"We in Donbas are waiting for Ukraine — please, pass it on."

Natalia Shylo, a schoolteacher from Horlivka, Donetsk region, spent nearly four years in Russian captivity.

In the summer of 2021, Natalia left Kyiv to visit her ill mother back home, but she never made it to her destination. Russian occupiers detained her at the checkpoint, accusing her of allegedly spying for Ukraine. At first, Natalia was taken to a temporary detention facility, and later transferred to a pre-trial detention center. In April, Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence secured her release. She now lives in Kyiv.

Natalia told that people in Donbas are waiting for Ukraine:

"Elderly people are waiting, people my age are waiting. Even children are learning the Ukrainian language.
Donbas is waiting for Ukraine. The people who are still there have nowhere to go. Elderly grandmothers came up to me and said: 'We may not live to see it, but we believe Ukraine will come. We’re waiting so much. We don’t need this Russian pension.'"

: Donbas Realii
https://x.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1939641321632707013

https://litter.catbox.moe/if82as30qwasplch.mp4