“I still have pieces of metal lodged in my leg and spine”

“My name is Elena, I'm 53 years old and I come from the city of Bakhmut. I have a husband, a daughter Yevgenia and an 11-year-old grandson. Today I live in Kamienske, in the Dnipro region. How did I end up here? It's a very long story.

I remember the sound of breaking glass

My family and I were born and grew up in Bakhmut, a magnificent city in Ukraine with more than 450 years of history. I remember, before the war escalated, how good our life was. We had our own flat, a nice car and a job. I was an executive secretary and manager of the marketing department at Artemivsk Electrotechnical Plant. My daughter managed a restaurant.

We stayed in Bakhmut as long as we could, as we had nowhere else to go. The first large-scale attack on the city took place in May 2022 and I still remember the sound of breaking glass and concrete blocks falling from buildings and hitting the ground. I also remember the smell of gunpowder and smoke. We stayed with my family for several months, but the situation was getting worse.

It was like the apocalypse

I remember we used to cook outside. There was no electricity, no gas, no water and no internet. All the shops in the town were closed; there was no medicine, no doctors, nothing. Fortunately, our neighbours were very supportive. There were lots of children, including my grandson who was only 8 at the time. We told them to stay in the shelters, in rooms without windows, to keep them as safe as we could from further bomb attacks. It was like the apocalypse.Then came another major attack during which my husband suffered a stroke. Fortunately, we found people to help us evacuate him and we went to the nearest hospital, in the town of Kostiantynivka, in the Donetsk region. My husband was treated and fortunately, he suffered no serious after-effects. We stayed in this town because he needed regular treatment, and over there, unlike in Bakhmut, there was everything: a hospital, food, internet, and I was even able to start working again so that we could support ourselves.

It was debris from a cluster bomb

Several months later, on 15 March 2023, a huge explosion hit our new house. I remember we were watching television with my husband that night. The windows exploded and the roof collapsed. I was injured. My son-in-law broke curfew to come and get me and take me to hospital. There were pieces of metal in my leg and in my spine. The doctors told me it was debris from a cluster bomb. The pieces of metal are still there today, in my leg and in my spine. Once my health had stabilised, we were able to return to our accommodation. But a few days later, there was another bomb attack in the town centre, near the pharmacy where my daughter had found work.

The doctors said it was a miracle she was alive!

My daughter, Yevgenia, suffered a serious head injury. When we got to the hospital, we were told they couldn't operate on her, so the doctors decided to rush her to Dnipro. I was in the ambulance with her, and I remember the hours of travelling on roads in very poor condition, damaged by missiles and tanks. When we arrived at the new hospital, she was taken straight into the operating theatre. They said it was a miracle she was alive and able to speak after an operation like that. A piece of metal is still lodged in her skull.

Today my daughter is undergoing rehabilitation in a centre in Kyiv with the financial support of Humanity & Inclusion (HI). Thank you so much for reaching out to us and giving us hope. Meanwhile, I'm looking after my grandson. Because of months spent in dark rooms, his eyesight has deteriorated a lot, but we’ve found him glasses and he has been able to go back to school

In Ukraine, who can predict what will happen tomorrow?

Has it been more than 1,000 days already? Today, we need everything, because there is nothing left from our previous life. Clothes, books for my grandson... all the basic things that you need every day.

Fortunately, I’ve been able to find a job again, but it took a long time.

Now at least I can say that my grandson and my daughter live in towns where you can no longer hear the sound of bombs. Of course, you can still hear the sirens, but that’s nothing compared to what we’ve experienced since 22 February 2022. But in Ukraine, who can predict what will happen tomorrow?"

¹Elena was assisted financially under the German Federation Foreign Office (GFFO) project to help physically injured people from explosive weapons to obtain a disability certificate.