“We are from Donetsk. We left for the territory of Ukraine controlled by the government in 2015, settled in Selydove, bought an apartment, started to build a life, and then the war broke out again,” the woman says.

She leads us into the room where she lives with her blind grandmother and her son Andriyko.

“He has a neurological condition. We are in dire straits now,” says Victoria.

The woman tells us how they managed to leave with the help of volunteers, rented an apartment for the first couple of months in the hope that they would soon be able to return home, but then ran out of money.

“I don’t work, I take care of my son and grandmother. So when they offered us a separate room here in the shelter, we were very happy. They help us with Andriy’s treatment, found neurologists and psychotherapists. My son doesn’t have a developed chewing reflex, he only eats baby food ‘Maluk’. He is 5 years old and he is skinny,” says Victoria.

She hopes that the doctors will help and she will finally be able to get a job.

“I spend up to 8,000 hryvnias a month on food for my son. I can’t work – I can’t leave my grandmother and Andriyko. And what to do, I don’t know! It’s cold here, we cover the room with everything we have, but it’s not enough. And we can’t afford to rent a place,” the woman says.