Greetings. My name`s Anna Makarova. Creative name Ehlvira Belitsa/ If you reading this it means my story found you and it means a lot to me.

Long story short, I desperately need your help because at the moment I'm in a very difficult situation. Because of the war in Ukraine currently, I am a homeless political refugee, unemployed, without the opportunity to support myself and my family, and separated from my daughter. Here is my story:

On February 24, Putin sent his troops into Ukraine and the war began. At that time, my youngest son and I were in Georgia, Тbilisi, and my daughter was in Kyiv. At the end of January this year, I was forced to leave Ukraine in order to update my status of residence in the country (so-called Visa-run). My son flew with me but my elder daughter Yaroslava stayed in Kyiv because travels are hard for her, she has Asperger's Syndrome. I left her with my closest friend because kids didn't need to fly with parents for Visa-run. I didn't really think the war will start but from the start of this war I believed that it soon be over, but now the third month has begun, and my son and I cannot return home, reunite with Yaroslava and we are in a very difficult situation. Currently, all my property and accounts that I used to receive child support payments are frozen by new Russian law «for financing the enemy army". From the very first days of the war, I got involved in volunteer activities: the production of information content to show the realities of the war, working in a volunteer center for sorting humanitarian aid, and also participating in all actions to support Ukraine in Tbilisi. I also transferred leftovers of my savings to various funds that support the Ukrainian army and to my daughter to support her life in Kyiv. Also, now it's not possible to transfer funds from Russia. And my company and accounts in Ukraine are also frozen since I am a citizen of Russia. There is no opportunity for me to get money and I can't properly work in Tbilisi since I am not a citizen of Georgia. That's my situation now and it's all because of Russia and its aggression not just against Ukraine but against its own people.

Back in 2014, from the very beginning of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, I opposed the invasion of troops into the Donbas and the annexation of Crimea. For this, I was bullied and persecuted in my home country. My mother called me an "enemy of Russia who should have been strangled in the cradle," and most of my friends stopped talking to me. I had to quit my job because I became the enemy there, too. My Ukrainian friends invited me to live with them. I got a work visa and started living in Ukraine. Here my children went to school, and I was truly able to discover and realize myself as an art director in film production. I was able to find true close friends and reliable colleagues. I was happy and thought my life finally has a purpose and I can count on the future. I lived in Ukraine for a long time in the amazing town named Irpen, with beautiful parks, friendly neighbors, and wonderful architecture. The children also went to school in Irpen. My friends lived in Bucha, we went to visit each other and went on picnics. And at that moment I was sure that my life and the life of my children had finally improved, that now everything would only get better and better. That the hunger, poverty, and abuse that we experienced in Russia are far in the past. We had plans to buy a house: the children have already come up with the interiors of their rooms. My career was developing rapidly and it seemed that there was nothing more to be desired. But then came lockdown. But despite all the difficulties, we survived it for the entire community. They supported each other and helped.

During the next phase of the lockdown, problems with document circulation arose: migration services worked intermittently, and the system for receiving documents was changed. They lost one of my documents. That's why my work visa was canceled. When I came to renew it in January of this year, I ran into problems. The migration service required me to leave Ukraine for 90 days to renew the right to receive a new residence permit. When I discussed this news with my close friend and children, my daughter refused to go anywhere, as for her any trips are huge stress, as I said in the beginning she has Asperger's syndrome. In the end, my friend stayed with my daughter and our dogs. My son and I flew to Georgia. And this nightmare war began. Russian forces destroyed places where we used to live, they destroyed school where my kids studied, and they killed innocent people. Мy son's classmate was killed along with his mother. They were buried in the park where we often walked with our neighbors. Some of my friends still don't get in touch. Others are scattered around the world. The house we used to live in was almost fully destroyed. Fortunately, my daughter and my friend are alive. They are now in Kyiv. As a child with special needs, my girl refuses to travel without me to the border, and I'm very scared to let her go alone through places where possible kidnappers can work. So, I just have one option - to come and pick her up myself. From the 5th of May, I can return to Ukraine but it's very hard to do now. I have no work, no money, no home. I can't receive any child support money I used to receive before from the father of Yaroslava. All I have left it's two suitcases and backpacks that took on the trip to Georgia. And as I said I can't work without a work visa in Tbilisi. But I still need to pick my child up from that nightmare and all I can do it's created this page and ask you for help. My plan is to fly to Ukraine as soon as possible and for that, I need approximately 1500 USD. This amount will help me to go to any possible Ukrainian border and go through it without problems. I also have some debts here for the apartment where I live and utilities. But it's not so important, the main struggle it's to go to Ukraine when it's in a state of war, we will have to go to the Ukrainian embassy in Tbilisi and plead with them to let us in the country because we are still Russian citizens. That will require some time and money and we will need to live somewhere that time when I will fight for my child and I’m sure I won't lose, especially if you help me to save my daughter. Please, help us reunite in this nightmare war of Putin. Don't let my daughter become one more victim of Russian cruelty.