When war disrupted life across Ukraine, Svetlana Grekova stepped up in a big way. She established and now runs a temporary shelter for Ukrainians recently evacuated from their homes. Set on a farm-like property complete with pigs, chickens, and a thriving vegetable garden, her shelter offers more than just a roof — it provides safety, warm meals, beds, and a nurturing community for up to 200 displaced people as they await relocation to more permanent housing, farther from the front lines.

But just a few years ago, Sveta’s life looked very different.  She was a successful entrepreneur in the city of Bakhmut, owning and managing women and men’s clothing stores. That changed when her hometown was slowly encircled, attacked, and ultimately overtaken a year into Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. The battle of Bakhmut is now considered by many military analysts to be the bloodiest battle in Europe since World War II.  Amid the chaos, Sveta didn’t flee — she led. She organized and oversaw the evacuation of her entire community.

Nearly 30 kilometers away, in Kostyantynivka, Sveta founded her first shelter — a temporary refuge for those who had lost everything. It quickly became a vital anchor, supporting evacuations not just from Bakhmut, but also from other hard-hit fortress cities nearby, including Toretsk, Avdiivka, Siversk, and Chasiv Yar. (Note: “Fortress cities” are those that have become the focal points of resistance due to their strategic importance and the intensity of fighting.)

But by summer 2024, the war crept closer once again. Anticipating renewed danger, Sveta opened a second shelter in the nearby city of Druzhkivka and began relocating everyone under her care. Today, it stands as the only major shelter in the area.

Recognizing another critical need, she also established a laundry service to support soldiers on the front line — a simple but indispensable resource.

Now, as drone attacks edge ever closer, Sveta faces an agonizing dilemma: how to leave the shelter that’s become a lifeline for so many in the area. Yet even as she prepares for another possible relocation, her vision for the future remains clear — to create a permanent sanctuary, one with a greenhouse garden, lasting stability, and the dignity she and her residents so deeply deserve.