‘I’ve run out of tears’: Ukrainian mother flees but vows to return

Ukrainian Yulia Yanchar takes a selfie with others as they take shelter during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in this undated photo in Khotyanivka near Kyiv, Ukraine. Yulia Yanchar/Handout via REUTERS

KHOTYANIVKA, Ukraine — Yulia Yanchar hopes that she and her family will return to the new home they were forced to abandon on Saturday as war came to their village just north of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

“We lived in rented flats for 10 years in order to build our house. And now, finally, we were moving in. And we were excited about every picture we hung on the wall,” Yanchar, who works as a PR director in a charity fund, told Reuters.

“And now we just have to leave it all behind and go because bombs can fall here, because tanks can drive through our streets.”

A few days ago, as Russia pushed ahead with its invasion of Ukraine, a missile exploded in the air above the village located near the Dnieper River and a piece struck a house a few streets away, starting a fire, Yanchar said.

“Then it was really scary for everyone.”

Yanchar’s six-year-old daughter Eva has tried to keep focused on normal life.

“We will not be afraid of the fight, we will not hide, we will not be scared of the bombs, we will not be scared of anything,” said Eva in a video recorded for social media.

But Yanchar eventually decided it was too risky to stay at home.

“We are constantly monitoring all the news. I have just run out of tears to cry,” she said. “I really hope that we will survive, because we have just unbelievable people. We have people who are ready to take down tanks with their hands.”

Yanchar said she would return to Khotyanivka one day.

“I believe that we will not lose our country, and I believe that we will be living in our country, and I believe that we will be fine and I will plant on my property all those spruces that I’ve been dreaming of.”

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