Ukraine: A survivor’s story

Irina*, 60, lived in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. Her life changed completely after what was supposed to be a quick errand turned into a horrific ordeal. Irina shares, “It was the morning of April 6, when I went to the grocery store to get bread.” As she returns to the place in her memory where the events of that day are stored, tears well up in her eyes. She says she had no idea that she would find herself in the centre of a bombing. The terrible explosion left her momentarily unconscious and as she came out of a haze of darkness, she found herself on the ground. There was a huge fire blazing and her legs were injured, but Irina felt no pain or fear–she was in shock. She and several other people who were injured in the explosion were taken to the hospital in an emergency bus.

“I was lying on the floor of the bus and they bandaged my injured legs. They had no medicine. A lady was lying next to me. She succumbed to severe injuries. They did not have time to transport her to the hospital. She left behind her daughter, only 12 years old,” cries Irina.

At the hospital, doctors worked on Irina’s legs, but her left leg was so badly injured they had to amputate it. The hospital was overcrowded with the wounded, mainly soldiers, and so Irina was discharged after only six days.

The bombing did not cost Irina her leg alone, it cost her her home too. The entire area where she lived was reduced to a wasteland of mangled buildings and rubble. So Irina had to seek refuge in Lviv, in a religious building that had been turned into an asylum since the hostilities in Ukraine escalated in late February 2022. In this building many other people who have been displaced by the conflict have been provided with shelter, food, water, and basic hygiene items.

Irina has an adult son and daughter who both live in an area that has been occupied by Russian troops. She worries about them, but the area where they live has had no power and limited cell phone reception.

World Renew has been supporting the onground work of an Integral Alliance peer member in the region. “We decided to help Irina,” they told us. “We cannot influence many things. However, we will try to improve her life so that she can walk again and become more independent.”

They have been working to have Irina fitted with a prosthetic leg, they said. “The first step will be a visit to a specialized facility for orthopedic prosthetics in Slovakia [to arrange for] the manufacture of a custom-made left leg prosthesis. We would also like to provide her with rehabilitation, which [will mean] temporary accommodation in Slovakia.”

The needs of the people impacted by the conflict in Ukraine go beyond food, water, and shelter. Many have physical and emotional scars, like Irina. Please pray for healing for those who have lived through bombings and for those who have witnessed suffering. In recent days the people in Lviv have endured escalating hostilities. Pray for God’s provision for those left displaced and for the safety of those working to provide emergency aid. Pray too for God’s peace in Ukraine and in all countries around the world where conflict robs people of food, water, safety, and so much more.

*Name has been changed to protect identity