Margaryta Vasylenko was born on 24th May 1990 in the city of Krasnyi Luch, Luhansk region. After graduating from school, Margaryta went to study in Kharkiv where she stayed to live and work. She has a locomotor disability.
Until 24th February 2022, Margaryta Vasylenko worked at the Kharkiv Regional Centre for Physical Culture and Sports for Persons with Disabilities “Invasport” and at the Kharkiv City Centre for Physical Health of Population “Sport for All”. She was also an arm wrestler.
THE BEGINNING
OF THE RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN WAR.
KHARKIV
On the night of 23–24th February, Margaryta fell asleep quite late. So, when she heard explosions at 5 a.m., she could not believe her ears. However, her flatmate told her that a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine has begun.
My flatmate got up. I say: ‘What’s going on?’ He says: ‘The war, I guess’. I smiled: ‘The war? No way. Must be exercises or something like that’ Then, my friends and colleagues started calling and texting me: ‘Can you hear explosions? Or is it just in my area?’ Some kind of roll-call went on”.
At 7 a.m., two of Margaryta’s bosses called and informed her that she did not need to go to work.At about 8 a.m., frequent explosions began.
It’s 8 a.m. and they [the Russians — editor’s note] are still bombing. I already understand that it’s a war”.
It didn’t even occur to the woman that a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine could begin. She believed that the fighting would intensify only in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
I couldn’t even think… I thought it would only be in Donbas, Donetsk and Luhansk regions… I thought that only these are where active fighting would go on. I kept asking my mother: ‘Mom, maybe you should really move to Kharkiv while it is still possible?’ But I didn’t expect it to be countrywide”.
Margaryta decided to get some sleep but the phone was ringing off the hook. Friends and relatives were calling. Her brother insisted on her immediate evacuation. For his sake, she packed her things. But she didn’t want to leave Kharkiv yet.
KHARKIV IN THE FIRST DAYS
OF THE FULL-SCALE INVASION
After a short period of time, the power went out in the area where the woman lived. She moved to her friend’s house in another district. During the air raids and shelling, Margaryta tried to hide in the bathroom.
Every time it started to rattle, I had a feeling, not even fear but when you are sick: fever, cold. Involuntary, I felt cold. And my hands and legs were shaking hard”.
In the first days of the full-scale invasion, there were already huge queues for food and a shortage of everyday goods in Kharkiv.
I remember very long queues. All I managed to buy was an ordinary boiled sausage, a whole kilo. I ate and ate and ate it. I also bought sunflower oil. That’s all, there was nothing else… And in two days, even this shop was closed, pharmacies closed, water arrived for the last time…”.
After it became difficult to buy water, Margaryta decided that she needed to leave the city.
She packed a small bag of things that she could carry herself. She took money, documents, phone and charger, hygiene products, suit, blouse, skirt, tights and socks. And went to the railway station.
EVACUATION
On 5th March, at 10 a.m. Margaryta Vasylenko left by evacuation train from Kharkiv to Lviv. She managed to get on the train through the preferential queue (due to her disability). But a terrible cru of people began.
When I was getting on the train, I nearly lost my travel bag. Because there was such a crowd of people! There was a panic that someone wouldn’t get on, someone wouldn’t have time”.
The train was going to Lviv for about 18 hours. Some of the people spent all this time on their feet.
There were a lot of people on the train. Everyone was standing. Many children were standing. There were many animals: dogs and cats. Everyone was travelling like that. Everyone was silent, we all were travelling in silence — how else could we be feeling? And there was a woman standing with a boy of two or three years old, and he was crying so much. I couldn’t resist and took him in my arms. And for the rest of the way, this boy was sitting on my lap. He was crying, then laughing, then sleeping; then crying, then laughing, then sleeping…”.
LVIV
In the morning of 6th March, the evacuation train in which Margaryta was travelling arrived in Lviv. The first thing she did after getting off the train was to buy water in the store because she hadn’t had anything to drink for almost a day.
At the station, Margaryta started looking for accommodation. At that time, her coach called and suggested she stay in a temporary shelter — in a kindergarten in the village of Murovane near Lviv. She went there.
TEMPORARY SHELTER
In the temporary shelter in Murovane Margaryta Vasylenko was given a bed, food, access to a shared shower, toilet and kitchen. In total, the shelter accommodated up to eight people.After a few days of rest, Margaryta started looking for a side job as a buyer in Lviv. However, there were no such vacant places.
This further reduced the chances of renting an apartment in Lviv where housing prices at that time skyrocketed.The conditions of the shelter in Murovane were quite uncomfortable for the woman. Therefore, at the end of April she moved to a colleague’s rehabilitation centre in the village of Sianky in the Lviv region.
I could not take it anymore. It was very hard to travel like that. There were many children there. It was cold to sleep on the floor. I slept fully dressed: in a winter jacket and two pants… I got sick. Later in Murovane, I got sick again, and I realised that I won’t be able to stand it for long”.
