Currently, most of the residents of our shelter "PrykhystOK" in Uzhhorod are people who came to Zakarpattia from the Sumy region. The complicated security situation was the main reason for the evacuation of the local population. This decision was made in July 2025 by Iryna Stupak, who left the village of Kosivshchyna with her two young children, 4-year-old Milana and 6-year-old Maksym.

The decision to temporarily leave their home was not an easy one, but the family weighed all the pros and cons, with the constant attacks by enemy drones and explosions of guided bombs being the most convincing arguments.

"During the first three years of full-scale war, we didn’t go anywhere and didn’t even plan to leave our home. At the beginning of the russian invasion, we temporarily moved to my parents’ house in a neighboring village so that we wouldn’t have to stay in shelters with small children, but we returned home after a month. However, the proximity of the russian border and the feeling that the front line was moving in our direction, with constant shelling and explosions nearby, forced me to take the children and go to Uzhhorod", the woman says.

Iryna notes that this was not an escape to nowhere; she knew about our shelter from Sumy residents who were already living there. And the fact that the family was not heading into the unknown gave her confidence when making the decision to evacuate. Like most of the shelter’s residents, Iryna found herself in Uzhhorod for the first time.

"It’s very good here. First of all, I have the opportunity to take my children for walks, because at home, due to constant attacks by "shahids" and air strikes, we couldn’t do that. Through experience, you begin to appreciate these simple opportunities. Yes, the children react to air raid alarms, loud noises, and ambulance sirens, but I explain to them that in Uzhhorod it’s not the same as in Sumy. Here, we try to fill our days with useful and meaningful activities – I take the children to various classes, we explore the city, and I learn about programs for internally displaced persons, because we need to plan for the future, taking into account the security situation. In general, the children don’t let me relax; they are active and inquisitive. Fortunately, there are other children at the shelter, and they all get along well. Overall, a good community and a fairly comfortable atmosphere have formed here. Family concerns relate to the fact that Maksym has to start first grade, and it is not yet clear where this will happen, and Milana needs to be enrolled in kindergarten. These are the issues I am currently dealing with", adds Iryna.

At the last minute, the family changed their plans for the trip to Uzhhorod and left a few days earlier than planned. Subsequently, the train on which Iryna and her children were supposed to travel to Zakarpattia was damaged as a result of russian shelling of the railway station in Sumy. A random coincidence saved our residents. We believe that everything will continue to work out for the best for Iryna and her family, and that "PrykhystOK" will become a place where they can comfortably plan their future and begin to implement their plans.

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At the time of publication, Iryna Stupak had found schools and preschools for her son and daughter in Uzhhorod.

The temporary accommodation facility for internally displaced women and children "PrykhystOK" operates thanks to the project "Mother and Child Home for IDPs in Uzhhorod", which is being implemented by the Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattya in cooperation with "terre des hommes Deutschland e.V.".