A 64-year-old Ukrainian woman got up during the night to get water. Then a rocket hit — and "everything started to fall apart"
Tatiana Olexandrivna got up during the night on Tuesday to get a cup of water. Moments later, the 64-year-old Ukrainian woman's home was destroyed.
Olexandrivna lives in Mykolaiv, one of Ukraine's southern port cities that remains among one of the hardest-hit regions during Vladimir Putin's war on the country. Mykolaiv sits between two of the Russian president's major interests — Mariupol, which is already besieged, and Odesa, the nation's biggest port that Putin desperately wants.
"I got up for water and suddenly heard a noise. I dropped the cup and ran to the bathroom, and at that moment everything started to fall apart," Olexandrivna told Reuters. "I think the shell hit the neighbors and all the doors were knocked out. Our doors and the neighbor's doors flew out, hitting us in the corridor."
A rocket reportedly from Russian forces had hit her building. Two of her neighbors were killed — as a large hole took the place where their home used to reside.
As Olexandrivna recalled her experience to Reuters on Thursday, she attempted to wade through the rubble that now covers her floors. Throughout the interview, she was gathering items that she can take with her, and had someone helping her carry those items down a destroyed set of stairs that was lined with cracked walls.
She stopped for a moment to water her plants, and burst into tears as the weight of the situation bore down.
Even still, Olexandrivna says she refuses to leave her city behind. She's focused on going back to work at a water company.
"We will stay in Mykolaiv and will be here until the last," she said. "On Tuesday I will go back to work, my company is still working. I hope to carry on working."
With her home destroyed and her city under attack, Olexandrivna is aiming to help Ukrainian forces however she can, she said.
"We will fight till the end — as best we can," she said. "Some with weapons, and some will help with moral support and by transferring funds to our army. Our guys should have everything."
