I met Alona, ​​a refugee who escaped from Kherson, in Kiev, Ukraine.

After giving 4,000 dollars and 5 million won of our money to a broker who had a line with the Russian army, he was able to get on the 'Kherson Escape Bus' with his 14-year-old son and husband.

Four thousand dollars is a lot of money, equivalent to the salary of an ordinary office worker in Ukraine, but he said he was determined to escape for his son.

Here's what he told us about his escape.



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# 'Heart bursting fear' Kherson escape story


I escaped the city of Kherson last June on a small bus called the 'escape bus'.

There were several other people on the same bus, but I'm not sure how much they paid.

When we said we wanted to ride the bus with my husband and son, the broker asked us to bring 4,000 dollars, and we were able to get on the bus after handing over the money.



I had to pass through dozens of checkpoints before I got out of Kherson and reached an area controlled by Ukrainian forces.

We couldn't predict what questions the Russians would ask of us, or what they would ask for.

The Russians immediately jumped into the car and said, 'You can't pass through here.

I was terrified that he would say 'Go back'.



Each time we arrived at each checkpoint, the driver had a private conversation with the Russian soldiers guarding the checkpoint.

However, it is known that the people who operate the escape bus are those who have a line with the Russian army.

Even knowing that, I couldn't help but feel terrified every time I passed a checkpoint.


# "A burning car with the bodies of Russian soldiers stopped in front of me"


Four thousand dollars is a lot of money, but I still had to decide to escape.

Because my life and my son's life were at stake.

After the Russians occupied Kherson, the 100 days they spent there were a nightmare.

I will never forget the anxiety and fear at the time.



The first time I saw Russian troops in town was on March 1st.

I was on my way home from work when I saw a burning car with the Z logo clearly on the street.

The car was approaching me without a driver, but I was so shocked that I couldn't move.

The car barely stopped right in front of me, and inside were some burned bodies of Russian soldiers.

The burnt car was left on the street without being cleaned for over a month.



In Kherson, which was occupied by the Russian army, the biggest emotion I felt was 'fear'.

When I woke up in the morning, I had to think every day in fear of when I could go out and buy something to eat.

Every night I heard something explode in the sky.

The fighting between the Russian forces who occupied Kherson and the Ukrainian forces trying to recapture it was very fierce.

When I went out on the streets, Russian soldiers with weapons were hanging around, and that became Kherson's daily life.



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# "They said if you don't send your child to Russian school, you will lose custody"


I was scared because the local government (**a pro-Russian provincial government appointed by the occupied Russia) would take away custody of my child if I didn't send him to a Russian school.

I had to get used to this environment, but I couldn't, and I finally understood that we had to leave our hometown.



Ukraine has retaken the city of Kherson, but they are not yet ready to return home.

The destruction of their homes and the destruction of city infrastructure make it difficult to return home, but more so, the daily shelling keeps most people still unable to return home.

The war took away a lot of our lives.

# A place of life that disappeared along with the photos


When asked if there were any photos or videos from her hometown, Alona said flatly, "I don't have any."

He said he deleted all information from his cell phone before boarding the Kherson escape bus.

All materials posted on social media as well as photos and videos have been deleted.



Because he knows full well that if the Russian military finds anything suspicious or undesirable in his everyday photos, videos, or inadvertently posted comments, it will be disastrous to him and his family.

Not only would the escape attempt be thwarted, but it would also mean death.



Just like the photos on his cell phone that disappeared, his lifelong home has now been destroyed and erased.

However, Mr. Alona did not give up hope of returning to his home.

Returning to the hometown where the gunfire stopped and rebuilding a destroyed life.

Like many other Ukrainian refugees, it is a longing for him.