Ukrainian mother, son living with group in makeshift bomb shelter as Russian shelling continues

Katerina Litvin and her 9-year-old son are among a group of people living in a makeshift bomb shelter in Ukraine as Russian shelling continues. "Every night we hear aircraft coming to our city dropping bombs," Litvin told FOX 29.

A 9th birthday unlike any other.

Katerina Litvin's son, despite constant reminders of war around him in Ukraine, enjoys being a kid for a moment and blows out the candles on his cake.

"We have been able to bake a chocolate pie the way we could because my son really loves it and it’s my job as a mother to make a holiday for him as much as I can," said Litvin.

Katerina and 13 other adults and five children have been living in this makeshift bomb shelter in Chernigiv, Ukraine for two weeks now.

Her husband, who left the family to enlist in service for Ukraine, managed to wire up electricity before he left.

"We have heating and facilities to boil water and cook. We have shared responsibilities we have people who cook people who play with kids and people who monitor the situation around the house," said Litvin.

She said the sounds and dangers of war are never far away.

"Every night we hear aircraft coming to our city dropping bombs. Every day we hear artillery shelling quite heavy, and we also hear some small arms combat in the city," said Litvin.

An air vent connected outside allows the adults to hear when it's calm for them to be able to briefly leave the shelter for vital supplies.

"When things are relatively quiet, we go out to get water to get some things and to wash up and these basic things as washing up and changing, help us stabilize ourselves psychology and live and keep smiling," said Litvin.

She stresses, this war has only begun. Lives are at stake and families like this fight every single day for survival.

"We are human shields to the capital of Ukraine. For us, it’s very important for the world to close the sky over Ukraine. Right now, we are under airstrikes ongoing," said Litvin.