Alexandra, Daria and Roman are young people, 22 and 23 years old, they all stayed in Ukraine. Here they tell why they didn’t flee, what gives them hope and who they are worried about. None of them believe that the war will end soon. “It’s very painful to have to experience something like this,” says Daria about an air raid on her city that killed people. “The only thing you can feel is anger and hatred for these monsters.”
ntv.de: How is life in Kyiv or Kryvyj Rih these days?
Olexandra: “In my hometown of Kyiv, you sometimes have the feeling that life is still the way it was before the war. Lots of people, all working, doing their daily stuff, relaxing. But there is one rule in the city: if If you can afford leisure activities, please don’t forget to donate to the armed forces. I follow this rule, it makes me feel better. But I prefer local donations, where you know that people need money now and urgently. There is many refugees from the east of the country, for example from Kharkiv, poor people. We all hate the sirens. But only a very small percentage of people react to them. A friend of mine’s family had a holiday resort in a forest near Chernihiv . The houses there were badly damaged. A rocket flew into the house of my friend’s sister in Chernihiv and didn’t explode. How can we ever forgive the Russians?”
The resort near Chernihiv destroyed by Russian shelling.
(Photo: private)
novel: “Daria and I are from Kryvyi Rih. On July 9, a 20-year-old girl died here while training when our city was attacked. She was a Ukrainian champion in sports dancing. I feel sadness and hellish anger that she died because of the monsters that bring only terror and death. The girl lived and waited for the next day, now she lies in the wet earth because of this Russian scum. Every day people die, there are hundreds of such stories. Hundreds of dead in across Ukraine. We are sharing these stories on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok using the hashtag #russiaisaterroriststate to raise awareness of our situation.”
daria: “It’s not the first time my region has been shelled. But a few days ago it was my neighborhood that was hit by Russian missiles. This time it was much harder to endure the shelling as people were killed. It’s very painful to have to experience something like that. The only thing you can feel is anger and hatred for these monsters.”
Why don’t you want to flee?
Olexandra: “I don’t want to flee because I feel most comfortable here. When the bombing of Kyiv began on February 24, my boss took me and my colleagues to Ternopil in western Ukraine. Then I fled to Germany with my mother. When I was in Germany, my inner unrest was greatest. The Germans are nice people, but it wasn’t home. Only a refugee can understand that. We didn’t escape from a bad life, but from the war. Here, at home “I feel better, it’s calmer here. My family, my friends and my favorite job are here. My father is at the top, he’s my personal hero. It was very scary and painful to let him go [als er zur Armee musste]. When we talk on the phone I can hear him but I can’t hug him and I won’t be able to for the next few months. My mother also came back from Germany a fortnight ago, she too was very homesick.”
Novel: “I want and I don’t want to flee. Shelling can happen anywhere, orcs [so nennen die Ukrainer die russischen Soldaten] shoot indiscriminately, but in your own town you at least know where and how it is. Also, not all cities welcome refugees, especially if you’re a man, because to some that looks like cowardice.”
Daria: “I don’t want to leave the city. I don’t want to leave my home. I was born here, I studied here and I work here. I found love here, my friends and family are here.”
What is your everyday life like?
Daria: “Workdays mostly start with an air raid alarm, like an alarm clock. I spend most of my time at work. Incidentally, an overwhelming number of companies and shops work with conditions like: ‘You can go to the air-raid shelter, but this time will not be on yours taken into account wages.’ I’ll be there ten minutes before curfew [die in Krywyj Rih um 22 Uhr beginnt] home and turn off the light. On my day off, I go to the park or the square and have a coffee with friends.”
Olexandra: “I’m at work from morning to night. Whenever a siren sounds, I’m always angry with the Russians and I wish for peace. You can’t go out like you used to, it’s a cruel restriction of freedom because you’re around because of the curfew “Has to be home by 10:59 p.m. And if there’s an air raid, the subway doesn’t go over the bridges. That’s quite a lottery, and people suffer a lot.”
Is there anything that gives you hope?
Novel: “I find sources of optimism in my friends, some of whom have stayed and many have gone abroad. We all try to support and help one another.”
Daria: “Unfortunately, there are not as many sources of optimism as we would like. Watching TV series, trying to relax and distract, meeting friends. We don’t even need to talk about parties.”
Olexandra: “Just routine stuff that makes you think it’s always been like this. I get excited when I see the achievements of the Ukrainian armed forces, how the Russians and their asses are on fire. And there are very inspiring people in Kyiv who are still building , open facilities, carry out projects and, as far as possible, plan for the future. Or live as if it were the last day.”
How do you think the war will end? Does it scare you that the enemy is approaching?
Novel: “I believe that Kryvyi Rih will be defended. I am sure that the city will hold out and the enemy will not get through. However, what is scary are the Russian missile systems, the banned scorched-earth tactics of using cluster munitions on the residential areas and nearby cities fire from Kryvyi Rih.”
Daria: “I do not believe in an enemy attack on the city. They will not succeed.”
Olexandra: “The fact that it’s not possible to plan for the future drives me crazy, because everyone around us is afraid of a new offensive against Kyiv every day. And it’s also scary to see the desperation of some people. We’ve come so far come, how could it be but that we conquer?”
Are there people in your city who support Putin?
Novel: “You meet people with a pro-Russian attitude. Not often, but it happens. Especially on public transport and in shops. But when you ask them why they don’t want to go to Russia, they don’t know what to say. And as soon as the security authorities talk to them, everyone is fiercely pro-Ukrainian. It’s mostly older women who say things were better in the Soviet Union. For example, I once saw children who sold souvenirs to get the money to donate to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. An elderly woman who was selling vegetables didn’t like it, she threw all the children’s goods around, and other people poured paint over her vegetables.”
Daria: “There are no people in my environment who take a pro-Russian stance.”
Olexandra: “In my social environment there are no such people at all. Thank God, otherwise I would gag them.”
Who are you worried about?
Novel: “I’m worried about my family and my girlfriend. I’m also scared of being drafted into the army. I’ve never had any military training, I don’t think I’ll be of any use on the front lines other than dying needlessly or Getting captured. It’s better left to the professionals, which thank God we’ve had enough of.”
Daria: “I’m worried about my safety and my family. I want the war to end as soon as possible.”
Olexandra: “I’m worried about our fighters, their families, the people who lose loved ones every day. It makes me very sad, but this is war, nobody is protected.”
In your opinion, how can the war be ended faster?
Novel: “I don’t think the war will end any time soon, at least not in the next few years, provided we continue to receive aid, weapons and funds. A quick and effective turnaround could be achieved with NATO or the US intervening in the conflict, but I doubt that will happen.”
Daria: “I wish it would end soon, but to be honest, I think it will take at least six months, if not more, to kick out all Russians. Ukraine is not Putin’s only target.”
Olexandra: “These bloodsuckers are not going away any time soon. We need weapons. It’s clear to me, having been abroad a month ago, that the other Europeans don’t understand that in one part of this continent bombs are falling and rockets are exploding and civilians are dying too . I’m afraid they still need time to realize that and to help us more.”
Maryna Bratchyk spoke to Daria, Roman and Olexandra