The Svyrydenko family celebrated their daughter’s birthday on the skating rink near the Mariupol Drama Theater on February 23. And the next day, the war began. They went to hide in the bomb shelter of the Azovstal plant. At that time, they still didn’t know that the place, which seemed safe at first glance, would, in a few weeks, turn into a real hell.

Food supplies ran out very quickly, the bunker was damp and cold, the children didn’t see the sun for weeks, and the adults were losing hope of getting out alive.

After the long-awaited evacuation, Svitlana and her daughter want to leave for Poland, because she is afraid of living through all the horrors of war again.