In the beginning of February 2022, Olya was back in Ukraine, in the North Saltivka district of Kharkiv. She was visiting her parents in Tsyrkuny, a small village about 25 km from the Russian border, home to approximately 6,300 Ukrainians before the Russian invasion. Olya was back home with her family, sharing the good news that she was five months pregnant. She had moved to the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea to live with her Ukrainian husband, whom she had known since childhood. He had migrated to Denmark more than a decade before.
The Family Escaped Alive
In the late evening of February 23rd, 2022, Olya was back in Denmark when her best friend called from Ukraine, expressing her fear of war breaking out. Olya explains how she went to bed that night after ending the conversation by saying, “I think everything will be fine.” Only hours later, she found out that the war had started, and she was now desperately trying to get in touch with her parents, who faced the invasion in its first hours. “It was a very, very scary day for me because I didn't have any connection with them for 12 hours,” Olya recalls, becoming emotional and trying to hold back her tears.
It would take more than a year after the invasion before Olya was told the full story of their flight, as it was too difficult for her parents to talk about. Her mother, father, sister, her sister’s husband, and their dogs managed to flee Tsyrkuny in one car. Olya’s father had removed the few belongings that were put in the trunk and left them behind to make space for petrol for the car.
Olya
I found out that the Russians came into our house one hour after they left… One hour…
They had barely escaped, as there was a short window in the fighting where it was possible to leave the village on one road. No one knew if it was friends or enemies at the checkpoint, and by then the Russians were already killing civilians randomly. With a fragile voice, Olya says, “I found out that the Russians came into our house one hour after they left… One hour…” Olya is clearly affected. “... and they settled in our house and were living there for three months.” The Russian forces set up a base, and neighbours later told how the Russians were looting and destroying the house her parents had built some years before. “It's painful for me to see how my parents lost everything. The house was like my mother’s soul. She made so much effort to make everything as she liked, and it was the house of their dreams, but not anymore,” Olya continues. The house was later severely damaged when the Ukrainian Defense Forces drove the enemy out of the village. “Luckily, my family escaped alive,” Olya states.
A leap of faith
“I don't know how the universe is working, but I just found out from a friend how connected we are,” Olya says. More saddening details surfaced last fall when a friend called Olya to pour out his heart, overwhelmed with grief. He had lost a close friend. As Olya asked questions about his friend, it turned out the young fallen soldier was the same person who had saved the lives of Olya’s family on the day of the invasion. He was the one who let them pass the checkpoint on the road out of Tsyrkuny. “...actually, what he did, he gave my family the opportunity to escape,” Olya explains, shaken. The soldier’s name was Kolya Bobryshov (Boreman). He was 25 years old when he was killed in October 2023. Talking about Boreman's death leads her thoughts to another person Olya knew who was killed only a month ago by a Russian rocket. His name was Alex, and he was a civilian who died at the age of 45. Olya ends by saying, “I was thinking, was he suffering? How did it happen? And from people I know, they say he died at once.”
Bad signs
On May 10, 2024, the Russian Armed Forces began a new offensive against the Kharkiv Oblast, taking control of new lands, among others attacking Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, on a daily basis. “Many friends and people I know in Kharkiv are still there; they are under attack every day, every single day. And I respect their choice to stay … it's difficult because they accept the fact that they can die every day,” Olya is about to conclude on the current situation after years of ongoing war. She addresses the increase in Ukrainian refugees since late spring and the summer of 2024. “On Bornholm, I see new people arriving … One year ago I was thinking, okay, people are starting to move back to Ukraine, so maybe it's going to be okay. But now I can see the new wave of Ukrainians coming ... And probably more and more people will be coming. It's a very bad sign,” she explains.
Olya
It is a huge price that we pay.
Looking back or thinking about the future is not easy for Olya. Like so many fellow Ukrainians, she hopes for the war to end sometime soon, but at the same time, hope seems to fade. “I believe in it. I believe in it, but it will not be easy. It will not be easy because Ukraine pays a huge price for the many people who die - kids, women, elderly, and men. It is a huge price that we pay.” Olya then talks about the future of Ukraine. “I understand that after the war ends, these years will be very difficult to rebuild Ukraine.” Olya especially refers to the challenges in the divide between Ukrainians and the enormous amount of war-related psychological trauma that needs to be dealt with in the healing process.
Life is now
Recently, when looking at her two-year-old son, Olya realised that life is happening right now. She then decided not to put her life on pause anymore. As she puts it, she wants to make as many good childhood memories for her son as possible. “Being an adult, you remember your childhood. I want to make his childhood unforgettable … I just can't put it [life] on pause anymore, so I choose to live,” Olya explains and continues: “Now there is no special occasion because every day is a good day. Okay, it's challenging. Okay, sometimes it's not easy. But this is my life now. I don't know how it will be in five years. I have no idea. Because five years ago, none of us could imagine what would happen.”
Olya
I'm super lucky to be here. I'm super lucky to raise my child in a safe place.
Olya stresses her gratitude to everyone helping the people of Ukraine, the importance of continuous support from the international community, and in particular, how thankful she is for how the local society has welcomed the Ukrainians. “I'm super lucky to be here. I'm super lucky to raise my child in a safe place,” Olya says.
Before ending the interview, Olya is asked if she wants to give advice to the world. “I'm not so wise and experienced in giving advice…” Olya pauses and then bursts out, “You know what, tell people you love that you love them, because you never know when it will be the last day. Just tell them. You know, sometimes you mean it, you can sense it, you can feel it. But tell them. Tell important things to people you love. You won't regret it. We live as if we will never die, but we all will sooner or later.”
Olya has a master's degree from a university in Ukraine, and she worked in management and accounting before migrating to Denmark. Today, she is a single parent. She and her son live with Olya’s mother and their three dogs, and Olya works as a cleaner locally on Bornholm. Olya’s father is still in Ukraine, supporting the army and civilians as a volunteer. Her sister, who is an artist, lives between Budapest and London. The Kharkiv Oblast and city are still undergoing daily Russian bombardments as of the writing of this article.
Voices of the future
Portraits & stories by Martin Thaulow
Translations Ukrainian Katerina Chalenko
Stories in English Amalie Pi Sørensen
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