Ukrainska Pravda Women of fallen soldiers have created a community and help each other

Kyiv - After their husbands were killed in the war, five Ukrainian women founded a group they called "We are together.". Communication and support for one another are served.

According to the newspaper Ukrainska Pravda, these war widows did not know one another before being brought together by their grief, which led to the development of close friendships. He claims that the group eventually grew to include the wives of other soldiers who had died, and that there are currently about 400 women in it.

The seventh of September is Svitlana Povarová's birthday. On September 7, 2017, she received word that her husband Semen had perished in action.

In the eastern Donetsk region of the country, three days prior to his passing, he was found dead close to the village of Pavlivka. Povarová went to retrieve his remains on her own.

The family's home town of Bojarka in the Kyiv region is where they interred him, according to Ukrainska Pravda. In 2003, when Svitlana and Semen first spoke, she was 22 and he was 18.

He had only recently arrived in the city, and she was a student at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Prior to that, he attended school in Zaporizhia while residing in a children's home.

"He was such a street kid when we first met. He had a good education and was well-read, though.

With regard to (Erich Mario) Remarque, he spoke with me. I remember saying to myself, 'Really?!'" recalls Povarová.

"We weren't your typical couple, either. Both of us had strong personalities.

We dated, broke up, got back together, then married other people," the woman told the newspaper, adding that they reconnected six years after their initial encounter. At that time, both were active military members of the Ukrainian army.

In the Donbass, in Kosantynivka, he first encountered her and wrote to her. They eventually met in the town of Volnovacha a few days later, and according to the newspaper, they were married in Mariupol a month later.

In Bojarka, where they had settled, the couple embarked on a joint journey across Ukraine. Their two offspring, who are now 12 and 17 years old, were also born.

The couple removed the children and other members of the family on February 24, when the Russian army invaded Ukraine and attacked Kyiv. They registered on their own to serve in the military.

After Svitlana was turned down, Semen served in Kiev, Vyhorod, and Chernobyl in that order. Later, he was transferred to the Donetsk region, according to Ukrainska Pravda.

After remaining silent for two weeks at the end of August, he finally spoke up and announced that he would be removed from the front lines soon. After that, there were several more days of silence.

The seventh of September marked Povarov's birthday. She was confident that her husband would find a way to send her good wishes.

"I was certain he wouldn't overlook it. And he didn't," she said, adding that at least they could bury him in contrast to the families of missing soldiers.

At least now we know, she continued. His love for children was also expressed in the letter.

She said that whenever he went to pick up his daughter from kindergarten, the kids would rush up to him and ask him to tell them a story. In addition, while serving in the army, he occasionally shared stories with his wife during late-night phone calls.

Povarová started recording them at some point, and even though it is painful, she still listens to them today, according to the diary, which also included the accounts of four other war widows. Initially, Tetjana Vacenková-Bondarjevová and Alina Karnauchová began corresponding on the Telegram platform after their husbands passed away a short time apart.

Prior to that point, the women had never met, but an online community for volunteers brought them together. "We began exchanging letters and offered encouragement to one another.

Because it seems that nobody understands you when you've experienced such loss. According to Karnauchová, you feel useless and abandoned.

Then, according to the website, they established a closed group on Facebook that only the wives of fallen soldiers are permitted to access. A total of 400 women now live in the community, which has expanded.

"We weren't trying to find them. The issue is that our neighborhood's women are all gradually becoming widows, claims Alina.

Vacenkova-Bondarjevová explains the name of the community by saying, "When new girls join the group, I tell them: "Now you're not alone, we're together.". The group's founders concur that the women in the group are the only ones who can truly understand one another's grief.

They support one another, communicate online, and exchange contact information with psychologists who assist them in coping with the loss, among other coping mechanisms. Legal support is a crucial area; some members serve as attorneys and offer guidance to others on how to put together the paperwork necessary to obtain state funding, which, according to Ukrainska Pravda, is a time-consuming and challenging process.

Also meeting and conversing in person are those who reside in the same cities. The group has additional guidelines, including a requirement for communication in Ukrainian and a ban on discussing religion or engaging in any form of advertising.

According to the server, the women would also like to assist the children of the victims or plan leisure activities for women to engage in as a diversion from their own problems. It is important to accept each other's differences and not lecture anyone, it states. The children of defenders who had perished were given gifts for the New Year while this was going on.

Volodymyr Huko, the husband of Oksana Borkunova, has been committed to this project since 2014. She made the decision to carry on with his work.

According to Ukrainska pravda, she initially started collecting money for 25 families, but so many people responded that 300 children and 222 women also received gifts. Advertising or discussion of religious subjects is prohibited in Russia, Ukraine, and the fighting army company women.

According to the server, the women would also like to assist the children of the victims or plan leisure activities for women to engage in as a diversion from their own problems. It is important to accept each other's differences and not lecture anyone, it states. The children of defenders who had perished were given gifts for the New Year while this was going on.

Volodymyr Huko, the husband of Oksana Borkunova, has been committed to this project since 2014. She made the decision to carry on with his work.

According to Ukrainska pravda, she initially started collecting money for 25 families, but so many people responded that 300 children and 222 women also received gifts. Advertising or discussion of religious subjects is prohibited in Russia, Ukraine, and the fighting army company women.

According to the server, the women would also like to assist the children of the victims or plan leisure activities for women to engage in as a diversion from their own problems. It is important to accept each other's differences and not lecture anyone, it states. The children of defenders who had perished were given gifts for the New Year while this was going on.

Volodymyr Huko, the husband of Oksana Borkunova, has been committed to this project since 2014. She made the decision to carry on with his work.

She started collecting money for 25 families, but so many people responded that 300 children and 222 women received gifts, Ukrainska pravda writes. fighting army company women from Russia and Ukraine need to disperse.

The children of defenders who had perished were given gifts for the New Year while this was going on. Oksana Borkunova's husband, Volodymyr Huňko, has been dedicated to this initiative since 2014.

She made the decision to carry on with his work. According to Ukrainska pravda, she initially started collecting money for 25 families, but so many people responded that 300 children and 222 women also received gifts.

Fighting army company women from Russia and Ukraine need to disperse. The children of defenders who had perished were given gifts for the New Year while this was going on.

Volodymyr Huko, the husband of Oksana Borkunova, has been committed to this project since 2014. She made the decision to carry on with his work.

According to Ukrainska pravda, she initially started collecting money for 25 families, but so many people responded that 300 children and 222 women also received gifts. women in a fighting army company from Russia and Ukraine.

According to the server, the women would also like to assist the children of the victims or plan leisure activities for women to engage in as a diversion from their own problems.