Vorzel, Ukraine, Apr 13, 2022 / 03:20 am
When Catholic volunteers arrived in the recently liberated Ukrainian village of Vorzel, they met an elderly woman called Nina. She was standing in line for aid from Caritas-Spes, the charitable mission of the Latin Rite bishops of Ukraine, with her friend, Katya.
When the area outside the capital Kyiv was occupied by Russian soldiers, the two women hid in basements or the corner of a room as tank shells and rockets exploded outside.
“My relatives and friends don’t know what is going on with me,” Nina said. “They don’t know where I am, whether I am alive or dead. They don’t know anything about me.”
Vorzel is located about 17 miles northwest of Kyiv, next to the now notorious city of Bucha, where Russia is accused of killing hundreds of civilians. The village was on the frontline for several weeks until the occupying forces left around the end of March.