Alice from Ukraine had to leave everything behind

When Russia invaded Ukraine, Alice's life went from safety to danger in a matter of hours. She saw her home and her entire childhood town destroyed in a few days of intense fighting.

Alice is 13 years old and comes from the town of Hostomel, located a few miles northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kiev. Hostomel was subjected to air strikes, shelling and heavy ground fighting that left homes, schools and shops in ruins. Even running water, electricity and heating disappeared. All that was left was destruction and fear.

- Our house was damaged. All the windows were destroyed and almost everything we owned is gone. Now I only have a cell phone, but it's hard to do schoolwork on it," she says.

After nine days in a shelter, Alice, her older brother and their mother managed to escape the city. Alice only had a backpack with the bare essentials. A pillow, an extra pair of shoes and a cell phone charger.