A Decade of Courage: Vira and Nadia's Journey Through Ten Years of Russian War in Ukraine
A Decade of Courage: Vira and Nadia's Journey Through Ten Years of Russian War in Ukraine
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February 24, 2022, marked a pivotal moment as Russia shattered the peaceful existence of millions of Ukrainians. However, Russia has been destroying the lives of people in the east of the country from 2014. Since then, People in Need with the financial assistance from the European Union, supported about 5 million individuals. Among them are Nadiia and Vira, whose lives were upended by the war a decade ago.
Nadiia Babakina in her house in Druzhba, Donetsk Oblast. When fighting broke out in the east of Ukraine in 2014, Nadiia stayed at home. People in Need provided her with financial support.
"My neighbours, my son and his family are my support. There are not many of us left here, so we hold on to each other like family."
"My neighbours, my son and his family are my support. There are not many of us left here, so we hold on to each other like family."
Icons in the Nadiia's house. When the shelling was going on, the woman prayed for her life and the lives of her family.
Smoke rises on a countryside road near the frontline in Donbas. In 2022, the situation in the east worsened significantly.
"Because of the shelling, Sasha could not come to me. The shrapnel is flying because the shelling is not far away. One day, a woman went out on the porch, and a fragment tore her up", says Nadiia.
Vira Skorobahatova in her flat in the town of Chasiv Yar, Donetsk Oblast. In 2017, she was very nervous because of the shelling and lost her eyesight.
"I remember that year well. I was watching TV and turned off the light. And then they started shooting! It was a real horror. I did not know what to do. Somehow, I survived until the morning. I woke up, and my eyes... One eye could barely see. That was it! I started screaming. I got nervous and went blind."
"I remember that year well. I was watching TV and turned off the light. And then they started shooting! It was a real horror. I did not know what to do. Somehow, I survived until the morning. I woke up, and my eyes... One eye could barely see. That was it! I started screaming. I got nervous and went blind."
Vira in her youth. The old photographs are painful memories of a life that was still quiet when a woman could see and live in a calm, peaceful city.
Fire next to the road that leads to Bakhmut from Chasiv Yar after an artillery barrage. Chasiv Yar has turned into hell. The Russians destroyed this town and are now trying to capture it.
After the full-scale invasion, when life in the village became unbearable due to shelling, Nadiia moved to Poltava Oblast. Her house in Druzhba was destroyed.
"We have such shelling there, it's horrible! We have nowhere to go back to. My house was burned down. My neighbour lives alone on the street. There is no one else left."
In December 2022, People in Need helped Vira to leave Chasiv Yar. She ended up in Poltava Oblast too.
"We arrived without belongings. We didn't have enough money for food."
Destroyed house in Chasiv Yar, the city of Chasiv Yar has ceased to exist, with a scale of destruction similar to other cities like Bakhmut or Mariupol, which Russia has erased from the earth together with thousands of their inhabitants
Streets of Druzhba in winter 2020, next to the house where Nadiia used to live.
Nadiia (now she is 71) and her son rented a house. Internally displaced people suffer from a lack of money because they often cannot find permanent jobs—the situation is the same for Oleksandr.
Vira (77) with her son lives in social housing for IDPs. People learned about Vіra's story and raised money for surgery. Now Vira can see. This is incredible happiness for her.
"I can see. This is an incredible joy. I am very grateful to the people who supported me."
View from the building window where Vira lives. It used to be a school that residents turned into social housing.
People in Need team maintains relationships with these courageous women suffering from a brutal war for 10 years.
The biggest dream of displaced people is to return home. However, most of them do not have a home anymore. They were wiped out by the devastating war.
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A Decade of Courage: Vira and Nadia's Journey Through Ten Years of Russian War in Ukraine
