One Ukrainian Family's Story During The Russian Invasion: 'Tears In Their Eyes All The Time'

Valentyna Zakharchuk is a Ukrainian citizen who will provide daily on-the-ground updates of the Russian invasion for Benzinga.

My Family During The War 

• It's the 21st day of the war. I am Sergey Zakharchuk, the father of the author.  I sleep little. I fall asleep late and get up early because I just can't sleep anymore. Constant phone calls, people calling and asking for help. I think I'm even getting older.
• I remember on the first day of the war we were able to help only 15 people, and today — a few thousand. In the first days of the war, camouflage nets were actively knitted.
• We realize that God encourages us to be close to those who suffer more than we do. We continue to sacrifice time, energy and material resources for refugees.  We buy products for food kits and pack them. We distribute them to people who are in a difficult situation and to refugees who remain in Poltava.
• We hand out about 450 cakes and sandwiches at the train station every day. They are baked by women from our church from house to house. Hot tea and coffee are also a value because of the low temperature. It's interesting to watch people at the train station.  Some panic, some sit in despair at the station for days, some even seeing the train are still hesitant to go.  People are confused. "Like sheep without a shepherd."
• We continue to receive and transfer humanitarian aid to Kharkiv and Sumy.
• We help people by generating information about those who travel by transport to Western Ukraine and provide information for those who want to go but do not have a transport. We help them find each other.
• The premises of our church serve as a place where it is possible for refugees to stay for a short time and as a place where they can eat properly. And we give everyone a lunch box.
• Today I want to tell you one episode that happened recently. In the morning a young family from Kharkiv arrived — a husband, wife and young son. They got off the bus and stood still, they couldn't walk, they just stood there, and it lasted a long time. There were tears in their eyes all the time. I tried to talk to them, but they responded with great effort. It was very painful to look at. Their eyes told all the horrors they experienced in Kharkov. We housed them in the House of Prayer. And even in the evening, when I saw them, there was the same pain in their eyes. Every moment, their eyes weep, because their souls cry.