A 98-year-old grandmother who left occupied Ocheretino on foot has died.

According to granddaughter Lidiya Stepanovna, the death was sudden.

Lidiya Lomikovskaya, who left occupied Ocheretino in the Donetsk region on foot in the spring of 2024 and settled in a new house in Dnipropetrovsk region, has died at the age of 98. Her granddaughter, Svetlana, with whom Lidiya Stepanovna lived, reported this in a commentary for Suspilne Donbas.

“She died yesterday at the age of 99. She was buried today at a cemetery near Dnipro. Her death was sudden, a heart attack,” the woman noted.

What is known about Lydia Lomikovskaya?

Lidiya Lomikovskaya was a railway worker and conductor for 40 years, living in the village of Ocheretino in the Donetsk region. In April 2024, she fled under fire from Russian occupiers who had already entered the village. She managed to walk 10 kilometers on her own.

The NYT later reported in more detail how the 98-year-old woman left Ocheretino .

“I walked the whole way, and there was no one anywhere, only gunshots, and I wondered if they were shooting at me. I walked, crossing myself, and thought, if only this war would end, if only everything would stop,” noted Lidiya Stepanovna.

Journalists added that the woman walked for hours in slippers, without food or water. She had to pass by the bodies of dead soldiers, tripping over bomb craters.

Meanwhile, the Main Directorate of the National Police in Donetsk Oblast reported that the woman fell asleep and fell twice during the journey. According to law enforcement, she was holding on with two sticks and “her willpower.”

“At the height of the fighting, the pensioner miraculously remained alive and unharmed. By evening, the tired pedestrian was spotted by soldiers on the road and handed over to the White Angel police unit,” police said.

As Suspilne reported , in June 2024, the displaced woman, her granddaughter, and her husband traveled to Dnipro, where Lidiya Stepanovna received the keys to a new home donated by philanthropists.

(C)UNIAN 2025