photo: roman kaiman
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Nadiya Bedrina, a 34-year-old woman from Kharkiv, and her five-year-old son Platon has been evacuated to Lviv when Kharkiv became a dangerous place. She has been living and working in Lviv for more than two and a half months, and her son goes to a local kindergarten. The woman’s story was shared by the press service of the Lviv City Council.
Nadiya Bedrina chairs the Department of Audiovisual Art at the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts. In the first days of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the administration of this educational institution decided to move to a safer place.
«Since 2014, we’ve had time to think about what to do if there is a war in our hometown. I always understood that if the war came to Kharkiv, my son and I would have to be evacuated. On February 24, we woke up to the sound of shelling and immediately «moved» to the bomb shelter. On the second day of the war, a missile fell just 4 meters from us. Fortunately, it did not break and just stuck in the asphalt, but we were still extremely scared. We spent 5 days in Kharkiv in a bomb shelter, but it was very difficult for my son, so I decided to leave. We managed to drive home for some items and on March 3, we arrived in Lviv (we left Kharkiv on March 1),» – the woman said.
At first, Nadiya and Platon, along with friends, stopped at the home of their acquaintances. But after a while, the owners returned and the woman started looking for a new home. Thanks to her work, she managed to find a place in the dormitory of the Lviv School of Computer Technology and Construction.
«We were received here very warmly: we have free lunches every day, the school staff helps us find clothes, dishes, household chemicals, there is an opportunity to play sports with coaches for free. We feel extremely strong support, so I immediately got acquainted with the school administration, told them that I am a designer and can help with something. We are currently working in this direction, it may be possible to hold some classes for students of this educational institution,» – the woman said.
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Since the Kharkiv Academy, Nadiya’s workplace, has moved to Lviv, the woman has the opportunity to continue working full time. Her son goes to one of the private kindergartens in Lviv.
«It was difficult for my son during the first days. Every night, he talked about his longing for Kharkiv, for his cat, who stayed there with his grandparents. Perhaps, there was also discomfort due to the language barrier, because we spoke Russian at home. Now, I speak Ukrainian everywhere, Platon does not yet. But I don’t put pressure on him, because he had a lot of stress anyway, so everything will come in some time,» – the Kharkiv resident said.
The woman communicates daily with her relatives, friends and colleagues who stayed in Kharkiv and knows what the situation is there. She says most residents stayed in their homes and did not leave, even when the enemy army was in Kharkiv.
«Our house survived, everything remained in place in the apartment, although for the first 2 months, we did not know what was happening there. Then, our relatives managed to get to our apartment to collect and hand over some things. I’m sure I’ll be home, it’s only a matter of time. It may not be as fast as we would like, but it will,» – she added.
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It will be recalled that Ukrainians who have left the war zone can receive cash payments from the state at the railway station in Lviv.
Translated by Vitalii Holich
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