Across Ukraine, millions of people continue to live with the devastating impacts of war. Lidia’s story is a powerful reminder that behind the statistics are families who have lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods, yet remain determined to rebuild their lives with dignity and hope.
Lidia lives in the village of Mospanove in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region with her 87-year-old mother and her 12-year-old granddaughter.
When the full-scale invasion began, the war arrived almost immediately. Rockets flew over their home as fighting raged nearby. For months, the family spent every night in a damp cellar, sheltering from relentless shelling.
“We lived there, slept there every night,” Lidia recalls. “Sometimes we counted 40 strikes, sometimes 48.“
The war stripped away almost everything. The fields around the village were mined, making it impossible to grow crops or gather hay. After the local power substation was destroyed, the community lived without electricity for two years.
From bad, to worse.
One of many destroyed and damaged homes in the Kharkiv Region of Ukraine.
Still, Lidia refused to give up. She tended her garden as best she could, cared for the family’s remaining cow, and found creative ways to preserve milk and butter by lowering it into the cool water of the well.
Then another missile struck.
The explosion destroyed the well, the cellar they were previously hiding in and the family’s outbuildings. It set fire to their vehicle and kitchen where Lidia was bottling, showering Lidia with glass and shrapnel. She still carries fragments of metal in her body today.
The blast also claimed the life of her husband.
Just months earlier, she had lost her son in another attack in a neighbouring town.
Despite unimaginable loss, Lidia remains determined to rebuild. She has slowly repaired parts of her home herself, but the greatest challenges now are preparing for another harsh Ukrainian winter.
“I need firewood,” she says. “And I hope we can repair the house. It will be much warmer if we can insulate it.“
When asked what she would say to people living in peaceful countries, her answer is simple:
I hope they never experience what we went through. I hope they live peacefully, without war, and can live normal lives. That’s the most important thing.
Peaceful skies to them.
As millions of Ukrainians continue to live with damaged homes, ongoing insecurity, and the lasting impacts of war, it is hope for a safer future that carries communities forward.
With your support, ReliefAid can continue helping families repair their homes, prepare for winter, and rebuild what has been lost. Despite years of hardship, the resilience and determination of people like Lidia are a powerful reminder that, with the right support, recovery is possible.
You could help families like Lidia’s by donating to our Ukraine fund.
