Denys

On February 24, 2022, my mother and I were in the city of Bucha – under occupation and bombardment. On March 9, we heard about the green corridor and decided to leave. We walked through Russian checkpoints and were directed towards Irpin. We walked from Bucha to Irpin and then to Romanivka. From there, we went to Vinnytsia region and stayed there as internally displaced persons until the end of April. My father stayed in Irpin near my grandmother. He was in the Territorial Defence Battalion (TDB), and when they were attacked and scattered, he stayed near the house and started helping the elderly people who were left there. On March 23, 2022, he was cruelly and inhumanly shot by a Russian soldier right on the doorstep of our family home. The Russian soldiers did not allow his burial for several days, but eventually, people pleaded and, at gunpoint, managed to bury him. On March 24, our house, where my grandmother lived, was destroyed. My father was buried near the house. There was an exhumation and reburial at the end of April. It's hard for me to live without my father; I couldn't attend the funeral, and I can't talk about him. I'm trying to hold on and support my mother, but I see how difficult and painful it is for her... I'm immensely grateful to you for your support.