‘She’s still lying in her bed’ Snapshots of how Russia’s war turned the lives of elderly Ukrainians upside down

“My name is Viktoria, I’m from the city of Rubizhne [in the Luhansk region of Ukraine]. In 2014, we were forced to leave the city because of hostilities: my parents took me, my brothers, and sister to Russia. The rest of my relatives and loved ones stayed in Rubizhne. 

Now, almost eight years later, I understand that what’s happening in the city can’t be compared to 2014. My father’s mother and sister were able to get out of Rubizhne a few weeks ago. They spoke of corpses in the streets; about how the courtyards of my city were turned into small cemeteries; about my next door neighbor who was also buried in the courtyard; about looting; about [their] destroyed building; about evacuation under constant shelling and crossing a destroyed bridge on the way to Starobilsk. 

At the moment, my grandmothers are still in Rubizhne — Tatyana, who was born in 1951, and Evgenia, who was born in 1927, as well as my grandfather Vladimir (on my mother’s side), who was born in 1949. Two days ago we received a goodbye message that said their barn was on fire, that they were unable to carry Grandma Zhenya [Evgenia], and that they didn’t know if they’d be saved. They wrote: ‘Farewell.’ I don’t know if they’re still alive or if I’ll see them again.”

“Grandma Tatyana and Grandpa Vladimir escaped, they were able to evacuate on April 14. Grandma Zhenya is gone. She died of hunger and dehydration. She’s still lying in the house: in her room, in her bed.”