KYIV, Ukraine (news agencies) — Kateryna Dmytryk had been waiting for this moment for almost two years — nearly all of her young son’s life.
Side by side, they ran, 2-year-old Timur leading the way as snow crunched beneath their feet. A slender, pale man made his way to the pair from the military hospital. Artem Dmytryk hadn’t seen his family for about 24 months, almost all of which he spent in Russian captivity.
He picked up his son. Kateryna pinched her husband and clasped his hand, anything to reassure herself this wasn’t a dream. All three embraced, kissed, laughed.
Kateryna had buried her mother, fled her hometown and passed through countless Russian checkpoints with her son, all while imagining the worst about her husband’s captivity. She knew the wounds would take years to heal, but in that moment, she let herself break into a smile.
As Russia launched its war in Ukraine, the lives of millions of Ukrainians were irreversibly changed. Like the Dmytryks, they mark their lives in two periods: before and after Feb. 24, 2022. Tens of thousands have laid their loved ones to rest, millions have been forced to flee their homes, and the entire country has been thrust into a long and exhausting war, with 26% of the territory under Russian occupation.
Even if peace is achieved, the war has shattered reality for generations to come.
For Kateryna, her husband’s liberation brought a glimmer of light back to her family’s life. But she knows their experiences over the past two years will stay with them forever.
“We’ve had two years of our lives stolen,” she said. “And those two years were like living in a constant hell.”
The Dmytryks were just beginning life as a family of three when the war started.
Kateryna and Artem had met quite young, in their seaside hometown of Berdiansk in southeastern Ukraine. Ages 16 and 18, they immediately liked each other and started dating. Later, he joined the army and began serving in the State Border Guard Service, stationed in Berdiansk.
In May 2021, they got married and soon welcomed Timur.
“It was a peaceful, simply normal family life,” Kateryna said.
It was Valentine’s Day 2022 when Artem received a call to combat alert. He’d be on continuous duty, no longer coming home in the evenings. Kateryna didn’t think much of it, even with escalating tensions amid Russia’s military buildup on the border.
The last time Artem was home was Feb. 23. He asked Kateryna’s friend to come over and stay with her. It was unusual — he didn’t want her to be alone. But, Kateryna said, “I never imagined that a war on such a scale would unfold.”
In the early hours of Feb. 24, Kateryna was startled by Timur’s sudden cries, swiftly followed by a powerful blast, she said, “like almost every Ukrainian who woke up then to the sound of explosions.”
Nervous and in a state of shock, she managed to dial Atem. Already on duty at sea, he instructed her to gather her belongings and head to her parents’ village nearby. He was worried about the power of the Russian ships, she said, and feared there’d be fighting in Berdiansk.
She did as Artem said, and that evening they spoke again.
He’d received orders to go defend Mariupol.
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