“My children and I were hiding under the beds in the bomb shelter while Russian tanks had been destroying our city” – these are the memories of Iryna, the mother of two sons, about the most terrible night in their lives.

That day, the underground shelters of three churches in Sviatohirsk were fully packed to the brim with hundreds of frightened Donetsk residents: women and children, grandmothers and grandfathers. In one of those bomb shelters was the Belikov family with 8-year-old Oleksiyko and 3-year-old Yehor. Hiding under their beds, adults, and children could feel the ground and walls shaking from Russian bombs. And mother Iryna couldn’t get the thought out of her head that this night would be the last for her family.

Suddenly, right during the shelling, Russian soldiers started hitting on the door of the shelter. “The children are here!” mothers shouted to the invaders, but the Russian soldiers did not want to hear them. “After unsuccessful attempts, they threw something directly into our room, and at that moment my whole consciousness choked with panic, I became afraid for the children. The first thought is a grenade, and it is about to explode,” Iryna thinks back to the horridness of that night.

Fortunately, it was a large iron wreck, which the Russians left behind for some reason.

In three days, the Belikov family, along with other residents of Sviatohirsk, went outside and could not believe their eyes: everything around them was in ruins. Even the cross and the church’s dome where the family was hiding fell to the ground. It still seems like it isn’t reality, but an unsuccessful shooting day of some terrible movie. So shocking were these “scenery”.

After the hell they experienced, the family contacted Save Ukraine rescuers from the Luhansk hub, who helped them evacuate to Lviv and provided the necessary support. Iryna continued to thank our volunteers for this help. Although the mother is indescribably worried about the state of her sons, the family doesn’t lose faith and steps into a new life with the thought of a free Ukraine.