From the Ashes of War, a Ukrainian War Widow Grew a Garden of Love
After losing her husband in the war, Margarita Dotsenko, a displaced person from Luhansk region, found the strength to start all over again: she opened a flower shop in Khmelnytskyi, and it became a symbol of love, memory, and new life.
The Gaze reports on it, referring to Skhidnyi Variant.
After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Margarita Dotsenko's life in Luhansk changed forever. She lost everything — her home, her peace of mind, and the person most dear to her. Her husband, Ilya, a volunteer with the 132nd Separate Reconnaissance Battalion, was killed in June 2023 in the Zaporizhzhia region.
“I understood that it was a war, but I was sure that it would not affect us. Ilya always thought everything through, even telling me what to do if... But I wasn't ready,” Margarita recalled.
After his death, the woman could not return to her normal life for a long time. At first, she simply existed, rather than lived, without meaning or color. Only with time, with the support of her loved ones and her work as an assistant to a deputy in Khmelnytskyi, did she begin to find the strength to move on. But still, there remained a feeling that she needed to find something of her own, a new meaning.
The idea came unexpectedly — through memories.
“Ilya often gave me flowers. It was a manifestation of his love. And one day I thought: what if I try to create the beauty that he once delighted me with?” Margarita said.
She completed floristry courses in Lviv, prepared a business plan, and received a grant under a state program to start her own business. In June 2025, her flower shop with the eloquent name “Beloved. Flowers for You” opened in Khmelnytskyi.
“Before the war, Ilya and I were Russian speakers, but he always called me ‘kokhana’ (Ukrainian for ‘beloved’). This word became a symbol of endless love for me,” noted the entrepreneur.
Today, she works alone: florist, saleswoman, accountant, and courier all rolled into one. Despite the difficulties, Margarita is convinced that her new venture is not just a business, but a way to preserve memory and love.
Khmelnytskyi has become her second home, a city where she can feel support and find new opportunities.
“If a person is ready to work and develop, they will definitely find their place here,” concluded Margarita Dotsenko. Her story is about undying love and the strength that is born out of pain.
As The Gaze reported earlier, Russian-installed authorities in occupied Mariupol are preparing to reopen the city’s Drama Theater – the site of one of the most horrific Russian war crimes of 2022 – after claiming to have completed its “restoration.” The opening is planned for December 2025.