On February 24, we, the residents of Irpin woke up to the sounds of war, just like the rest of our country. To the sounds of the same war that has been raging on in eastern regions of our country for eight years. However, when it broke into the peaceful suburbs of the capital, it was hard to realize it was an actual war because it was unthinkable that in the 21st century someone can come to your house to kill and mock you just because you are Ukrainian! At least I hoped it would end soon enough…
Fierce fights took place next to Irpin, but we held on tight, and we were not going to go anywhere. While we were home, our twin grandchildren (they’re not even three years old yet) quickly realized why would we need to spend a night in the basement and why you can’t turn on the light in the evening. Little Nastya even asked to take her to the basement. During these days, we used to draw a lot of things. I put these pictures aside to keep them. But, as it turned out later, these hopes were not to come true.
When the evacuation of women and children began it became clear that this horror would not end quickly, so the daughter-in-law and her kids left. On March 5, I got this feeling that we had to move, too. We evacuated on our own. As we were standing on the glorious Romanivsky bridge, waiting for the matchmaker that was on her way from Kyiv, we heard an explosion in Stoyanka. And this is where we were supposed to go! We escaped sideways… Sometimes we wound hear the shooting, turn around and search for new ways.
We left, and then, in about an hour, maybe an hour and a half, Ork tanks and “liberators” moved into the city. They dug in in our quiet neighborhood. And later, our neighbors would call, saying that their house was hit by a shell, and the house burned down. But that’s OK, because currently, our victory is what matters, and we will re-build our home!
When we already reached Khmelnytsky region, where the people we know gave us a shelter, I had a dream of our house. As if it was early morning, I was about to go to work, my husband was making coffee, and then we heard in the morning news bulletin that putin died! The next day (March 28), the Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated our Irpin from Orks.
Though the government did not yet advise us to get back home, this news brought me back to life and gave me strength. Until that moment, I was ashamed to write about my own pain and emotions. I was ashamed because, fortunately, we did not have to face (and someone could not survive after facing) the horrors that russian world brought to our lives…
The city has been gradually getting back to life. Of course, we’ll need to do a lot to bring its former beauty back, and a lot of time will pass, but we will make it happen. I know it, and I believe in it!
