My name is Hanna Mykolayivna Korotyuk. I was born in 1947.

I have lived in this home since 1987. I am here as a supervisor for everything in our apartment complex.

In our block now, approximately 8 families live. The others who could have left.

It was suggested that we leave to Khmelnitskiy oblast, but to rent an apartment there you need money. The apartments there are very expensive.

Staying in Kherson was my decision. I decided to stay. Home is better than being somewhere else.

It was scary. I didn't expect this from the Russians. We knew that they are a little bit...crazy, but not this much! With them here it was very frightening.

They were everywhere. Running everywhere, shooting everywhere. Running in the houses, and at the market. But we didn't go there a lot. We bought stuff and went straight home.

But home was also scary. I kept thinking, how should I behave if they come to me? Should I open the door, or is it better not to? How do I talk to them? The way they behaved was scary. Especially when the Chechens arrived. They felt like they owned the place.

“I waited until our army came. When they arrived, we were happy. We danced and had fun, everything was here, at Independence Square. And for one week it was all right.

Then the shelling started.”

As for the house, you have to understand, I didn't even know what was happening. I was in the kitchen. And then in one second, BOOM! Glass was flying and also some kind of sphere flew through the room. And then one more in another direction. It was terrifying, everything was rattling and making noises. Everything around was falling. Everything was flying: windows, doors, everything.

There was noise everywhere.

There is not a single day without noise, here or there, or there, everywhere. All around the district.

You know, now we remember how it was, but part of it is forgotten.

We were trying to stay warm. When there was no electricity, we were starting bonfires and cooking. We warmed our tea outside.

Everyone who lived here joined; we set bonfires, cooked, and made tea.

We went to each other's homes.

We supported each other.

Things were like this.

Sometimes we have very strong frosts, -25, -28, or even -30 degrees. Without heating, it's horrible.

When it is cold, as we say, "you don't know where to stick your head" to warm yourself. When we had electricity, we used a convector. We switched it on, so at least some warmth would be inside. But it is broken now.

When there was no electricity, we were without anything: no electricity, no water, no gas, nothing. We have electrical stoves, so we sat outside and burned small wood sticks to warm our tea and cook some soup. And that's all.

Staying inside in such cold for three months is horrible. The situation in my apartment is a little bit better, but some people have walls covered in mold. I had the same, but I ventilated the room, took everything outside to the sun to dry.

It was horrible, of course! We were sick a lot, but what can you do? That's how we survived the winter. Thank God we did.

Of course, I am worried about [the next] winter, how can't I be? It will be cold. It will be the same, with coats and boots.

But what can you do? We've survived one winter and I think we will survive one more.

The emotional part of the situation was that such "saviors" came to us. We were afraid that they could come into our houses. They felt like they were our owners.

But we think that they will be gone soon, so we will live and flourish. And we will rebuild everything.

If I am alive till it happens, I want to live until then, until they are pushed from here. As we say, "so they will be pushed to Solovki, beyond the seas, beyond the oceans.

But we will see.

I want to live until victory, I want to see it.

I want peace to come quickly.

I want my children to come back so that all people can return and families be together again, and everything would be good.

I wish everyone will come back soon.

We will rebuild everything that was destroyed. What else can we do?

We will work, despite the enemies.