"No matter how it sounds, Russia must become small again"

"I feel empty. My family was everything to me; I was the happiest husband and father. I had the best wife and children. I don’t know how to live without them now and I feel like a branch without buds, like a tree that can't have leaves. I’m trying to find some meanings in life. Even small ones, because the main meanings are gone," says Yaroslav.

The Bazylevych family lived on Konovaltsia street, in the heart of Lviv, a UNESCO heritage. On September 4, 2024, Russia launched a combined missile and drone strike on the city. “Kinzhal” missiles and “Shaheds” began targeting Lviv early in the morning at around 5 a.m. That day, Yaroslav survived by a miracle. While his wife and daughters were on the stairwell, he returned to the apartment to grab a bottle of water. Rescue workers spent hours clearing the rubble of the destroyed building and later shared that residents had no chance to escape.

Now, Yaroslav visits the cemetery almost daily. He plays French music there, which his wife Yevheniia loved.

He speaks about his family with tears barely held back. Yevheniia, he says, was a multifaceted person with many interests. She worked in marketing, made jewelry, and practiced yoga. "I loved everything about her. As the kids used to say, she managed to do everything despite not having enough time.»

Yaryna, their eldest daughter, was 21 years old. As a teenager, she struggled with sadness, but her father says, "We talked a lot about it, and she learned how to live happily." Eighteen-year-old Dariia battled anxiety. "We worked through it together, and I know she managed it well," Yaroslav shares. Emilia, the youngest, was about to turn seven. She was a "determined" girl who always knew exactly what she wanted and what she didn’t.

The Ukrainian Catholic University has established a scholarship in memory of the family. Yaroslav hopes this will help ensure their names are remembered. He is also working on designing a memorial for them at Lychakiv Cemetery.

In the coming months, Yaroslav has planned trips to the German and Dutch parliaments. He will also visit the U.S. Congress in early February. "We will keep working to ensure Ukraine is not left alone.»

"There’s a constant feeling that the West is living its own life, almost untouched by the threat we live under every day. The West doesn’t fully grasp that this war is existential for us,"

Yaroslav explains.

When asked about the possibility of the war ending soon, Yaroslav doesn’t believe Russia would agree to that unless Ukraine were sacrificed. He thinks Russia might pause only if it faced financial or military collapse.

"I hope the West understands that it’s crucial to stop trading with a terrorist state and its allies, no matter how painful it might be. Financing Russia in any way allows it to continue this war. Eventually, the West will face the same horrors we are enduring here.»

Yaroslav admits he isn’t yet ready to articulate what just peace and justice would mean for Ukraine. However, victory is vital to him.