Oleg Kislhenko from Mariupol raises children in a family-style children’s home. After the full-scale invasion began, the family was forced to leave Mariupol for Germany, and in 2025 they returned to Ukraine. Vadym Boychenko, head of the Mariupol City Military Administration, visited the family at their new home in the Lviv region.
Also participating in the event were Yulia Ryzhakova, head of the Children’s Affairs Service of the Donetsk Regional State Administration; Yana Shumovetska, head of the social support department of the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine “Azov”; and representatives of the host community.
With the support of the company “General Chereshnya,” the family-type children’s home received a car, four laptops, two air conditioners, a clothes dryer, a vacuum cleaner, a food processor, a concrete mixer, and a set of tools.
The family’s father, Oleg Kislienko, is a combat veteran who defended Ukraine from 2016 to 2019. In 2022, following the start of the full-scale invasion, the family, along with their ten children, was forced to flee Mariupol for Germany.
Despite being forced to relocate, the family wanted to return to Ukraine and have a home of their own. In 2025, the family decided to return to their homeland. As part of a government program and with funding from a state subsidy, the family received a house in the village of Nezhukhiv in the Stryi District. The family was able to secure housing thanks to the collaboration between the Mariupol City Council, the Donetsk Regional State Administration, and the Lviv Regional State Administration.
In May 2026, the family suffered a tragic loss—Svitlana Kislienko, the mother and caregiver, died suddenly. Currently, four of the children are now adults and are building their own lives, while six others continue to live with their father in the new home.
Based on materials from the Mariupol City Council