Hi, I`m Alisa. I`m 9. I was born in Donetsk and spent the first 2 years of my life there. Soon our city was occupied. It became dangerous to live there so my parents, my older brother, and I moved to Kyiv. In a couple of years, we bought an apartment in the suburban town of Irpin. When the full-scale Russian invasion started we stayed at home at first. After a few days, my parents decided it was time to flee. My dad was away at the time with my sick Grandma. My mom, brother and I tried to get out three times. On the 6th of March during our last attempt, we came under Russian mortar fire. A volunteer that was helping us died with us. Our dogs Bens and Keks too did not survive.

I was a 4th-year student. My favourite classes were Math and Computer Science. I took a rest from exact sciences while drawing. Lately, I took up aerial yoga and sports dancing.

When I was 6 my dad taught me to ride a bike. Since then we often cycled as a family. We did many things together. Played board games, looked after our dogs, and traveled a lot. 

I loved traveling around Ukraine! In the autumn we went to Truskavets in West Ukraine and in the winter – to the Carpathians. Our last trip was in January not long before the invasion. We went skiing in Bukovel. I was starting to get good at it! We also liked to go on interesting short trips. One of the most memorable was a visit to Mezhyhirya. 

I was fascinated by everything new. A whole world was waiting to meet me! During my short life, I visited Egypt and Poland, and the trip to Bulgaria with my friends was one of my favourites. When we were gone dad had to pass through different countries for several days to say goodbye. My mom, brother, and I were buried in the cemetery in a town close to our home. Irpin where we had spent our happiest years was still under occupation at that time.

After the tragedy dad has found solace in helping other people who also suffered from the war. He also trains a lot to be ready to defend our country.