Mrs. Nadia wipes her tears, tries to suppress the pain, which really does not go away, a few seconds of silence, and we continue the conversation. Less than three months ago, the woman lost her son in the war.

Nadia Solomytska was born in the Vologda region of Russia. She moved to Ukraine in the 80s, then at the age of 19 she got married. The woman says that she does not communicate with her relatives from Russia, after the start of the war, all ties were cut off. Here in Odesa, Mrs. Nadia gave birth to 9 children. Son Valeryi was one of the youngest.

Valeryi Solomytskyi was working in Odesa at the time of the invasion. The man delivered bread in Belhorod-Dnistrovsk. He went to war on August 28, 2022. He didn’t tell his mother about it, only called his younger brother.

“The younger son called and said: “Mom, Valeryi has gone to war from us.” What could I do, the times are really hard now. When he was in hospital, he called me every day. He was wounded in the hand, the sniper shot. He told me: “Mom, I will recover soon and go to fight again.”

The mother was informed of the death of her son in May 2023. On the 22nd of the same month, the soldier was buried in his native village of Novoselivka, Bolhrad district. Valeryi died while performing a combat mission in Kreminne, Luhansk region, the soldier was 38 years old.

“I have been crying for a whole month since they said he died. I have 5 more sons. It is very difficult, such a great loss. I never thought that this would happen, never.”