"We Wait for Dad Every Day": The Story of a Family That Never Loses Faith

In a small house on the outskirts of a village, the aroma of coffee fills the kitchen every morning. Natalia always brews one extra cup. For him. For her husband Oleksii, who has been considered missing in action for over three years.

Oleksii volunteered at the very beginning of the full-scale invasion. He was more than a soldier — he was a pillar of strength, a father, a friend, a man who always came home. But after one of the fiercest battles in the east of the country, all communication with him was lost. Not a single message. Just the uncertain words: "missing in action."

Every evening, Oleksii and Natalia’s children look up at the stars and whisper: “Daddy, come back.” They don’t ask if he will return. They say when he will return.

“We live with faith. Because it’s our only air, our only truth. I know he’s out there somewhere. I feel it with every fiber of my being,” Natalia says.

The “Public Resources and Initiatives” Charity Foundation strives to stand by the families of Defenders, offering support and assistance. Because the most important thing is the feeling of solidarity, of unity. When pain is shared, when someone is there to help — it becomes a little easier to breathe.

“We believe that every family will one day be reunited with their loved ones. We stand with those who wait. We stand with those who believe,” says Olena Tanasiychuk, President of the Foundation.

And every day, when the sun rises, Natalia once again puts the kettle on the stove and prepares an extra cup of coffee. Because love doesn’t vanish. Because hope is alive. Because miracles happen.

Special thanks to our friends and partners: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ukraine.

Project: “Humanitarian support for families of the deceased, missing, and those in captivity”