Katya's brother, Vitaly, was murdered on October 7. Her father, Vladimir, drowned to death last Saturday. In an interview today (Tuesday), she spoke painfully about the hardships her family has endured since fleeing Ukraine due to the war, including difficulties with the state that is still examining their status and the deaths of her brother and father, whom her mother saw in his final moments.

Katya recounted: "We moved from Ukraine to Israel because the war in Ukraine had begun. When the war broke out, my brother Vitaly was already in Israel - he arrived here a few months before the war started. At that time I was working in Poland, but my parents and also my brother's family - his wife and son - were in Kherson, Ukraine. They tried to escape four times, and each time it was very dangerous and difficult, and only on the fourth attempt did they succeed. The next day, people who tried to escape on the same route were killed in shelling. Dad lived in Ashdod from his first day in Israel, and my brother Vitaly lived in Ashkelon at that time."

She described her brother and father painfully, and the strong bond between family members: "Vitaly was my older brother. Words cannot describe how good, generous, and caring a person he was. All his life he was my support and my protector, and not only mine, but also our parents', because we grew up in a family where both parents are deaf-mute."

"My dad was the best person in the world. Of course every child says that about their father, but despite his hearing and speech limitations, he had golden hands. He knew how to do everything. Therefore, when he arrived in Israel, he quickly found work, and in the four years he lived here many people learned to appreciate and love him. Everyone knew him as a person who works professionally, thoroughly, and reliably from his first days in the country. Dad worked in construction. He knew how to do everything, and did every job 100 percent."

"On October 7, my brother Vitaly went fishing with his father-in-law. Dad was also supposed to join them, but for some reason Mom didn't allow him and told him: 'You're not going.' I think she actually saved him from death that day. The connection between Vitaly and Dad was warm and special. Dad raised my brother to be a real man. Vitaly, for his part, did everything he could for our parents. After he was killed, for almost three years, not a day went by that Dad didn't tell me how much he missed him and how much he longed for him. They understood each other without words."

Katya said that when Vitaly was murdered, a change occurred in her father. "Dad of course didn't tell us everything, but from his eyes it was clear he had lost one of the most important people in his life. Vitaly was the first child in the family. Already at age seven, when I was born, he started taking responsibility for me. A seven-year-old boy who had to grow up very quickly. He always helped our parents with sign language translation. Even Dad's friends would turn to him for help. Vitaly was simply an exceptional person."

"Dad tried to hold it together and not show me and Mom how hard it was for him. He kept everything inside. But you could see it all on his face. As if part of him died along with his son."

About the morning she lost her father she recounted: "On the day Dad drowned, he and Mom went to the sea together. We had a wonderful family morning. The three of us went shopping, bought Dad new clothes, laughed a lot and had a good time. After lunch he and Mom went to the sea. They always went to the same beach, which has no lifeguards. That day there were high waves. Dad never went far out, but this time there was a strong current under the water. Mom saw him waving to her from afar, but couldn't understand if he was calling for help or just joking with her. After a few minutes his head disappeared under the water, and then she started to panic a lot."

"Shortly after, she saw a large gathering of people and a body, and immediately recognized it was her husband. She quickly called me and said Dad had drowned. At that moment my heart simply stopped. I panicked, rushed to the beach and saw the lifeguards, the MDA teams and the police officers trying to revive him. For almost 20 minutes I prayed that Israel wouldn't take from me the second person I love most in the world, but it didn't happen. They informed me they couldn't get his heart beating again. I saw his face, saw his body which was already white and his blue lips. I begged so much that he would open his eyes - but it didn't happen."

Katya described painfully that "I never thought that while we were fleeing the war in Ukraine, the two people closest to me would be killed right here, in Israel."

Despite their long stay in Israel, the family is still under tourist visa. Katya recounted: "Mom receives a monthly allowance following the death of her son, but the state has not taken responsibility for my parents. When we approached and requested official status in Israel - because here is buried my brother, my parents' son, who was cruelly murdered by a gunshot to the head, and was among the first murdered that day - we were refused. They only told us they would continue to extend our tourist visa."

"A tourist visa hardly allows doing anything. It doesn't grant rights. I couldn't get health insurance for my parents so they could undergo tests and receive treatment that would help them mentally and physically. I constantly had to ask Israeli friends to help me with payments, because we couldn't open a bank account or get a bank card. Everywhere they demanded a visa and Israeli passport."

"What are my parents guilty of? From our first moment in Israel we worked, paid taxes, received no assistance from the state and were not here as refugees. We tried to do everything the right way, because we were grateful that Israel accepted us when the war broke out in Ukraine."