11-year-old Anhelina has lost her relatives and friends in Mariupol. Her grandfather Hryhorii was killed by shrapnel near the entrance to their house. Her friend Polina and her family were killed by a missile that hit their house, and Anhelina’s friend Ania died under the rubble when a multi-story building collapsed. Her classmate Andrii found a shiny object… and a mine exploded in his hands. Anhelina and her mother left Mariupol after the city was razed to the ground. They found a temporary shelter in a module settlement in Bucha. The girl terribly misses her granddad: he replaced Anhelina’s father, who died when Anhelina was just a little girl.

My name is Anhelina, and my last name is Balakireva. I am from Mariupol. When my granddad was still alive, I was at home. I was the first to hear some explosions. I thought that it was fireworks, that someone shot fireworks, so I said, “Grandpa, look, there are fireworks.” He looked and saw a building on fire in the distance, in the long distance, and something was flying in the sky.

He said straight away, “Everyone, go to the corridor and hide under the table.” We moved everything to the corridor. We had some towels there, and also blankets and pillows, and we slept in the corridor. It was impossible to stay there overnight, as it was freezing. My granddad went to… We had the other apartment in the first section of our buildings, and it was my mom’s sister’s apartment. He went there, and some Chechens were there. They talked on the radio and were detected, and a shell was fired at their location. My granddad was killed by the shrapnel. It happened just next to the stairs leading to our entrance door. He was just like a father to me. We touched our fists to say hello.

I remember how we did it. I also remember that I had a friend, her name was Polina. She had a younger brother, older brother, older sister, mother, and father. Their house (they lived in a private residence) was hit by a missile, and all of them were killed, and only her baby brother survived. I also had another friend, Ania. They were hiding in a nine-story building. They were buried under the rubble when the building collapsed. A missile hit their house, and it collapsed.

My classmate Andrii found a shiny object when he was walking through the courtyard. He did not know that it was a mine. He picked it up, and it exploded in his hands. We went to school together from the first to the fifth grade. All those friends were killed.

Many other children died there, and my other friends also died. It has changed me because I started smiling less. I rarely… If someone tries to make me laugh, I will not laugh.