War’s toll on a mother-to-be in Kyiv

Standing in the remains of her charred apartment in Kyiv, Bohdana Zhupanyna rests a hand on her pregnant belly and reflects on how her plans for motherhood were turned upside down by war.

Just days earlier, a Russian drone slammed into her residential building on July 21. The 30-year-old was staying at another flat with her husband when the strike occurred, but her mother was home.

"The shock wave was so strong, and, of course, thank God my mother was in shelter, because I think that no one would have survived inside the apartment," Zhupanyna said, standing in the corridor of her destroyed home.

Zhupanyna had planned to spend her final weeks of pregnancy packing for the maternity hospital and reading from her collection of parenting books.

"I thought about devoting the last two weeks entirely to preparing for childbirth, because I need to pack a bag for the maternity hospital, I need to buy the necessary things, I need to finish reading, I have a whole library of books that I need to read. And I thought, I have two weeks, just right, I'll start doing this right from Monday, and that's enough time. And then, right on Monday morning, this happens."

The July 21 attack damaged multiple buildings in the area, including a metro station and nearby homes. 

Zhupanyna’s apartment was hit on the second floor.

"I don't know what kind of fate this is, why this happens, for what reason. But, unfortunately, it happened, it was us to whom this happened."

She considers herself fortunate despite losing her home, the only one she owned.

"I feel so happy that at that moment my mother survived, and that everything was fine, and even our cat survived, these emotions outweighed everything we lost."

Zhupanyna lost her father in 2022, a Ukrainian soldier who died on the front lines.

"There's great grief, of course, and a lot of stress, because I lost my dad in 2022 in the war."

Now, just days away from giving birth, she holds on to hope.

"And, unfortunately, in 12 days it will be like snow on the head in this situation, our daughter is long-awaited. But, of course, everything will be fine."

Even in wartime, Zhupanyna and her husband decided to start a family.

"Still, we made a conscious choice to have a child now; we have been planning it for a long time. It's maybe not so much an instinct, but rather us seeing that some of our friends have already had two children. If they did it during the war, so will we."

As the war drags on and air raids continue across Ukraine, she has a message for international leaders.

"They (Russia) have to stop killing us. As for (U.S. President Donald) Trump, I would like him to simply help more."

Despite the destruction, she says she is grateful—alive, expectant, and determined to welcome her daughter into the world.

"Well, of course, firstly, I'm standing here, secondly, I hope that my baby will be healthy, happy, and very soon she will come into this world."

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