Ukrainian Refugee Maryna Recalls 2-Week Ordeal Fleeing War

Chronicle.lu recently sat down with Maryna Tsyplonok, a 37-year-old war refugee from Volnovakha, a city located in the Donetsk Oblast close to the disputed border of Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine, and currently a temporary protection beneficiary in Luxembourg, to discuss her family’s escape from the war in Ukraine and their new life in Luxembourg.

Svitlana Keane, a Luxembourg resident, voluntarily translated Maryna's story from Ukrainian to English.

Although it happened nearly eight months ago, Maryna vividly recalled the fateful day of 24 February 2022, when she and her family woke up to the sounds of bombs at 05:30 in the morning. However “they were familiar sounds to us”, said Maryna. She explained that Volnovahka, a city of about 20,000 inhabitants, although not directly bombed in 2014, is only 60 km from the city of Donestk, where heavy fighting erupted in 2014. Maryna knew that there were many Ukrainian military units close to the border with DPR at that point and Maryna and her family decided not to leave their home. She remembered that the war in Georgia in 2008 lasted only five days and thought that the bombings would blow over soon as well. “It was a wrong decision”, regretted Maryna. “It is one thing to hear bombs exploding in the distance and it is a completely different experience to feel the ground shaking from explosions”.

Maryna, her three children, aged six to fourteen, her husband, Denys Tsyplonok, and her mother-in-law spent three days and nights in the cellar, shaken and panicked by occasional bombings nearby. Without internet and with very little information about what was happening outside, and by then running low on supplies, Maryna came across a Ukrainian soldier who suggested leaving as soon as possible. They obliged, as they no longer had gas, electricity or water. Maryna’s brother and his wife and two children, and Maryna’s parents, agreed to leave together as well. Maryna, now in a group of twelve (seven adults and five children) reached the Volnovaha city administration building, which had a bigger and safer cellar than her house. There were a total 40 people sheltered in the cellar where Maryna and her family spent two nights. The sounds of shooting and bombings did not stop. All the cars were shelled and the roads were destroyed. Maryna and others were in panic and realised that they could not leave the cellar anymore. The crowded cellar started to become increasingly unhygienic.

On Wednesday 2 March 2022, a couple of Ukrainian soldiers came down into the cellar and announced that there was a bulletproof military vehicle waiting outside, with enough space to transport up to 30 people, and they had to evacuate right then if they wished to go. 20 people agreed to leave, including Maryna and eleven of her family members.

Later, Maryna came across a video posted on social media, which showed her neighbourhood completely destroyed, including her house, which had been completely burned down. The video reported that the houses had been destroyed on 1 March 2022. On 12 March 2022, the Governor of Donetsk Oblast stated that Volnovaha had been completely destroyed.

Maryna’s group travelled from one town to another for the next few days when it was safe, abroad different military and voluntary vehicles, including a seven-seater van which they rented and had to squeeze all twelve people together. They spent each night in a different shelter until they reached Lutsk, over 1,000 km away from Volnovaha and roughly 100 km from the border with Poland.

A friend offered a flat in Lutsk, where Maryna and her family stayed for four days, from 7 to 10 March. On 11 March, Maryna, her children and husband and mother-in-law took a bus organised by the Church of Semians in Lutsk, which took them to the Polish border. Maryna’s brother and his family and their parents decided to stay in Lutsk. Maryna and her family crossed the border on foot, with only one backpack with documents in it. The border crossing took about two hours and then Maryna and her family spent the night in a refugee centre. The next day, on 12 March 2022, they boarded one of the two buses arranged by Svetlana Lecheva, a Luxembourg resident of Russian nationality. Maryna recalled that they decided to board the bus to Luxembourg because her only relative in Europe, her aunt, was living in Luxembourg.

The next day, on Sunday 13 March 2022, Maryna and her family’s two-and-a-half week ordeal came to an end when they checked into the SHUK (Structure d'hébergement d'urgence au Kirchberg) shelter in Luxembourg-Kirchberg. They were welcomed with showers with warm water, clean towels, beds, food and some clothes.

All the administrative and registration was done in one day, Maryna confirmed. The Luxembourg Red Cross helped Maryna and her family to fill in all the necessary forms at the immigration office and they were invited on 5 May 2022 to the immigration office to receive their papers.

Maryna and her family spent four days in SHUK and then were moved into a hotel in Dudelange. Maryna’s parents and brother and his family changed their mind and have since arrived in Luxembourg as well.

Maryna, who was trained and employed as an economist at the Volnovaha City Military-Civilian Administration, Gromada, before the war in Ukraine, initially found a cleaning job at a bank and now works as a waitress in a bistro in Schengen. She travels two hours each way, five days a week, while her husband, Denys, a train and railroad engineer by profession, now works for a fruit and vegetable company.

All three children are now enrolled in school. The municipality of Dudelange invited the family to a reception, organised free French language courses and offered a place in crèche for their youngest children. Maryna’s family of five receives free medication, food and clothes as well as financial help from the State. Maryna has just received her A1 certificate in French.

Maryna and her family are trying to balance their work and life but succumb to uncertainty from time to time. Their hotel accommodation in the hotel comes to an end on 5 January 2023 and Maryna needs to find another place to live with her family.