February 27, 2022 That day turned out to be more frightening than the 24th. We still slept in the house, despite the fact that the battle was going on not far away, in Hostomel. Frightening explosions were going off all the time. The morning of the 27th began with Dad telling everyone to quickly go down to the cellar because the battle was getting closer. …
I never hug strangers. However, I hugged this man goodbye. We talked at the bus stop. This is B. He is from Irpin. I don’t show his face. «My wife and granddaughter were blown up in front of me. They helped volunteers. Well, they gave them food, medicine … They went outside for water, and I stayed at home. That’s where they were blown up. There was a lot of blood… …
Today is your one-month anniversary, my baby. February 23: «Spring is coming, March is coming soon! Just a little longer and we’ll meet you, our spring flower!» February 24: «Did you hear? Explosions…» — I wake up… I don’t want to believe it!!! The war had begun. February 25: There’s the sound of an air raid siren and the roar of air defense systems. I’m standing in the …
What is stuck in my head is the Kyiv-Hostomel-Borodianka (Berestianka) highway. Hostomel. Tortured but unbroken. Even the monument to the Unknown Soldier has bullet holes in it. A ruined church. A burnt tank right in the centre of the town. Until the 24th of February we used to travel through Hostomel at least two times a month, and each time we would stop in the town centre, visit the market and tiny …
I slept through the beginning of the war… At 5 a.m. on the 24th of February, there was an explosion outside. The car alarms went nuts. I jumped out of bed. Everything felt foggy. I was exhausted from all the hospital visits and sleepless nights I’d had with my son, who’d been sick. He’s not yet three years old. My brain shut off and I fell asleep …
Yesterday I took off my tights for the first time in 12 days. I thought I would tear them off together with my flesh, as I’ve already experienced something similar happening to my heart recently. But surprisingly, the [or my] body is so tough that nothing sticks to it now. Not even blood. We spent 10 days under siege. 2 km from Makariv. In one of the most infernal places in Ukraine, …
They died in Irpin on March 5, while crossing the intersection near the Rich Town residential complex to evacuate under heavy mortar fire as a large column (70−90 units) of armored vehicles (tanks, armored personnel carriers) entered the city. A mine exploded near them. They were burned beyond recognition* and were only identified by the documents in a woman’s bag. I did not witness their death, …
A garage on Yablunytsia in Bucha. Tracks from rascist tanks and a tanker car marked «soviet railways»… And the garage where civilian women and men were hiding. The rascist soldiers closed the garage and threw a grenade through the ventilation slot… The remains of burned bodies… That’s all that was left of people who were simply hiding from the enemy. Today, the …
The story of a photograph. This boy in the Bucha refrigeration unit next to all the bodies has probably been seen in the most distant corners of the world, far from Ukraine. His name is Ihor, he’s 24 and it turns out that we once lived on neighboring streets for many years. He’s one of those volunteers who went to Bucha after it was de-occupied to collect the bodies …
