Living Through War in Ukraine: A Personal Account
As the war in Ukraine continues, daily life has become a struggle for survival. Anna (name changed for security reasons), who works with vulnerable children and orphans in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, shares what life is really like for those who remain in the country, and especially for the children growing up in the shadow of war. Timber Cleghorn, FFF board member, recently returned from the Ukraine, where he worked closely with Anna and assisted with donating vital resources and trauma healing to the children living in several Ukrainian orphanages.
Editors note: In 2026, Finding Freedom Through Friendship expanded its humanitarian outreach to Ukraine, made possible by the extraordinary generosity of a compassionate donor. This donation has opened the door for FFF to extend its mission to vulnerable Ukrainian children facing the hardships of war. Without this donor’s generosity and belief in our mission, and the relationship Timber has with the orphanage directors, this important work would not have been possible.
This message below was written by Anna:
“Things are very, very bad in Ukraine. There is constant shelling, and recently we have experienced power and water outages because of strikes in our city, Zhytomyr. Sometimes the air raid sirens don’t even have time to warn us before a missile or drone strikes.During an air raid alert, everything shuts down, and nothing can be done. Everything gets postponed until the next day, but the same thing could happen again tomorrow or next week. Recently, we had 11 air raid alerts within just 10 hours.The day before yesterday, the air raid alert lasted about 20 hours. Our region has suffered strikes, destruction, injuries, and loss of life. Today’s alert began during the night and is still continuing as I write.”
We often have no running water, and the internet connection is unreliable.
“We have been without electricity throughout the day. The schedule allows us only about four hours of power in a 24-hour period, but even those hours are uncertain. We often have no running water, and the internet connection is unreliable.It is cold outside, and our home still has no heat because we depend on the city’s central heating system. We may have to evacuate because we won’t be able to get through the winter without electricity, water, and heat. The days and nights are already cold. We don’t have heat in our homes yet.”
“I don’t know what will happen. We have been living with this thought throughout the war. We are monitoring the situation every day. Even buying basic supplies has become difficult. During air raid alerts, shops, banks, post offices, and other services close. Without electricity, card payments often do not work, yet withdrawing cash is also difficult because of the alerts.”
“Something that once took an hour can now take several days. I recently returned home from the United States where I was fundraising and seeking healthcare. The journey took four days, as Ukrainian airports have remained closed since the full-scale invasion began in 2022. Even traveling out of Ukraine is exhausting. It took me three days to reach my destination in Indiana.
“I have been sleep-deprived for the past eight months. I am physically exhausted from the heavy ministry workload, stress, and muscle inflammation throughout my body. The demands of our work are enormous, and the circumstances in which we must carry it out make everything more difficult.”
“The most heartbreaking part of this war is what it is doing to our children.“
“Children spend long hours in shelters. Those living in residential institutions must go down to shelters both day and night. It breaks our hearts to see how much fear and exhaustion have become part of their childhood.For these children, the uncertainty never ends. Their daily routines are interrupted by air raid alerts, and even the nighttime hours cannot offer the peace and rest that children need. They must live with circumstances that no child should have to experience.”
“We are all tired. We do not know what tomorrow will bring, whether we will have electricity, whether we will have water, or whether another air raid alert will force us into shelter. Despite these challenges, we continue serving children, young people, and families in crisis. We continue trying to meet their needs and remain by their side.This is our daily reality in Ukraine. We are living through a war that has changed every aspect of our lives, and we are doing our best to continue caring for those who need us most.”
Above all, we want the children in our care to know that they have not been forgotten.
— Anna, Zhytomyr, Ukraine