Ukraine

Speaker 1

This is exactly it, when I remember the death, this is exactly what got etched into my memory. I even remember the sound of that frozen bag, and that blanket, this is what I will remember always.

Speaker 2

Olga Droz recalls the last meeting with her husband Ihor Kryvobok, who died in August 2023 during the execution of a combat mission. The farewell took place by the white church in Moru in the Kyiv region, where their children, colleagues, and comrades-in-arms gathered.

Ольга Дроз

And I remember that scene, a coffin stands near Morva. Well, you know, it's the place where, you understand, the bodies arrived, they gathered them, they transported them there, it's something like that, where one coffin stands, two, the shvani doesn't pay attention to this.

Ольга Дроз

And

Ольга Дроз

They carry [him] out on such a stretcher, at first I didn't understand, something was wrapped in such a blanket, I even remember what it was like, you know, multicolored, they used to make those a long time ago. They take this blanket off the stretcher, and from the blanket they simply reveal the coffin. When I realize this, children were standing beside me on both sides, I pull them toward me, and all the people who were meeting [him], it was just, you know, like, oh, a sigh swept through the air. And I still don't understand what is happening, and the children didn't understand why I pulled them, and they just place the uniform on the bag, and it all begins to sink in for me, they close the coffin and put up his photo.

Speaker 2

The farewell itself happened not at all as expected. No benches, it's just

Speaker 1

such a little house, and a shelter next to it, just for goodbyes, if, for example, it's raining there, and it, you know, doesn't have much of an aesthetic look, you know, some kind of hangar, as far as I'm concerned, you know, my dad stores grain like that at home.

Speaker 2

Olga's husband joined the Territorial Defense Forces in the first days of the full-scale invasion, and later signed a contract with the Armed Forces. He did not tell his family about his decision immediately. At that time, the woman and the children moved from Bila Tserkva to Lviv to set up a new life. He was a simple banking

Speaker 1

an employee, he had a very good position, he had no experience of military service at all, he hadn't served in the army due to his health, he has back problems, but on the first day he decided, and when I asked him why, you know, we wanted to protect everyone then, I say, why did you do this, you have two children, to which he said, he says, there are others just like me who have children, why should other men have to go protect my children, and I realized that no matter what I said, for him, it was a matter of his own conscience.

Speaker 2

After her experiences, Ms. Olga launched the project "Desvoryi: clothing for Ukrainian women who survived the horrors of war." Through their personal stories, she strives to share the Ukrainian experience of war on a global level, as she, like no one else, feels the pain of others. In addition, the woman initiated a square and related activities in Bila Tserkva, dedicated to the defenders who went missing, while it is being finalized together with the families of the military.

Speaker 1

And so that first year, it turns out, became such a turning point, when I began to understand more of the problems that women face, because you know that system from the inside. And that's why I started doing this kind of community work, and it really pulled me out,

Speaker 1

you're getting distracted. I complained to the Biloserdkivka City Council that there are such families,

Speaker 1

They have a need to create a place where they can come. For those who have perished, there is a place to come to on a specific date. Those who are prisoners, they at least know that they are in captivity, they take part in rallies. And these, as they say, between heaven and earth, they want to come and gather somewhere. They say, we need some place.

Speaker 2

Over 100 thousand Ukrainian civilians and military personnel are considered missing under special circumstances. These are the latest data from the national police. And all their families wait every day for news of their loved ones.