Weltschau

My name is Larisa Grigorenko. I am 59 years old. I am from Kherson. Kherson was also occupied. I am a mathematics teacher by profession. I worked as a mathematics teacher, then later as an accountant. I have four daughters. I was in Kherson the whole time. My two daughters were with me. They were 15 and 18 years old at the time. My other daughters were in Kiev.

In Kherson, I saw Russian tanks at Antonivsʹkyy Mist (Antonivka Bridge) at 7:00 a.m. That was a big shock for us, and it took us three days to get to the city. And then it was very dangerous. The people who were loyal to Ukraine were taken away, put in cellars, tortured, and even killed. People in Kherson have been living without water, electricity, and internet. When people came and just looked on the balcony or out of the window out of interest or curiosity, they shot them.

I was very scared because my husband was on a business trip, and I was alone with my two daughters. When Kherson was occupied, I was in constant fear about the safety of my daughters because I heard that Russian soldiers were raping young women. I was worried about what would happen if these soldiers came and raped them. Therefore, they most of the time stayed at home, and I hid them. I also had no internet, hardly any food, and no light. We were in a severe situation. But at the same time, it was dangerous to drive out of our city because there were Russian soldiers, and they also had cars. And then I lived in great fear for nine months. I rarely came out with my daughters.

In Germany, my daughter and my grandson went for a walk together; we brought things with us; we just helped a lot, and we lived with a family for about six months, and now we live in another apartment. But we still want to drive back home if possible.