Irpin, Irpinski Lypky, 11th line

STORY

The residential complex Irpinski Lypky is located in the suburbs of Kyiv — in the rapidly growing city of Irpin. In 2015, thousands of young families — many of whom were forced migrants from Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts — chose to settle in this city for its convenient location, large quantity of parks, and tranquility. It seemed like the perfect place to raise children and build a life. 

One such family was the family of Yana Psariova. Yana was born in Sloviansk, her husband Serhii — in Donetsk Oblast. After the arrival of the “russian world” in 2014, the couple had to collect their things in a single suitcase and left Donetsk to start over from scratch. The apartment in Irpinski Lypky became their little corner of heaven. Here they had a son, here they watched the sun rise in panoramic windows, collecting a library of children’s books and dreaming of a green oasis on the terrace.

Yana and her husband finished renovating the apartment in 2021 and lived there for exactly 345 days. On February 24th, they woke up to the sound of explosions and saw russian helicopters flying outside their windows. In half an hour, the family had already left the home, a single suitcase in hand.

When the first aerial photographs of Irpin surfaced, they saw that the roof of their building was damaged. They held out hope that their apartment, which was on the top floor, only suffered partial damage. But because of the fire caused by the shellings, it was burnt beyond repair. 

Now Yana and Serhii are one of the thousands of Ukrainian families waiting for their homes to be restored, so they can once again start anew.