In May, the life of Serhii Umanets, a Zaporizhzhia resident and war veteran, and his family was divided into “before” and “after”. A russian drone exploded near his home just as he was leaving for work.
“I hadn’t gone far from the house – only about 400 metres – when I was literally stunned by the blast. I immediately realised that something terrible had happened,” Serhii recalls.
At the time, his wife, their two children – the youngest just two and a half years old – as well as his father-in-law and mother-in-law were at home. The drone struck the top of a walnut tree and detonated right beside the house. The house, garage, fence and gates were all damaged.
"The worst hit was the room where my wife was bathing our younger son. She covered him with her body. She herself was pinned beneath part of a collapsing wall, but her maternal instinct prevailed. How they survived that day is still hard to comprehend," says Serhii.
Despite the extensive destruction, the family miraculously survived. The blast wave damaged a gas pipeline, causing a car to catch fire almost immediately and quickly burn out completely. Part of the house was left without a roof, a wall collapsed, and nearly all the windows were blown out.
Support that helped kickstart recovery
Immediately after the explosion, Serhiy reported to work that he would not be able to go to work. He says he did not even expect how quickly he would receive support.
– I immediately called, said that I would not be able to go to work, asked for time off. Everything was immediately agreed upon. The bosses arrived very quickly, and everyone helped in any way they could. Then our guys from Zaporizhstal cleared the rubble, took out the bricks. Volunteers arrived, brought the most necessary things. They did not leave us alone with this trouble, for which I am very grateful to everyone, – recalls Serhiy.
Later, at Zaporizhstal, Serhiy was helped to quickly draw up documents to receive material assistance under the Metinvest corporate program, which is valid for employees whose housing was damaged as a result of Russian shelling.
– The plant immediately helped to draw up an application. About two weeks after submitting the documents, we already received the funds. This made it possible to start the most necessary repairs and gradually recover from what they had experienced, – says Serhiy.
The family immediately used the funds received to restore the house.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Metinvest Group companies in Zaporizhzhia - Zaporizhstal, Zaporizhvognetryv, Zaporizhkoks and Metinvest Machinery – have been providing financial assistance to employees whose housing was damaged as a result of enemy attacks. At Zaporizhstal alone, more than 300 employees have already received such support for a total amount of more than 7 million hryvnias since the beginning of the full-scale war.
Step by Step Back to Their Home
The family still has a great deal of work ahead of them. After every shift, Serhii returns home not to rest, but to continue rebuilding his house. The hardest thing, the man admits, is for his wife:
"It's very hard for my wife. She often comes to the house and cries. It's not easy for me either. But I'm back at work now, which helps take my mind off things a bit."
Every day, the family takes another step closer to coming home.
"Every day, we do something new. We're gradually restoring the house, and that gives us confidence. The most important thing is that everyone is alive and well. We'll repair the house. And with family, friends, and supportive people around you, any challenges become easier to overcome. I’m confident that we’ll be back home again soon.”
