Maryna and Oleksii Lytvyniuk from Mariupol moved to the city of Stryi at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Their daughter, Alisa, a servicemember of the Azov is MIA since May 2022. The family also lost their home and the business they had built. Despite these trials, the couple decided to rebuild their lives in a new place. The Lytvyniuks are raising their granddaughter, developing their own shop and planting an orchard.
Before 2022, the Lytvyniuks ran their own business in Mariupol, orchards and a shop called “1000 Little Things,” which they symbolically opened on Aug. 24, 2013. “We left at the start of the war. We thought we would take the children out and return, because we had our shop there, our business, our home, and our daughter serving in the military. We packed two bags, took the children and the most valuable things we had, and came to Stryi,” Maryna says.
Oleksii tried to return to Mariupol but managed to get only as far as Vinnytsia. He then returned to Stryi. In March 2022, he volunteered for mobilization and served in the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces for two years.
Their daughter Alisa, who remained in Mariupol, had joined the Azov unit back in 2017. When the full-scale war began, she was nearly 28 years old and held the rank of junior sergeant. During the siege of Mariupol, Alisa was at the Azovstal steel plant. According to information her parents received, on May 8, 2022, a three-ton aerial bomb struck the garrison’s positions. For nearly four years now, Alisa has been considered missing in action.
“Our dear Alisa was 27, almost 28. She remained somewhere between heaven and earth. There’s one chance in a million, and I don’t lose hope. Of course, like any mother,” Maryna says.
Today the Lytvyniuks are raising Alisa’s 10-year-old daughter, Mariia. The couple holds a firm position regarding the Russian language in Ukraine. In their shop, signs reflecting that stance hang on the walls.
“I consider Russian the language of the aggressor”, says Maryna.
“Victory Gardens”
Gardening has long been Oleksii’s passion. He planted his first orchard in 2017 in the village of Respublika near Mariupol. At first there were 100 trees, later 1,000. Now Oleksii is planting a new orchard in the Stryi region. The family saved money to buy the plot thanks to his military salary and voluntary donations from people who cared. He also won a grant of 40,000 hryvnias to purchase agricultural equipment.
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By Tetiana Boiarchuk and Nataliia Karnaukh
Maryna and Oleksii Lytvyniuk from Mariupol moved to the city of Stryi at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Their daughter, Alisa, a servicemember of the Azov is MIA since May 2022. The family also lost their home and the business they had built. Despite these trials, the couple decided to rebuild their lives in a new place. The Lytvyniuks are raising their granddaughter, developing their own shop and planting an orchard.
Before 2022, the Lytvyniuks ran their own business in Mariupol, orchards and a shop called “1000 Little Things,” which they symbolically opened on Aug. 24, 2013. “We left at the start of the war. We thought we would take the children out and return, because we had our shop there, our business, our home, and our daughter serving in the military. We packed two bags, took the children and the most valuable things we had, and came to Stryi,” Maryna says.
Oleksii tried to return to Mariupol but managed to get only as far as Vinnytsia. He then returned to Stryi. In March 2022, he volunteered for mobilization and served in the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces for two years.
Their daughter Alisa, who remained in Mariupol, had joined the Azov unit back in 2017. When the full-scale war began, she was nearly 28 years old and held the rank of junior sergeant. During the siege of Mariupol, Alisa was at the Azovstal steel plant. According to information her parents received, on May 8, 2022, a three-ton aerial bomb struck the garrison’s positions. For nearly four years now, Alisa has been considered missing in action.
“Our dear Alisa was 27, almost 28. She remained somewhere between heaven and earth. There’s one chance in a million, and I don’t lose hope. Of course, like any mother,” Maryna says.
Today the Lytvyniuks are raising Alisa’s 10-year-old daughter, Mariia. The couple holds a firm position regarding the Russian language in Ukraine. In their shop, signs reflecting that stance hang on the walls.
“I consider Russian the language of the aggressor”, says Maryna.
“Victory Gardens”
Gardening has long been Oleksii’s passion. He planted his first orchard in 2017 in the village of Respublika near Mariupol. At first there were 100 trees, later 1,000. Now Oleksii is planting a new orchard in the Stryi region. The family saved money to buy the plot thanks to his military salary and voluntary donations from people who cared. He also won a grant of 40,000 hryvnias to purchase agricultural equipment.
[https://suspilne.media/lviv/1262360-zberigaemo-prapor-ak-najbilsu-cinnist-mariupolci-pro-zniklu-bezvisti-donku-movu-ta-sadi-peremogi-na-strijsini/](https://suspilne.media/lviv/1262360-zberigaemo-prapor-ak-najbilsu-cinnist-mariupolci-pro-zniklu-bezvisti-donku-movu-ta-sadi-peremogi-na-strijsini/)
Their perseverance is astounding and I hope that their daughter is ok and gets to come home.
Everyday I see the strength of Ukrainians
Slava Ukraini! 🇺🇦💙💛