In the beginning of March, a rocket landed right next to their apartment complex. Maria was in a hallway while Alexander was catching some air on their balcony, leaving him exposed to the blast, resulting in pain and hypovolemic shock, leg break and cranioencephalic trauma. Their cat became deaf and the dog suffered burns on its legs. Thankfully, Maria wasn’t physically injured but felt deeply guilty for letting Alexander go to the balcony, even though it was something she was not responsible for. Maria and Alexander’s father carried Alexander downstairs where an ambulance picked him up. Unfortunately, he passed away that same day in the hospital. Even though Maria lost her boyfriend, she had to stay in Ukraine because her mother was still in the eastern part of the country, thirty miles from Kharkiv. Like many other elders, Maria’s mother preferred to stay in her home, no matter what. After the accident, Maria’s mother took care of her daughter’s dog and cat, while Maria moved to Lviv and lived temporarily in the hostel I was staying in. For Maria, there is no difference between the Russian people that support Putin and the ones that remain in silence and don’t boycott the war.

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