Escape from Kyiv: "It was the worst fear of my life"

Two-year-old Vira is standing in her children's room in Kyiv, wearing only a diaper.

On her back is her name, date of birth and her parents' contact details.

Her mother had written these dates with a ballpoint pen on the child's back.

"I briefly thought about getting her tattooed.

That would have been even safer,” reports Aleksandra Makoviy about the first day of the war.

The information should make it easier for aid workers to identify Vira and find living relatives should Aleksandra and Vitaliy Makoviy be killed while fleeing the war.

Her hands were shaking so badly that she could hardly write straight.

Still, Makoviy didn't want to stop at the note she had put in Vira's pocket.

Should the girl lose him, no one would know who it is.

The writing on the back was a hedge.

The strength to flee

Mentally, Makoviy was already prepared for the war, she says.

She was brought up critical of the military and had followed the situation closely for a long time.

While others were paralyzed with shock, she knew she had to act immediately.

"I was strong enough to decide that we go," says Makoviy today.

Everywhere she heard sirens, distant bombs and the roar of airplanes - and right in the middle was her daughter.

"It was the worst fear of my life," she says.

Many Ukrainian parents have done something similar to protect their children in some way, says Makoviy.

Some have sewn the information into clothing, some have also recorded it directly on their children's skin.

An acquaintance wrote "Please take care of me" next to the dates on her baby's back.

Aleksandra Makoviy shared the picture of her daughter's back on Instagram to raise awareness of the plight of the Ukrainian people.

She didn't just get sympathy there, though.

Some users accused her of faking the picture because she wrote the information in English instead of Ukrainian.

The reason for this makes the young mother's desperate feelings clear: she hoped that one day Vira would be able to find her mother's posts online.

“I've written so much online about what our life was like before the war.

I thought Vira could then see where she came from, who her parents were and how much we loved her.

We've been waiting for her for so long and she was the most valuable thing for us - she should definitely know that," says Makoviy.

traces of war

In Kyiv, the family lived a happy and peaceful life.

Aleksandra Makoviy worked as a teacher and artist, her husband was a designer.

A life that is now far away.

"Even playgrounds are mined there at the moment," says Makoviy.

"Even if the war were over now, it would probably be years before it was safe to move around there again.

In the meantime, after a long and arduous flight, the Makoviy family has arrived in southern France, where they have been warmly welcomed.

Volunteers offered them this help.

In addition to the war, the great warmth and helpfulness is something they can hardly understand.

"It's so crazy.

How can people so cruel and so lovely exist in the same world at the same time?

I'm incredibly grateful for all the help we Ukrainians are currently receiving," says Makoviy.

Despite the newly gained security, the war has left its mark on Aleksandra Makoviy and her family.

She speaks of a collective trauma of the Ukrainian population that is growing every day.

She herself suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and reports great fears that also persist in France.

No walk goes by for them without panicking about hidden mines.

Her daughter is doing well, thanks to her age.

"Sometimes she notices that mom and dad are sad, but nothing more.

She's only two and fortunately she didn't notice it all the way we did," says Makoviy.

From France, she wants to continue to campaign for information about the war and its consequences.

For Aleksandra Makoviy, this is the only way to end the fighting once and for all.

"The Germans apologized so often and reflected on their actions during the war so that something like this would never happen again," she says.

“This insight is missing in Russia.

If they don't understand what's happening - if the propaganda isn't cut through - nothing will change.”