‘The children were helping to drive the cows and a burst of automatic weapons occurred. Our daughter was wounded’

Yevgen Zolkin, father, 37 years old:

On 11 February 2015, the village was shelled and a shell landed in our yard. It exploded and the kitchen was badly damaged. The wall fell out and the windows in the house were damaged. We were at home, sitting in the bathroom. Nobody was injured, thank God.

The windowpanes shattered everywhere. I went out and I thought that the gas pipe was damaged, but it turned out that the wheel tyres on the car were making a hissing sound. Dust was everywhere, and we could not understand anything.

I went to cut off the gas. There was no power supply. A terrible situation. The main thing was that everyone was safe and sound. We were lucky that it was not a direct hit. A two-story house near the school was also damaged. There, a shell hit the roof.

Oksana Zolkina, mother, 34 years old:

Neither in our village nor in the neighbouring village there has been a case that a civilian suffered. Our Karina was the only victim. You just ask yourself a question: why us?

Our daughter Karina was visiting her grandmother in the neighbouring village, Paskovo. In the evening, the grandmother called saying that Karina was wounded. This was something indescribable. First, it was a shock and then tears, surely.

The children were helping their grandmother to drive the cows. There were three kids going. A burst of automatic weapons sounded and a bullet came. Our daughter was wounded right in her thigh. We went to the hospital. We were at once asked to explain what had happened. We said: firearms. They called a military doctor, brought in surgeons, brought everyone in. And I was staying in the hospital with her. We spent almost three weeks there with her.

Then we were contacted by the Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center and offered help with rehabilitation. We agreed. We were checked out from the hospital and stayed at home for some time. And then we went to the sanatorium for rehabilitation. The sanatorium was very good. They really liked it there. I would not be able to afford it because it is very expensive. She went there with her dad. I couldn't go because of my work. They were very pleased. She called from there and she sounded just happy. The sea was nearby, excursions. They liked it. Thank you so much!

When we were in the hospital, there was a case that somebody placed a plastic bottle into fire and a sort of a little explosion happened. She was scared and started crying: ‘Mom, let's go back to the ward.’ We were on a walk outside then. Now she is not afraid of this. We can say that she has completely recovered. They cured her.