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When war in Ukraine broke out in 2022, Olena Kutsa was five months pregnant.As Russian troops rolled and explosions echoed across the country, the Head of Emergency Response for the Ukrainian Red Cross Society, who was five-months pregnant, left her home - not knowing If she would ever return.Olena moved into her office alongside 25 volunteers. The building became both coordination hub and temporary home as sirens wailed outside. Sleeping bags were laid out on floors. Phones rang constantly. Supplies came and went in a blur of urgency. Four years on, Olena reflects on four long years with a mixture of resolve and quiet disbelief. Her child is now old enough to ask questions about the sirens.British Red Cross

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00:10When, for example, we have a missile attack in the night, I'm driving from home to the spot on this
00:20car.
00:20So, yes. And usually I have also the child seat, like over there.
00:33I am Olena Kutsa. I am the head of the emergency response service in Ukrainian Red Cross Society.
00:43When I woke up on the 24th of February 2022, I just had the message from our previous head of
00:53emergency response.
00:54He asked if everybody is alive.
01:00He wrote that war is started.
01:06I just woke up my husband and said, oh my God, this has happened, so I need to go to
01:12work.
01:13I was on five months of my pregnancy and my husband said, what? Are you kidding me? And I said,
01:22no, I need to go.
01:24So, we just say goodbye for our home because we didn't know if the home will be anymore.
01:34And since that, two months, we lived here in office and worked.
01:45We slept with our sleeping bags just on the floor.
01:4925 volunteers lived here.
01:53We was like family, you know.
01:55We were like family, you know.
01:59Ukrainian Red Cross emergency response teams are responding on the missile attacks, transporting people with disabilities,
02:09evacuated people from the risky zones to the safer places.
02:15The emergency responder, this should be a person with highly motivation to helping people.
02:33The being of both mother and first responder during the war.
02:39Every time you decide if now you're more mother or now you're more responder.
02:46So, now you have time for your kid, for play, for reading the book.
02:54Or now you need to write in the report, calling somewhere and asking, how are you guys? Are you okay?
03:03Yeah, this is the hardest part. This is like balance that you never catch.
03:11Yeah.
03:18He understands that here now is war.
03:24He understands that when we hear the air alarm, we need to go to the shelter.
03:30He understands that, okay, there are existing bombs and drones that could make damage for our house.
03:42he asking about why planes are making bombs we are trying to explain him why
03:54but sometimes when I'm trying to explain why I I even don't know if I can answer for me about
04:03this
04:04why it's happening because it's hard to explain this my hopes for Ukrainian future it's the end of this
04:19war a lot of people wish to be with families wish to sleeping in the nights not to going to
04:30the
04:30shelters just have calm life as they planned before for Zahar's future it's of course that he
04:42will grow up and choose the the work that he will want and he will doing something that he is
04:56dreaming
04:56about
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