For years, the Samarsky family lived in the embattled, occupied Oleshky alongside neighbors no one wished to have — Russian soldiers.
Serhii Samarsky, his wife Olha Liutikova, and their son Vladyslav remained in the town after Russian forces occupied it during the early stages of its full-scale invasion until October 2026, when a humanitarian mission, mediated by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump, allowed them to be evacuated.
Together, they survived relentless air attacks, cold winters without he