We would like to tell you another story of the residents of our temporary accommodation facility for IDPs "PrykhystOK" in Uzhhorod. Meet the Mikhedkin family – mother Tetyana and her twins, 12-year-old Sonya and Kyrylo, from Kharkiv.

"We left our home for the first time in early March 2022, in the first days of the full-scale war. Our friends helped us leave Kharkiv, and we ended up in Mukachevo in Zakarpattia. There we were accommodated in a social institution. As soon as we had the opportunity, we returned home, where we stayed until May 2024", says Tetyana Mikhedkina.

The deteriorating security situation forced them to leave their native Kharkiv for the second time. The family moved back to Zakarpattia, but this time to Uzhhorod, where they had the opportunity to use social housing.

"The beginning of the war was scary, but then the situation got even worse. We lived on the 8th floor, and from there we could hear the "Shaheds" and how they were being shot down. Then the first thought came that we had to leave again. And when the enemy started dropping guided aerial bombs on the city, it accelerated our decision. So we ended up in Zakarpattia again, settled in a social apartment in Uzhhorod. When our residence period expired, we were helped to find this shelter", says Mrs. Tetyana. 

The woman continues to work remotely as a marketer, and her children study in their classroom, but also online. 

"It’s hard to plan anything when you don’t know where you’ll be tomorrow. I really want my children to go to school full-time, but I don’t know where exactly this will happen. Now they continue online learning at their school, and swimming lessons have resumed in Uzhhorod. Their social circle consists of IDP peers whom they met in our places of residence and members of their swimming team. My surroundings are also internally displaced persons. I go in for sports with some of them because I need to keep fit, and I continued my studies with some of them. Thanks to various programs, I managed to improve my skills in my specialty and master digital marketing", adds Tetyana Mikhedkina.

Despite the fact that it is really difficult to plan anything now, the Mikhedkin family has made up their minds to stay in Ukraine. First of all, the children do not want to go abroad, so for now the family stays in Zakarpattia and waits for peaceful life to return to their native Kharkiv.

On the day we recorded this interview, Kharkiv was once again hit by russian shelling – a residential high-rise building was hit, killing three residents and injuring more than 30 people.