Lilia Anisovych, the mother of the little girl from Ukraine who went viral after singing Frozen’s Let It Go in a bomb shelter during the ongoing conflict with Russia, has revealed the horrifying moment she lost contact with her daughter – before they were reunited.
Seven-year-old Amelia Anisovych wowed the world with her rendition of the track, and has since performed on stage in televised events including The Voice Kids in Poland.
Speaking to Susanna Reid on Good Morning Britain in a pre-recorded interview that aired on Monday, the mum recalled the moment she had to part ways with her young daughter and son, who headed for Poland with their grandmother in an evacuation.
Susanna was reporting from the Polish-Ukrainian border in the latest episode of the ITV daytime show, as she revealed the latest updates on evacuations and the conflict – as well as the reports that people were returning to their homes in Ukraine.
During her interview, Amelia revealed “all my fears disappear, they just disappear” when she sings on stage, while she also detailed making a friend during her evacuation trip to Poland.
But her mother Lilia shared how glad she was that Amelia only recalled the good moments, as she remembered a point where she feared for her children and their grandmother.
Lilia explained that she and her family lost contact as she made the heartbreaking decision to let the children go with their grandmother ahead of her.
During this time, there was a bombardment at a train station leaving Lilia worried for the safety of her loved ones.
She explained all, as Susanna asked her about the “heart-stopping” and “horrifying” moment she learned there was a situation unfolding – unsure if her family were caught up in it.
Lilia said of their train journey: “It was fine taking into account they took an evacuation train, and where they had space for two people they had five.
“We had Amelia, her brother, her grandmother and another woman and her kid.
“It’s good Amelia remembers only good things about it. After their arrival in Lviv they had to sleep on the floor of the station, and it was only after that night that some volunteers come to take them to Poland.”
On being in contact with her family as they fled, Lilia told Susanna: “They were in touch all time. One situation happened, and I would say it was small but it was not small.”
She went on: “On their way, we got news that a new bombardment started on the way of the train. They had to change the route and once they were at the train station, a bombardment started exactly there.
“I followed the news and I can’t describe my feelings. They remained safe. They saw some smoke from a distance but their train was okay.
“I watched TV and I watched the news about the bombardment on TV. I started calling my family immediately, and I couldn’t reach them.
“I cant remember how long it took, time is different when someone you love is in danger. I can’t remember how much time passed, for me it’s a whole lifetime.
“There was a moment we could not reach each other.”
Asked about the evacuation, Amelia said: “I was hungry at one point. We had two sandwiches so I ate a sandwich and I made new friends on the journey, and everything was fine.”