“They told me: we will not return to Donetsk”

    I now live in Mariupol, but I used to live in Donetsk. Because the war broke out. War is a bad thing. It is constant explosions, it is bombs, it is just a bad thing. 

At first, I did not know at all that it happened because my parents were like, ‘We are going to Mariupol, to have some rest by the seaside.’ We first went for a holiday. Then we went to my aunt Tanya. This is my mother’s sister. And so, we stayed at her place for some time. I thought we were on holiday, and then they told me, ‘We will not return to Donetsk’.

   This is my hometown. My grandmothers, some of my friends, my godmother and godfather live there. It is a very beautiful city and I want to go back there. I really like it there.