A Ukrainian widow's story: life after losing her husband to the war
Ukrainian Valentyna Lishchuk, now staying in Riga, lost her husband in January after severe wounds sustained on the battlefield. She speaks about their 23 years together and life without his support.
Valentyna Lishchuk, a Ukrainian woman met in Riga, shares her story of losing her husband in the war. On January 4 this year, her husband died after his heart stopped following severe injuries sustained on the battlefield and a prolonged struggle. Valentyna is now raising their daughter alone.
Valentyna, 43, spent 23 years with her husband. The couple met in Zvyahel (known as Novohrad-Volynskyi until 2022) in Zhytomyr region, where Valentyna had come to study law. She never became a lawyer, however, saying she felt more drawn to creative fields.
Family life and care
In recent years, much of Valentyna's time has gone to caring for her daughter, who has type 1 diabetes. Since her husband's death, Valentyna has also had to become head of the family — though she says the role isn't entirely unfamiliar, since her husband had been fighting at the front since 2014 while she looked after the children and home.
Valentyna says her husband's support and love were invaluable, and that being alone now is extremely difficult. Still, she carries with her the words he often told her — that everything would be fine.
The couple met when he was a young lieutenant and she was a law student. When they exchanged vows to love each other until death parted them, neither could have imagined how soon, and how cruelly, that promise would be fulfilled.
