“Home is where the healing begins”: the story of Yuliia Liakisheva from the Donetsk region has become part of the Museum of Civilian Voices founded by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation
10.08.2026
When doctors told Yuliia Liakisheva that she had only three months left to live, she made one request of her mother – to take her home, to the Donetsk region. The woman believed that it was within the walls of her own home that she would be able to fight back against the serious illness. Yuliia shared the story of her struggle and victory with the Museum of Civilian Voices founded by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation.
Yuliia was born in Kostiantynivka and lived there all her life. At the age of four, she experienced clinical death after being hit by a motorcyclist. Since then, she has had serious health problems. With the start of the full-scale invasion, her hometown became increasingly dangerous, so Yuliia moved to Kyiv with her sister and mother. In the capital, another blow awaited her – a cancer diagnosis. The disease progressed rapidly. Yuliia weighed only 38 kilograms, had almost lost the ability to walk, barely ate, and doctors refused to perform surgery.
“The doctors say: “She only has a few months left. We advise you either to put her in a hospice so that you do not have to see her, or to take her home.” Then I tell mum that Yuliia had asked us to take her home. So let’s make her dream come true,” says Olena Tiutiunyk, Yuliia’s sister.
Despite the risks and the proximity to the front line, the women decided to take Yuliia to Kostiantynivka. There, something happened that is difficult to explain in medical terms. Within the walls of her own home, her condition began to improve rapidly: Yuliia started walking and eating again and gradually gained weight.
“They say for a reason that even the walls at home can heal. I came home and spent two or three months lying down. Then I started walking a little, like a tortoise – back and forth. Then I started feeling a little better. Yes, there were explosions, constant gunfire, and drones flying around. But nothing else interested me because I wanted to spend more time at home. It was at home that I began to recover. And four months later, I even got back on a bicycle! It is now 2026, and I am still alive,” says Yuliia.
However, staying in Kostiantynivka came at a price. One day, Yuliia and an acquaintance came under fire. The man was killed on the spot, while Yuliia, despite suffering a concussion and having her arm torn open, miraculously remained conscious. Bleeding heavily, she managed to run to the military personnel.
“The explosion was on my side, so the shrapnel flew towards him. It is simply a miracle that I survived and that I was only wounded in the arm and leg,” Yuliia says.
The serious injury severely affected the woman’s health. She almost lost the ability to move her arm. After the operation, she was fitted with a special fixator, but the bone still failed to heal. That was when the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation came to her aid. Yuliia was provided with an implant for the osteosynthesis of the ulna, as well as the necessary medication. Today, the woman is relearning basic everyday tasks: step by step, she is working to restore the function of her arm and has already made her first noticeable progress.
“I am so happy that the Foundation helped me and that my arm was saved. I was very worried that I would not be able to restore its function. But everything has healed, and there is progress,” the woman says joyfully.
Yuliia now lives in the Poltava region with her relatives. Her large family has not only found shelter for themselves but has also opened their doors to fellow residents of the Donetsk region. Under one roof live several generations of the Liakishev family, elderly people, persons with disabilities and displaced people.
“There are 12 of us living in this house. This is our large family – fellow residents who have nowhere else to go asked to stay with us, and we gave them shelter. I want there to be love and peace everywhere and for there to be fewer angry people,” says Liubov Mykolaivna, Yuliia’s mother.
Watch the story of Yuliia Liakisheva and her family here: https://bit.ly/4bFf7tu.
The collection of the Museum of Civilian Voices founded by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation already includes more than 145,000 stories about the war. It is the world’s largest collection of testimonies from civilians affected by russia’s war against Ukraine.
