A lullaby amid war: a mother mourns one son lost and awaits the return of another from captivity.

While he was still alive, he wrote: «Thank you, mom, for raising us as true Ukrainians». And she replied: «Bohdan, it wasn't me». — «No, mom, it was you».

And she pondered: some seeds she had sown in their souls. They spoke only in Ukrainian, sang carols, cooked kutia, dyed eggs for Easter, and went to church — all together, all at once. They didn't even notice how the lullabies about “the flying little ones” and “kittens” Bohdan was already singing to his own son.

«This is probably how Ukrainian identity is born», — says 49-year-old Tatyana Demchuk from Khmelnytskyi.

This text is about her and her heroic sons.

Everything is fine, mom

«My grandfather fought in World War II; he was such a wise, balanced person, and I loved him endlessly. My dad and Bohdan are very much like him. In photos, they look identical, and their character: they loved to help others without thinking about whether they would receive gratitude. They didn’t tarnish everything around them; rather, they tried to illuminate it. They laughed, joked, and consumed life in large handfuls», — the woman recounts.

She herself raised two sons and a daughter. They grew up hardworking: in the village. They dug, slept, raked, and chopped. The boys spoiled their younger sister Dasha. They stood by each other like a rock.

«I was so happy that I managed to raise self-sufficient, adult men who don't hide behind their mother's or wife's skirts. They grew up to be worthy people, capable of deeds and caring for others. They didn’t want to live doing nothing for themselves. They knew how to envelop others with love. Bohdan, after being on the front lines and feeling all the losses, began to appreciate home and family even more. His wife and son Misha were behind him like a stone wall because he considered them the most precious treasure. He began to call me “mamulička,” which he hadn’t done in childhood», — Tatyana smiles for a moment.

Both went to serve in “Azov.” The elder in 2015, the younger a bit later. They told nothing about the war, fears, and losses: they would say, everything is fine, the less you know, mom, the better you will sleep. She tried to support them with conversations about a peaceful, calm life.

Spring 2022 was in full bloom. The battle for Mariupol continued. Mom wrote to her sons at “Azovstal” that tulips had bloomed at home and the apricot trees were already fading.

On April 30, Oleg called her: «Mom, Bohdan is no longer with us». And he cried. She could hardly hear, asked him to repeat, but her heart was already filling with cold lead: misfortune had come. Her daughter-in-law was nearby, just about to go for a walk with five-year-old Mikhailik. «What happened? What happened?» — she blanched. — «Bohdan is no longer with us. Go, Nadia, take a walk», — Tatyana said into the void.

«We had no right to cry, no right to scream, because on one side was my grandson, still just a child, and on the other was my daughter, who is 13. What would happen to their mental health? And they went outside, and I went to wash the bathtub. And I washed it with my tears», — the mother recalls that terrible day.

They were temporarily living in a dormitory, all in one room, in Khmelnytskyi. There were people around. No place to scream. And the woman waited for her relatives to fall asleep so she could let her tears flow.

Bohdan Demchuk died on a mission on April 29: a generator needed to be delivered to the hospital at “Azovstal.” Eight fighters went to find it. On the way back, their “Gazelle” was hit. In the first strike, the guys were concussed, in the second, a shrapnel cut Bohdan's neck.

He would have turned 27 a few days later.

My soul is captive

In Sharivka, in the Khmelnytskyi region, where the brothers lived, they were called “little lights.” Initially “little smokes” because of the Demchuks. But then the villagers realized that these restless, fiery, lively guys were little lights! Their mom was saved in the phone as “the mother of the little lights” by the local priest's wife.

For his service in “Azov,” Bohdan chose the call sign Light, while his younger brother Oleg became Prophetic.

He defended Mariupol and came out of captivity from “Azovstal” in May 2022. He managed to write on social media: «Everything will be 4.5.0».

«Oleg, though thin and exhausted, had no scratches on him then, he walked on his own», — his mom sighs, — «but he was injured in the colony of Yelenovka. He was in the barrack where the terrorist attack happened. His brothers sat him on a chair and carried him out because he wouldn’t have made it out of the burning room himself. The explosion shattered his femur and tore muscles from both calves».

The woman gathered information about her son piece by piece. She knows that after Yelenovka, he, along with other wounded, was sent to a hospital in Donetsk. They treated his wounds. They didn’t fix the shattered bone, saying that they would operate when he returned home. And one day it healed on its own. Now one knee of the 26-year-old man doesn’t bend, and he walks with a cane.

According to the latest reports, which they have had for six months, Oleg is in the city of Kudymkar. This is in the Perm region of Russia. About 2000 km from Kyiv. And his mom knows this from the fighters who are being returned from captivity.

«Neither the Red Cross nor any other international organization has access to our prisoners of war. And even though they are in hell, they try to learn more about each other and bring some news back to Ukraine. As soon as they get home, they find their relatives themselves. A brother of Oleg called me; his friend was with him in the same barrack in Yelenovka. Later, he ended up in the same hospital ward with him. In September 2024, both of them were sent to the Perm region.

«Another time, I accidentally connected with a comrade of my boy. A friend of mine’s son returned from captivity. They exchanged him for another soldier who was in the same cell as my son in Horlivka. I visited him in Kyiv. I talked with him. For mothers, these bits of news are very important», — the woman shares emotionally.

She is pleased that the “Azov” fighters are starting to be returned, even those sentenced to 25 years, even life sentences. It was previously considered unrealistic. Tatyana knows that prisoners are allowed to receive packages, and although it is difficult, it is possible to establish phone communication.

I ask if she was happy when she learned that the head of the Yelenovka colony was blown up.

«I was told that after the terrorist attack in 2022, our guys were bleeding out. They were given neither tourniquets nor medicine. The guards only threw rags at them. And this commander walked around smiling, drinking coffee, and said: “Let the bastards die.” It’s good that there is work being done to eliminate such people; let the enemies know that nothing goes unpunished. But I will be happy when I can hug my son; for now, my soul is captive».

We envy those who have a body

When Bohdan died, his mother couldn’t wear a black scarf and mourn. For her, it would mean mourning for Oleg while he was still alive. And that cannot be! The fear of losing him clouded her vision; she has never felt anything worse until now. The woman wore a dark blue blouse with a thin white stripe. This proved to herself that hope still warmed within her. Once at work, someone asked her: «Why don’t you wear a black scarf?» — «I have a black soul», — she replied.

For months her heart ached: did Bohdan suffer? Did he die in agony? She recalled videos from “Azovstal”: in the bunkers, the guys were