March 31, 2022 News

A 70-year-old seamstress from Kyiv: We were living in freedom for 30 years, no one can understand it

Ljubov Vladimirovna has seen a lot in her life - and yet she did not believe she would ever see war again. Together with eight other people, she had to flee shelled Kyiv in a hurry, finding temporary shelter in Lviv in the west of the country. Now they are considering what to do next.

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Five hundred kilometres in two days

The approximately 500-kilometre journey from Kyiv to Lviv took them two days by car and bus. They were most worried about their grandmother, who suffers from serious health issues. They eventually made it to relative safety. "The local Caritas in Lviv provided us with showers and warm beds, and now we are getting clean blankets and clothes. We are very grateful for this and if we leave the city, we will of course return everything," says Ljubov.

There are nine of them together on the run; five adults, four children and two dogs. Now they have to decide how they will continue. "We rented an apartment in Lviv, but it is too expensive for us and we cannot afford it. So we are considering going abroad to earn some money and then return to Ukraine," Ljubov hopes. However, it is difficult to agree among nine people, because everyone has different ideas about their future.

People who kill children and women have no heart

When asked about the ongoing war, the retired seamstress gets very angry. "I hope a certain person dies soon and this senseless war ends. That person must be out of his mind, no sane person can understand this. Ukraine has been a free and independent country for 30 years, now everything has turned upside down in a few days," she continues.

"I believed that even the enemy soldiers do not have the heart to attack cities and kill women and children. But the Russians found and selected such soldiers. They bomb theatres and houses where civilians live. There are many new buildings around Kyiv where people have bought apartments in recent years. And in the town of Bucha, for example, they are now demolished," describes Ljubov the harsh reality in northwest Kyiv.

10 million people have had to leave their homes because of the war in Ukraine. Most of them are women, children or the elderly who desperately need at least basic care - water, food, warmth or medicine. We help local Caritas in Ukraine to ensure these needs.

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