Ukrainian Mother's Narrow Escape from Russian Air Strike in Balakliia
Alina was moments away from enjoying lunch when the brutal reality of war shattered her home in Balakliia, a small city in Kharkiv oblast, north-east Ukraine. Days after Russia's full-scale invasion began, an air attack delivered a terrifying taste of horror, but the pregnant mother-of-two miraculously escaped injury. Recalling the events, Alina expressed profound gratitude for her survival, describing it as if protected by a higher power.
Fleeing Under Fire: A Family's Desperate Departure
The attack occurred just before lunchtime in late February nearly four years ago, seriously damaging the roof, shattering windows, and blowing out part of a wall. Alina, 33, and her family were not in a shelter at the time. "We barely had time to drop to the floor," she says. "We immediately decided that we were leaving." With only essentials and documents, they fled by car with their nine-year-old daughter, sparking a departure that marked a close brush with death.
Balakliia fell under Kremlin occupation for about six months from early March 2022, enduring shocking hardship. Russian forces illegally detained at least 200 locals and established a torture chamber in the city's police station. Tetiana Grunska, Deputy Head of the Balakliia City Military Administration, explains: "For people it was extremely stressful because if you tell something against Russia or you challenge a curfew you have a chance to find yourself... being tortured."
Occupation Horrors and Ongoing Terror
Human Rights groups IPHR and Truth Hounds gathered testimony from 64 survivors of detention and ill-treatment at the police station. A witness in their 2024 report stated: "I spoke Ukrainian during the interrogation and they told me that they would 'teach' me with a stick and a stun gun for every Ukrainian word. Afterwards, my whole body was blue from bruises." Detainees faced deplorable conditions, using plastic bags or bottles to urinate and sleeping on makeshift bedding or bare floors.
Despite liberation in September 2022, Balakliia, only dozens of miles from the frontline, continues to suffer from aerial terror. In November, an attack killed three people, leaving a children's play park near a mangled, burnt-out car and buildings with boarded-up windows.
Healing Wounds Through UNICEF Support
Alina returned to Balakliia after giving birth to her now three-year-old daughter in October 2022, briefly revisiting in early March 2022 to gather possessions. She now attends a UNICEF-supported Resilience Centre, which opened in July 2024, where she participates in classes on supporting children's development. "It was extremely helpful because these fears I experienced, they were not allowing me to live a normal life," Alina explains. "And I realised that my children need a mother in healthy conditions."
Her children benefit from art therapy sessions designed to help them learn about emotions. "It allows them to experience at least some part of their childhood," she says. Alina also practices techniques like crossing arms and tapping shoulders or deep breathing to stay calm. "When everything outside is just grey and depressing, going to such a centre is a really nice thing to experience," she adds.
Hope for a Brighter Future
Reflecting on the attack, Alina shares: "It is difficult to remember this period, these days. You don't know what to do the next day. Will you live or no? Will you survive or no? It was very difficult and that's why I needed psychological help." Tetiana Grunska echoes a resilient hope for the community: "We will not be beaten. We will be better than we used to be."
