Tatyana Storublyova (60) arrived at Modlinska with her elderly mother, is from Luhansk in the Donbas region, very close to the Russian border in East Ukraine. Before the war, she was an engineer in the Ukrainian telephone company, focusing on cable radio. She, her mother and her daughter were all born in Luhansk.

Her story:
“My war actually, began in 2014, when Luhansk was invaded. When the bombing began in February 2022, the Russian missiles were being fired from my city and aimed at Kiev, where my daughter lives. Within a month, they also started bombing Severodonetsk where my 81-year-old mother lived and she had to quickly flee. I was determined to find her, so I had to go to Russia, then Poland then into Ukraine again from the west. I finally found her in a church in Lviv. But she had left so quickly that she abandoned all our family savings which were hidden in her house. From Lviv, we went to Kiev and then finally reached safety in Warsaw. We were not running because we were poor but for fear for our safety. We are proud Ukrainians.”

The Future:
Tatyana’s husband is retired and still living in Luhansk. As soon as the war is over, she wants to return. She does not miss her house or her garden or any material things – rather, she misses her husband, her family and the friends she left behind. Her greatest dream is to take the #20 train once more from Warsaw back to Luhansk – which used to be a 7-hour overnight journey.

An Ask For Help:
Since moving to Modlinska, Tatyana has learned to sew and runs the sewing group at the Center. A Texas donor contributed 10 sewing machines and they are used, not only to do necessary repairs for the other residents, but to make bags and pillows, sold to raise funds for the center. “Americans have been very generous.” She could use assistance in acquiring the necessary resources to sew even more articles.