Boas suggested that we could come to Sweden for a summer camp. They had lived in Ukraine and founded Children’s Embassy. They knew us ever since we were born and helped our family with seven children. This was the first time we travelled abroad. We were 16.

To Poland

The first step away from the war

After the summer camp, we considered fleeing the war. We wanted our family to be safe. We tried to save money, but when mother was ill again, we gave the money for her treatment.

After New Year 2023, mother gave us money from her insurance, so that we could travel to Poland. Our godparents welcomed us there. Stopping at the border, we were afraid they would send us back, but everything went well. It has hard to leave the family in Ukraine, but we promised to help them, too.

A New Life

Work, Language and New Country

In Poland, our godfather showed us around Wrocław. We did not like the city at first, but soon we got accustomed. We missed mother and others who stayed in Ukraine, but we promised ourselves that we would fetch them, too.

After a week without work, we started work at horse stables. We had always been afraid of horses, but soon got used to them and enjoyed the work. The language was a challenge – we communicated with the boss using signs, as he spoke no Ukrainian and we spoke no Polish.

A girl at work taught us Polish; she became our first Polish friend. She also helped us know others, and we started to adjust to the new life.

We had daily contacts with the family. It was great to hear that our little sister Valya was leaving for the next summer camp. Unfortunately, she had to have her appendix operated in Sweden, but all went well.

The idea of mother and Valya leaving for Sweden came up. They travelled together, although it was difficult for mother who was ill and had fever.

Reunion in Sweden

Family Together Again

In November 2024, Children’s Embassy helped me travel to Sweden to mother and Valya. Sasha followed a little later. For the first time in nine months, we were together.

New Hope

Mother’s Treatment and Future

Mother has received proper treatment in Sweden. After many visits to the hospital and numerous tests, she was diagnosed, and the treatment is bringing good results.

The doctors say that it is a long process that requires patience. We are ready for any challenge – now that we are together.