Above all, love your home and never leave it, even if a war is in your city. Ermenko family lives like this and held on bravely during the fighting that took place on our land. They cooked together on a fire, hided together from the fire and buried together the closest one. Now the girl is convinced that enemies will answer for all their crimes, our victory is inevitable, it cannot be otherwise.

We all were together and believed in our victory

All the time from the beginning of the war our entire family stayed in Bucha. Mom couldn’t leave her native city, because it was her home. She believed in Ukrainian victory. And it will happen.

First, the power went out due to relentless shelling, then the gas ran out. We had enough food thanks to my Mom who always did storage in case of war, no one knew it came in handy. We had enough food also thanks to our evacuated neighbors who gave us their food.

The time of the heaviest shelling we spent in the corridor of our apartment. We tried to go to the cellar at first, but there was only one exit and no ventilation at all, so we decided to hide further in our apartment. Once our neighbor came to us because he was afraid to stay alone.

Russian sniper killed my Mom

When the gas ran out, we started cooking on a fire at my Grandma’s.

On the 24th of March, a month after the war had begun and a week before Bucha freeing the enemy sniper killed my Mom. This russian jerk shot my Mom from a shelter when we were going back home from my Grandma. He was shooting exactly at her because he hit the center of her forehead. My Dad wanted to take her body, but he was taken in for questioning, they searched for swastika on his body, forced him to show the contents of his backpack with thermoses and to drink hot water from them. They put a sack on his head, tied his arms, took him somewhere. Finally they dropped him on the street near “Novus” supermarket. It was a marvel that he could untie his arms and take the suck off his head. He managed to find some people and stay with them overnight, in the morning he was back at Grandma’s. His first question was: “Where is Mom’s body?”

While they were questioning my Dad I fled to my Grandma and told her everything. Together with a neighbor we ran to the place where my Mom was killed but couldn’t take her body.

After all, we negotiated with russians that my Grandpa would take her body.

Next day my Dad was digging the grave all morning. Neighbors came and helped us in any way they could. We buried my Mom in our yard under the oak.

The family is looking for 97-year-old Mykola Tykhonovych

Now we’re safe because Ukraine controls Bucha again. Our house survived, but the neighboring entrance was looted by the occupiers. They lived nearby, so we saw their vehicles and them all the time from our windows.

The occupiers damaged my Great-grandma and Great-grandpa’s house in Irpen, they ruined houses nearby. We lost connection with them. After the de-occupation we looked for them in their house, but it was empty. Only in the middle of April did we find our Great-grandma. As it turned out, volunteers took her to Obukhiv district in Stava city in a women’s boarding house. We have already taken her back to us. After the shock she doesn’t remember anything.

We still don’t know what happened to our Great-grandpa. We hope he’s still alive and lives in a boarding house. They are more than 90-year-old. They have been living together for 70 years. So now we’re looking for our Great Grandpa ― Eremenko Mykola Tykhonovych 1925 year of birth.

My Mom is always with us

We want to do everything possible to testify the fact of the war crime and to restore justice. We don’t need money. If you still want to help with money, you can send it to those who need it ― there is charity for those who suffered and for our army. My Mom’s name was Eremenko Tetiana. I want to remember her smiling and ready to help everyone as she always was. Don’t say that we lost her, she had made for all of us something we can never lose. Take care! All is going to be Ukraine!