The Story of Sofiya Romanenko: From Ashes to a New Life

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💙💛 By Olena Gadomska

She would always remember that night. The rumble outside the window first seemed like fireworks. “Strange,” Sofiya thought, “why so long?” And she fell back asleep. At five in the morning, the phone rang. Her friend in the military spoke briefly and clearly: — Sofiya, pack your documents. Throw your stuff into a bag. Fill up your car. It’s war.

Sofiya didn’t believe it at first. “Maybe a dream? Maybe an exaggeration?” But when she called her parents, she heard something in her mother’s voice she’d never heard before — worry mixed with despair. And she understood: it was real.

Sofiya Romanenko

They drove to the gas station — hundreds of cars, lineups for blocks. Some people waited for hours. “We need to get out of the city,” Sofiya suggested. It took them two hours just to fill the tank. People were running with jerry cans, panic all over their faces.

The grocery store wasn’t any better. Empty shelves, torn packages on the floor, an hour-long line to the till. And suddenly — an explosion nearby. The ceiling shed plaster, the shelves trembled, and people fell to the ground. Someone dropped their basket and ran. Sofia gripped her parents’ hands: — Let’s wait. We have to stay strong.

They eventually returned home. They sat in the hallway with their cats, didn’t eat, didn’t sleep. “Is this the new reality?” she wondered.

Sofiya had just launched an online pet store. Now it was dead weight: clients had left, money vanished, and only debts remained.

During those days, a woman from Canada messaged her — a former customer who had once bought pedigree cats from her. They had become friends, understood each other without many words: Sofiya, come. I’ll help with the visa, the tickets. We’ll take your cats too. At first, Sofiya hesitated: “What about my parents? My home? My boyfriend?” But her parents insisted: “You must save yourself. We’ll stay, but you must live.”

She gathered her documents, belongings, and — hardest of all — her eight cats. The car was packed to the roof with suitcases, and pet carriers took up all the space. Some cats sat in their laps. Officially, the rule at the border was a maximum of four animals per person. But the border guards understood and let them through.

At the Moldovan border, the guards just waved: — Go. Take care of them. No one asked about microchips or papers. People with animals were especially vulnerable then.

In Romania, volunteers welcomed them and placed them in a big house with other Ukrainians. Everyone was from different cities: Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa. Everyone flinched at every sound — a door slammed from the draft, and people immediately ducked. Everything was linked to war.

With the animals, it was hard: not everyone wanted to live with them in shared housing. Sofiya had to find a way again. She found a Romanian family who gave her keys to a vacant wing of a house under renovation. She travelled there every day to feed and clean.

In Bucharest, Sofiya helped other Ukrainians with translations. That’s how she met Oksana, who arrived from Kharkiv with just one suitcase. Her husband and son had stayed behind — they couldn’t cross the border. “I lived in a bomb shelter for a long time,” Oksana said. She carried only a cane and a small bag.

That’s when Sofiya met a Romanian guy. At first — just a friend. They walked through parks, talked in the evenings. He’d come even after work, when he was exhausted. One day, he suggested a trip to the seaside in Constanța. Sofiya hesitated: “We’ve only known each other for a few weeks…” But she agreed. And that trip changed her life.

You know, — he said, — I wanted you to feel the sea. To help you breathe easier. She said nothing. Just watched the waves and cried.

Then came the news: Sofiia’s father had cancer. There were no meds in Ukraine, no morphine. She returned to spend his final days with him.

In March 2023, Sofiya and her Romanian partner got married. It was a modest wedding — witnesses, his mom, a few close people. Everything else was postponed.

At Easter, they travelled to Odesa. Her father barely got out of bed, briefly joined them at the table, then lay back down — the pain was unbearable. A few days later, Sofiya came back for the funeral.

In June 2023, Sofiya and her husband flew to Canada. Volunteers met them in Toronto, helped with documents and temporary housing. Within a week, they were working at a factory in Listowel, starting a new life.

In the evenings, she held her cats close and whispered: You are my home. Wherever you are, I am. Life in Canada started tough — a different culture, stress, and missing her parents. But Sofiya knew: she had a husband, she had friends, she had those who saved her cats. And most importantly — she had a future.