“My daughter’s health was also a reason why we decided to leave the country. She needs constant medical check-ups and support from relatives. I was very unsure that I could give her this in a country at war.”

On February 24, 2022, I woke up at 4:20 in the morning to rest my dog. The rest of the family was still asleep. On my way back from the walk, around 5 in the morning, I heard the sound of loud explosions and the ground beneath my feet began to shake. Then I understood that the war has started in my homeland. When Russia occupied Crimea and Donbas in 2014, my husband and I understood that a full-scale war across Ukraine was only a matter of time. Our family prepared us for this, especially at the beginning of 2022 when there were problems at the border. We stored, among other things: bottles of water, food, various equipment such as tents, sleeping bags, portable gas stove, our car was always full of fuel and all important documents were gathered together. We prepared for the possibility that we would have to hide in the woods. Despite all the preparations, I was shocked and scared on the morning of February 24th. Then I had to inform my husband and my two daughters of the terrible news. In the evening of the same day, my relative Olexander, who has lived all his life in Sweden, called and offered his help to my family. But then I wasn’t ready to move, I wasn’t ready to leave my husband. We decided to wait and see how the situation develops. But every day it became more and more urgent. Kyiv was bombed and there were regular air attacks. People all around began to disappear. Russian troops came closer and closer and the risk of a complete occupation increased continuously. My daughter’s friend who lived in Gostomel (smaller town near Kyiv) was unreachable for a week. Later we learned that she spent a week in a basement, where there was no mobile coverage. Gostomel was then fully occupied by the Russians. News came out about the rapes and murders of the civilian population by the Russian occupiers, I was very afraid for my daughters who were then 14 and 19 years old.

On March 3, 2022, I contacted my relatives in Sweden and asked if they could receive my daughters, which they confirmed they could do. I decided to drive my daughters to Sweden and then return to my husband in Ukraine. My Swedish relative helped us with an itinerary to Sweden and on March 4th we left Kyiv. The journey was very demanding. People were evacuated by train from the central station. When we got to the train station, it felt like there were several thousand people waiting to be evacuated. People were waiting, worried and there were many elderly people with large suitcases. Then we witnessed a shooting. It was a saboteur who tried to blow up a train with people who was liquidated. Those were terrible minutes of my life. We were afraid to leave Ukraine, afraid to be evacuated, afraid of my husband who stayed behind. Due to chaos and crowding, I almost lost my youngest daughter when we were about to get on the train. People crowded into the carriages without any consideration. My daughter was pressed against the rails under the train. I don’t know where the strength came from but I managed to pull her back into the carriage. We had no seats and had to stand the whole journey to Lviv, which is 500 km. It was very physically demanding, especially for my eldest daughter who has a disability. In 2018, she underwent back surgery due to severe scoliosis. During the operation, she received a special construction in her back that the body rejected and because of that she underwent another operation in 2021 when they removed the construction. My daughter’s health was also a reason why we decided to leave the country. She needs constant medical check-ups and support from relatives. I was very unsure that I could give her this in a country at war.

Finally at eight o’clock in the evening we arrived in Lviv where we were met by my friend. At 22.00 we were at the Polish border and at 05.00 the next day we crossed the border. On the evening of March 5th we arrived by train in Posnan and on the morning of March 6th we arrived in Świnoujście where we boarded the ferry to Sweden. Finally, after 2 days of stressful travel, my daughters and I could rest, shower and sleep in a bed. The girls slept all the way to Sweden. The ferry arrived at 11pm and we were met by our relatives; Nina and her son Olexander. I was very worried the week that followed, it was hard to take in and understand that we were in Sweden in a safe place. I began to take in everything that had happened to us and tried to figure out what to do next. I looked at my daughters and understood that I could not leave them in Sweden in the mental state they were in, even if they stayed with relatives. I discussed it with my husband and decided to stay. On March 10, we submitted the application to the Migration Agency in Malmö. My relatives offered us to stay with them in Lund until the Migration Agency assigned us accommodation. It was a very pleasant period in my life since the war began. Olexander and his wife Kajsa took such good care of us that I started to see some joy again. Their family, home, atmosphere and their relationship with us rehabilitated me. On the first of June, Lund Municipality opened an accommodation for Ukrainian refugees and we moved there. Slowly we arranged our everyday life and on the 20th of June I started working at a cleaning company. In Ukraine, I worked as an accountant for private companies. I liked my job but understood that I had to start over in Sweden. I wanted to be able to support myself and my children as soon as possible. June 2023 my oldest daughter started working in a nursing home, she had a high school education in care from Ukraine and through that she got a relevant education through the job. Her goal is to complete SFI and then apply to the medical university in Lund. She feels very well, does sports, goes to the swimming pool and takes care of herself. My youngest daughter studies at the high school, studies Swedish and plays in Lund’s volleyball club. I am very proud of how we have adapted to our new reality but sometimes I feel so dejected, especially when I see what the Russians are doing to my homeland. My job, my daughters, my husband and my Swedish relatives are my salvation.

My goal is to continue adapting to life in Sweden. I want to learn Swedish and possibly get an alternative education. I am so very much looking forward to the end of the war and our victory to be able to see my husband again and finally reunite our family, that is my top priority right now!