A Survivor of Two Consecutive Enemy Attacks: Olena from Mezhova (Dnipro region)
Olena is 73 years old. She spent her entire life in the village of Mezhova in the Dnipro region. After finishing school, she enrolled in Mezhova Technological College, worked as an engineer at a local bakery, and later continued her higher education in Odesa. Together with her husband, she raised their son and shared 45 years of married life.
“In the early 1990s, our family suffered an unbearable loss – our only son died. My husband could not endure this pain. After two strokes, the third one took his life in 2024. That is how I was left completely alone,” Olena recalls.
In September 2025, active hostilities reached Mezhova. The first explosion destroyed her parents’ house. Later that same day, a russian missile struck Olena’s own home. When she ran inside the already burning building to retrieve the most essential belongings, a second blast wave threw her toward a window. Neighbors managed to pull Olena out of the burning house, saving her life.
Everything was lost in the fire – documents, money, clothing. Ukrainian soldiers evacuated the injured woman, who had sustained burns and other injuries, in an armored vehicle to the village of Slovianka. From there, an ambulance transported her to a hospital in Pershotravensk.
After being discharged from the hospital, Olena had nowhere to return to. She was taken to the transit center in Pavlohrad, where she registered for assistance. This marked the beginning of a long and difficult journey – restoring lost documents and searching for a new place to live.
The East SOS team arranged temporary accommodation for Olena at the Center for Social Adaptation for People with Disabilities run by the NGO Ocean of Good. There, she received comprehensive, professional support. Social worker Oksana Akchebash helped Olena restore her passport, identification number, and pension certificate; obtain an IDP certificate and related payments; open a bank account and receive a card; and apply for a foreign passport. Lawyer Alina Steblianko initiated the process of applying for compensation for damaged property through the Diia app. Psychologist Nataliia Natina supported Olena through her grief and helped her emotionally prepare for the next stage of her life.
“After everything I had been through, it was hard for me to even think about the future. But when people appeared beside me – people who not only helped with documents but also simply listened – I began to feel a little lighter every day. Over time, I realized that I could move on,” Olena says.
In December, together with partners from the Barrier Free Foundation, the team found a place for Olena in Denmark that provides inpatient care. After losing her loved ones and her home, and after a long journey to safety, this new place has become a space where Olena can gradually return to a familiar rhythm of life.
East SOS is implementing the project “Protection and Psychosocial Services for People with Limited Mobility and Persons with Disabilities Affected by the War” with the support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).
