Holding onto keys of homes lost to war: The stark reality for many Ukrainians
Before the full-scale war broke out in 2022, Ukraine had a population of 41.2 million. Following February 24, 2022, one in every three Ukrainians was forced to flee their homes. Many now have no home to return to, as Russian shelling and military activities have destroyed approximately 250,000 buildings across the country, the majority of which were homes. Additionally, some areas remain under occupation.
Meduza highlighted the plight of families from Irpin, Chernihiv, and Mariupol, who, two years into the conflict, only have their house keys as a reminder of what they once had.
One story is about Anna and her husband, who are parents to four children and lived in the Chernihiv region before the war. She still has a set of keys, but she's lost track of the rest. They left a set with their neighbours, though she can't recall if they retrieved them.
Anna and her family initially moved to Kyiv, appreciating its proximity to schools, music clubs, forests, rivers, and fields. However, the war upended their lives, forcing them to abandon everything.
On March 11, 2022, they fled our home as shells fell. That morning, they had convinced themselves they were safe and could endure. Then, she witnessed her neighbour's garage blown to pieces. That was the moment she knew they had to leave.
An elderly couple across the street helped her save what remained of her home if it can even be called that. Amid the scarcity, they collected water in barrels and bottles. When a bomb ignited a fire, they managed to douse the flames, preventing them from spreading to their house.
From the apartment, nothing remained
Anastasia and her family from Irpin, in the Kyiv region, faced a similar ordeal. They had a modest 323-square-foot apartment that filled them with joy.
Anastasia shares that they had settled in just three years before the war. Her husband had just remodelled the bathroom, and they planned to buy a large wardrobe for the hallway. Sadly, they never had the chance.
Shortly before the war, Anastasia packed emergency bags and organized important documents. They stocked up on essentials like cereal, oil, and flashlights, never anticipating the war reaching Irpin.
She explains that the fighting came too close; their village saw battles, with the 'defenders' positioned in the nearby forest. That's where the Russian response targeted. Her mother's house, aside from a blown-out window, was spared.
