18-year-old Marta fled the occupied Donetsk: the path to salvation through Russia.

Life under occupation: Marta's story

According to inkorr.com: When the Russian aggression began in Donbas in 2014, Marta was only seven years old. To escape the war in Mariupol, her family moved to Donetsk, where there was already pro-Russian occupation. For eleven years, the girl managed to hide, risking her life.

Marta recalls how in Donetsk in 2014 she was struck by a Russian propaganda poster that read: 'Donetsk is always Russia, we are one people.' As for her family, after the war, the girl's parents believed in Russian narratives, which led to discord in the family. Now Marta lives with her aunt in Kyiv, is being treated in a hospital, and dreams of entering university, hoping for a better future for Ukraine.

Marta says: 'Donetsk, the city where I was born, has turned into North Korea. And Kyiv is the city that saved me.'

After the war began, Marta decided to flee. She studied the Ukrainian language and contacted her aunt in Kyiv. On her 18th birthday, she left Donetsk and went to Kyiv through Rostov in Russia, where she received assistance from the organization 'Helping to Leave.'

At the Belarus-Ukraine border, Marta could not enter due to lack of documents, forcing her to return to Minsk while all documents were being processed.

Unfortunately, the occupied cities of Donbas, including Donetsk and Makiyivka, are facing a water supply crisis, which may lead to serious hygiene problems and potential epidemics. Currently, there is a scourge of water shortages in Mariupol and environmental degradation in Donetsk.