The Opimakh Family
The Optimakh family consists of Inna (40 years old), her mother Valentina (62 years old), and her son, Yura (20 years old) and daughter, Victoria (11 years old) Before the war, Inna worked as a salesperson and Yura and Victoria are students. Their home was inherited from Inna’s father and for twenty years it had been their family’s sanctuary. It was a place of warmth and joy until February 24th, 2022. The war seemed unreal until explosions shattered their reality, forcing them to seek refuge in their village’s basement for over a month.
In the midst of chaos, Inna fell seriously ill, prompting her husband, Mykola, to make the tough decision to send his wife and daughter abroad. Through the compassion of volunteers, Inna and Victoria found temporary shelter in the Netherlands among other refugees, but they yearned for home and loved ones. Meanwhile, Mykola and Yura remained in the village, assisting volunteers and soldiers until circumstances compelled Yura to leave in early April, 2023. By the end of May, he returned, only to face the devastating loss of Mykola on August 7th, 2023. Mykola, once a peacekeeper in Iraq and a decorated reconnaissance commander in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, was declared missing, a painful reality for the family.
Adding to their plight, their home was destroyed by occupiers. Upon Inna and Victoria’s return from the Netherlands, they grappled with the harsh truth that life would never be the same without Mykola or their home. They now reside in rented accommodations in Kharkiv. Yura is in training for the National Police and Inna is without employment. They long to return to their village and rebuild their shattered lives there.
What the Homes Look Like
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