Mariia

“

The war came suddenly. Everybody was panicking and didn't know what to do. We wanted to believe that the full-scale invasion would not happen and that I would go to school the very next day. Unfortunately, that never happened... I stayed in the basement for almost the entire occupation; my parents did not allow me to go out. They saw Russian soldiers sneaking into other people's yards, stealing their cars and belongings. My parents didn't want to give the occupiers anything that could help them commit their crimes.

They decided to leave the city to save our lives, as well as our grandma's.

We packed our belongings in panic under the threat of airstrikes. The planes and helicopters were humming above our heads. Unfortunately, we did not take some very important things: photos full of our memories, books I loved so much, and things with Ukrainian symbols. However, we took some tools, and with their help, Dad was later able to repair our car – when we were leaving, the projectile fragments cut our tires. We stood near the broken military equipment, and Russians were running around because they didn't want us to give away their positions. It was scary because they could have done anything with us but let us leave.

Only having reached the city of Dnipro did we feel safe. Our road passed through Mariupol and a village occupied to this day.

Mom's hands were shaking, everybody was scared, the warehouses were on fire, and we could hear the shelling around us.

In Dnipro, I realised I began to fear different sounds. I had a hard time during the shellings because they would remind me of Mariupol. This is why we went to Poland after a few months.

I used to write down the events from my life to reflect on the past and see what I had accomplished.

Due to the war, I started keeping a diary because I didn't know whether I would be able to see my acquaintances again or survive until then.

This diary is more of a documentary to remember those events as a part of history. That whole country is to blame for this. If some people did not give commands and others did not follow them, our house would be intact, and we wouldn't have had to go anywhere.

Although I am currently not in Ukraine, I take all the events happening there close to my heart. That is why I need acquaintances who can genuinely understand, listen, and offer support. Even my dreams have changed – I want the war to end as soon as possible and such horror to never happen again.