My dear friends and friends of friends,

As many of you know, the war in Ukraine has devastated the country and has taken many lives.

Sadly, my friend Olya's son, Kiril died in battle on the 10th of Feb 2023 near the city of Vuhledar, bravely defending his country, his people and their freedom. He was 21 years old.

Back in March of 2022, when I met Olya in Budapest, she was fleeing her hometown of Irpin in the face of an impending invasion of Kyiv. The city of Irpin had been almost completely annihilated by the Russian invasion on their way to try to take Kyiv.

In one of the missile attacks, Olya's cousin was killed, her uncle was injured, and her house was completely destroyed. She returned to Irpin in May 2022, not long after the city had been liberated.

Olya's son, Kiril had already been fighting then. He had been fighting from the first day of the war, defending his country.

After her son's death, Olya needed a change. I invited Olya to come to Australia (on a "tourist" visa which we organised for her back in 2022). Olya arrived in Melbourne on the 25th of March and is now staying with me in my apartment.

Olya is very happy to be here, in Australia. She is hoping to be able to settle here for good and to start a new chapter of her life here, in Melbourne.

Any amount of money that you might be able to donate, would be greatly appreciated and would help her immensely at this early stage of her trying to re-settle in a new country.

(If you feel that you may be able to help Olya in other ways, please reach out to me or directly to her via her Facebook page (Olga Grace). She is open to any advice/help/suggestions/work opportunities/English language courses/help with visa.

Thank you very much!

Maria