My name is Zhanna, I am 42 years old, and my husband is Yevhenii. We are a Ukrainian family, we have 4 sons: Pavlo(20), Oleksandr(18), Oleksii(16), and Platon (7 months). Our house was located near Chernihiv and 66 km from the border with Belarus and Russia. Therefore, on February 24, we woke up to explosions near our house and realized that a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine through the borders of our region had begun. I am writing this text now with tears in my eyes. Could this really happen to us?! Isn't this a terrible dream? Unfortunately, no…

I was panicking from the beginning. At that time, I was 7 months pregnant. There was a high risk of premature birth, and it would be irresponsible to risk a little life. We planned and waited for the appearance of a son in the family for so long. The decision was made to flee to western Ukraine, 670 km from home to my friend. We quickly packed 3 suitcases and 4 sleeping bags because we planned to sleep in the car, and it was still freezing outside. The eldest son said that he would stay to guard the house and take care of his grandmother. It was very scary to leave them, and it was scary to go into the unknown. We went with our two younger sons. There were already traffic jams in Kyiv, planes were flying overhead, tanks were coming to meet occupiers, in front of them we saw echelons of military equipment going somewhere along the railway track. I looked out the window, as if watching a horror film in the cinema ...but it was not a film, it was a terrible reality. We got to Chernivtsi in 24 hours. We hoped that soon everything would stop, and we could go back.

Furthermore, we had been following the news all week and our hearts are breaking from what we've heard. The enemy was advancing, reports of the death of friends and acquaintances began to arrive. Russian troops occupied a neighbouring village and started shooting at our settlement from there. The connection was constantly lost, the light too, the eldest son and grandmother already lived in the basement of the house. No one could help to get them out of there because there was heavy shelling all the time. The news came that the neighbours were fleeing and exploded with a mine. On March 5-6, we were informed that Russian troops were planning to attack our village in the coming days. I'm writing, and it's scary because of what we experienced then. My car is left in our garage. My husband wrote very detailed instructions for his son on how to drive a car (at that time he had never driven a car), how to tape the headlights, where exactly to go so as not to run into landmines. We stayed awake at night, waiting for our son to get in touch and read the message. On the morning of March 7, the son and grandmother acted according to the instructions and were able to leave and stay alive! God gave them life, for which I am very, very grateful. On the evening of March 7, a rocket flew into the house and completely destroyed our house...

My husband didn't tell me about the house for a while, so that I wouldn't get to the hospital prematurely, and I would learn some details later. It is still very painful for us to lose our family nest. We started building it when our third son was born. For three years, we invested not only all our earned money, but also all our love, so that each son would have his own room, so that they would live better than we did at the time. We planted a young orchard near the house and dreamed that one day our grandchildren would come here, and we would gather as a large family for holidays. But….

There was not a single day before the birth without tears. When I was going to the hospital, it seemed to me that something bad was going to happen again. The doctor kept asking why I was weeping. An air raid started, everyone ran to the bomb shelter, and I went into labour. The birth was very difficult, but everything ended well thanks to the doctor's professionalism. It was as if I was taken out of that world. Our Plato was born on the third of May. Finally, I heard my son's first cry, so longed for, and calmed down.

At the end of May, we moved further abroad with our 3-month-old baby to pick up our youngest son, who was sheltered by a family in Germany for two months. All summer we lived with my friend in Germany and waited for a visa to England. The eldest son Pavlo stayed in Ukraine and continues his studies online at a higher education institution in Kyiv. Son Oleksandr was in Poland for 5 months preparing for the European Championship, as part of the junior national archery team.

Today we are already adapting in England, where we were temporarily sheltered by a family Jonathan and Wendy-Jane Walton. We are very grateful to them for opening the door of their home and sheltering us. Only people with a big kind heart can do this.

Oleksandr and Oleksiy started studying at the college. The youngest son, Platon, is in my arms all the time and is very nervous because he received stress hormones before birth. My husband is learning the language and has started to earn a little. We still don't know what will happen next, but we need to recover from what we've been through, it takes time for the wounds to heal and for us to start all over again.

She never asked for help, on the contrary, she was always involved in charity, supporting orphans and lonely children mothers and collected funds for the needs of boarding schools. I have now created an Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/platon.uk/ where I will support the Ukrainians who stayed at home.

Today I am turning to you and asking for your support. In order to start all over again, we need money for rent and furniture, at least for the first 6-12 months. The rent is £1,500 per month a family of 6 people. The state helps with funds, but they are only enough for food. Older children need new computers, professional equipment to continue their studies, and these are additional costs.

I will be sincerely grateful to everyone for supporting our family.

With faith and hope in the victory of good over evil.

Glory to Ukraine!

Unfortunately, there are thousands of stories like ours.

Always remember, Russia is this terrorist country! They bear the suffering of innocent people

Unfortunately, the youngest son Platon will no longer run around this house and walk near the young garden, like his brothers...