This is the day that Russia invaded my native Ukraine, and all Ukrainians will always remember it.
Life for us is split into “before” and “after” the war.
In reality, we were aware of Russia’s plans as early as November 2021.
After that, the possibility that they would invade Ukraine was frequently mentioned in the media and on social media, which made me feel worried and anxious.
I had a hard time getting ready for it.
A common expression among friends and family was the ‘anxiety suitcase’, which was the bag you kept ready in case of invasion. People often discussed how they might get out from under rubble if the worst happened.
‘Nothing is off the table’ when it comes to support for Ukraine says Sunak
Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 5:53
But I – like most Ukrainians – did not believe that war would actually come.
The night before it happened, I was in my home in the western part of Ukraine – the city of Lviv – choosing gifts for my birthday in early March and planning the celebration. In just a few hours, that all lost relevance.
Each of us has a frozen image in our head of that terrible morning, which was accompanied by the sounds of explosions and sirens.
For me, that day began with calls from my friends and the dreadful phrase: ‘The war has begun.’ All my subsequent actions were chaotic.
I ran to the pharmacy because I wanted to buy first aid medicine and pain relief, but when I got there at 9am, there were already long queues and empty shelves.
Still not understanding the seriousness of the situation, I went into work that day – as a manager of a national cheese-producing company – by public transport, which was crowded with passengers carrying large suitcases and confusion in their eyes.
Even though all my colleagues came in that day, it was not productive at all – we just kept reading the news. When it was time to clock out, we received a message from our manager saying that he understood if people needed to leave Ukraine because it was too dangerous to continue living in Lviv.
Several people confirmed they were resigning, but I was not one of them. I was not ready to go anywhere and leave my parents. My dad could not leave the country because he was of military age.
In the first few weeks, I was afraid to go to bed so as not to miss the air raid sirens. The fear was so strong that I got under the covers in my clothes and was always ready to run.
I continued to go to work, but my daily routine changed a lot – there were no more catch-ups with friends in cafes, trips to the cinema, or other pleasant things. Some of my friends lost their jobs, while others had to relocate.
It was safer in Lviv, but of course not completely. There was no respite anywhere in Ukraine as rockets would fly into my city. In fact, one morning, I woke up to see my house shaking from an explosion nearby, which absolutely terrified me.
After Russia was pushed out of cities such as Bucha and Irpin in April, we saw terrible photos of murdered civilians and people tortured to death. It felt like a horror movie had come to life.
But in the middle of this pain, something appeared that I don’t think we had before – all the people in the country became one.
We were all united by grief and a common goal. We volunteered, wove camouflage nets – green nets that the army needed to mask military equipment – pensioners gave all their savings to the army, and children made jewellery and sold it.
Everyone worked together and no one was left behind.
In this terrible situation, I was impressed not only by the Ukrainians, but also by the British. We heard the incredible news that they were opening their homes to Ukrainians and were ready to host us.
I understand the worries that British people could feel inviting complete strangers to their home with different values and culture, but this did not stop them.
So after 10 months of war in Ukraine, I decided to save my mental health and use the sponsorship programme.
Finding a sponsor and compiling all the relevant documents was very simple. However, the physical road to the UK was difficult because there are no planes flying from Ukraine – I had to get to Poland first.
Leaving home was very sad and painful because I didn’t know if something would happen in Lviv and I’d never see my relatives again. All my relatives are still in Ukraine because they believe we’ll win the war soon.
I arrived in England on 19 December.
From my experience, I can say that the British are people with incredible empathy, kindness, and their help is not limited to providing housing – they do much more for us.
I live in Tonbridge, Kent, with a young couple, Jamie and Molly.
In addition to providing housing, they’ve given me moral support. In the early days, they were always there for me to help with documents, but also invited me to celebrate a British Christmas with their families.
How can you not believe in a miracle after that?
I found a job in Kent that packs and ships stationary, so I work with a great team. I’m glad to be safe but I don’t know what my future will look like and we don’t know when the war will end so I can’t make any plans.
Over the last year, the Ukrainian people became very strong.
We began to appreciate every day because we saw how quickly and suddenly it can be taken away from us. We looked death in the eye, but we continue to believe in the victory of good over evil.