A Family from Irpin Who Got on the Cover of the “TIME” Magazine, Remembered Their Story of Salvation

Evacuation under the shelling of the occupiers, children’s crying, and fear for relatives and strangers. TSN searched for a resident of Irpin, who was seen by the whole world when she was trying to leave the city with her tiny daughter (video). The photo of her and her child being held in the arms of the Armed Forces of Ukraine fighter appeared on the cover of the “TIME” magazine – one of the most influential publishing in the US and the world.

The Pavlyuk family from Irpin: mother Yulia, father Oleg, and their six-month-old daughter Emma are now in Rivne. They are trying to smile and enjoy every moment. Especially while showing their happy life in the hometown, with green parks, cozy streets, and their apartment. Peaceful life is now only in the memories, in a few saved photos and videos on the phone.

All of a sudden, the warm photos on the phone change to something out of a horror movie – broken houses and the day that became the worst in the life of the family. “There was artillery, helicopters, all of the machinery coming from Gostomel. It was banging and shooting”, remembers Oleg.

Then they decided to evacuate in the morning. They remember walking to the outskirts of Irpin. Then Yulia and her daughter were picked up by a car, and Oleg got to the right place himself, only to go to Kyiv later. “The enemy came out from the side of Stoyanka and opened fire, I saw journalists fall down, soldiers fall down, everyone was falling down to the ground”, adds Oleg.

Then he went on squats to make sure that his wife and daughter were all right. And at this time our fighters had already helped them. “They supported us, took us away, helped with the bags… It was something unreal, to be honest”, the woman recalls.

This moment is captured in the photo. “She just started crying a lot, she must’ve felt what I felt. And he took her in his arms, and just started to calm her down”, says Yulia.

Yulia was stunned by the fact that this moment was on the cover of the “TIME” magazine. I learned about it from my friends. The headline “Agony of Ukraine” confused her a little, but the girl is sure, that the signature was deliberately exaggerated. “They wanted to get more attention with that word, as always, the covers make it so flashy”, she says.

Yulia hopes that when people see this photo, they will realize the horror that Russians bring to Ukraine. And she is really looking forward to meeting the defender who calmed little Emma down. She wants to know who he is and where he comes from.

And the family thanks everyone who helps them in Rivne. Provides them with free shelter and help with food and children’s clothes. Yet above all, they dream of our victory. They believe that they will soon be walking their hometown streets and living in their apartment. Because they are confident in the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

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