A grandmother and mother of two fear that her family living in Ukraine will not survive after the Russian invasion. Olena Berezhnyi, 56, who lives in Nottingham, England, said she could not “keep quiet” because she could not talk to her children living in Ukraine on the Russian border.
Following Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a “special military operation” in the east of the country, Russian ground forces are known to have crossed the Crimean border into Ukraine. Olena said in an interview with a local newspaper Nottinghamshire LiveShe could not “stop the dark thoughts about her” after seeing that the area where her family was was “completely destroyed”.
Their families, including their two children and their 6-year-old granddaughter, live in the small town of Derhasi, about 20 km from the Russian border. I tried to contact them throughout the morning but was told it was ineffective. “I do not know if they are still alive; I do not know what happened to them,” Olena said with terrible fear. “I hope they managed to escape,” he said.
Olena Berezhnyi, 56, said she could not “keep quiet” because she could not speak to her family living on the Russian border (Photo: Reproduction / Glass)
Olena, a cleaner, said she last spoke to her 24-year-old son on Wednesday (23) morning. “They told me they were ready to fight; they were willing to do it for Ukraine. Now I’m scared, I can not keep quiet,” he said. The Ukrainian who saw his land in ruins on television this morning said his grief was beyond words. “I was shocked to see my hometown of Kharkiv destroyed,” he added. “I was asleep when all this happened, and now I do not know where my children are,” she lamented.
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The Ukrainian moved to Nottingham, England in 2004 to care for his grandfather, who was diagnosed with cancer. “I’m depressed, but I know I need to stay calm and work here because I need to earn more money to send my children and help my country. But now my family, my hometown, my country and everything I know,” Announced that.
The bomber struck shortly after noon in the suburbs of Kharkiv, Gramadorsk, Mariupol and the capital, Kiev. “I felt nothing but frustration,” he concluded.
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