24th of February 2022 should have been my usual day. No, not usual. A wonderful day. I should have been checked with a doctor, gave notice to teachers in high school of my absence, and then fly away on vacation, my parents wanted it so much.
On 23rd of February 2022 I felt happy. I had a secure, happy life, preparing to finals, hanging out with my friends, already having an offer from university.
Until 5AM 24.02.2022.
I had not a single class in my school since then.
I haven’t seen my friend group in 2 years.
I didn’t have my finals.
We did not have that vacation.
“Daughter, wake up. This old psychotic man attacked us. We are leaving.”
That was my first photo of the day, trying sarcastically keep myself normal. I remember that actual emptiness, reading my classmates texts about how their windows were shaking because of explosions, the sky was orange. They sent that video.
He called it “a special military operation”.
I collected random clothes, some hobby stuff just to keep my sanity, grabbed my pet, emptied my safety locker. I was scared that russians would intrude into our home and steal all my savings, so I throw away key to that lock. This key became my symbol of war, I have never found it even after return.
When I with my parents and pet got out of flat to car we heard for the very first time air raid siren. We would hear so many more of them, we would learn to differentiate them, but then we were confused.
It was my second photo. People were going away. Foot, cars, bicycles. I remember such a surreal picture. Some moms were carrying their toddlers, one woman was carrying a bucket of water with turtles, other people were carrying cages with parrots, with dogs, with cats, with exotic pets despite air raid siren, temperature, rain. Everyone was so confused and scared.
Few days later the road we were riding was occupied. Bridges destroyed. Factories burnt. Supermarkets demolished. Houses in ruins. Road in holes. On the side of the road burnt cars with “DO NOT TOUCH, POSSIBLY EXPLOSIVE”. That gut wrenching feeling seeing photos of dead bodies and recognising the place.
But back then it was still lively, not a road of death. I remember reading news then. First victims, first shelling. Invasion from East. Invasion from Kharkiv region. Invasion from Crimea. Invasion from Chernihiv. Invasion from Zhytomyr. And we were in Zhytomyr region at that moment. Explosions in Kyiv. The border was destroyed.
I felt nothing. Just emptiness.
This precious girl was keeping my head cool all the road. She was also scared and irritated, but she was so strong, such an amazing girl. I am so proud of her.
We were heading to my grandparents who lived closer to West Ukraine, so we would be safer. The road that takes usually just 4 hours but that time it took 13 hours. 13 hours of driving exhausted and nerved. We saw soldiers, trucks, jets, how barricades were built, signs were removed.
But we made it. We were lucky. Lucky to be alive, to have family alive and mostly close to West, further from russia. Even though, part of my extended family still was under occupation in Chernihiv region, suffering from such close border with belarus.
When we arrived, we were just silent. Then collected mattresses for shelter, asked grandpa to grab some patrol (we knew that they would definitely destroy reservoirs and literally next day the started doing that), and just fell asleep in something that we arrived in, being so scared.
That day I also cut ties with russian friend who I am shamed to admit having. He was proving me that this is just a military operation, no one would be harmed.
Then, arrived spring that I will never forget but at the same time never remember. I remember 10 people in one floor house. I remember the whistle of rocket that woke us up. I remember sirens. I remember news. I remember losing hope. I remember first photos after deoccupation of Kyiv region. I remember how forgotten friend of my dad suddenly called him saying that his city is fully destroyed, his neighbour right on his eyes was exploded attempting to get into the car and evacuate.
I remember my first mental breakdown. How I was crying in the darkness, but quietly so no one would notice.
We were able to return home three months later. But we are just lucky. Someone would never return. Someone is not even alive to see their home again. Someone’s home is forever destroyed.
I was lucky that I have secured my place at foreign university before war, but my whole family is still in Ukraine.
War is not over at all. 20% of Ukraine is occupied. So many displaced civilians, so many deaths. No one could even count, we do not have any access to bodies. Only way to identify is to deoccupy and find mass graves. No other means. Children are suffering from PTSD even in such a young age. Almost in every city, big or small, you would find graveyards covered in Ukrainian flag, grave of the soldier.
Maybe media does not talk that much of us, but it doesn’t mean that everything is alright. Avdiivka is destroyed, right now operation searching for people under debris of the civilian house after attack is undergoing.
And this is happening all the time.
Who was punished for Olenivka? Who was punished for destruction of Kakhovka Dam? Who was punished for all fully destroyed cities? Who was responsible for all that absolutely atrocious videos torturing Ukrainian soldiers?
Please, remember, Ukraine is still on fire. People are still dying. Soldiers cannot even counterattack because they do not have enough ammo, just for protection. Information war is also waging, sharing all that misinformation, Nazi narratives, russian propaganda.
Remember.
Help.
Share.
russia is a terrorist state.
so so fucked up how Ukrainians in online spaces are like "I don't want to see anything or anyone ruzzian on my dash ever again, no matter their views" and some foreigners go "oh, you're so racist for this, you can't bring tumblr blogs into this" or "it's just pictures of moscow why are you blocking them for this jesus" or smth like that, and it's like. fellas is it "overreacting" when people don't want to see or hear anything related to a nation who oppressed them for centuries including at least two genocides with one of them going on right now, is it "overreacting" when people want to see literally any other country except the one that is killing Ukrainians every goddamn day. bro imagine living in a country that's not being invaded and arguing with someone who's currently sitting in a bombshelter hiding from ruzzian rockets second time this week about how they shouldn't bring posts about dostoyevsky into this.
They're in love, your honor.
OC Viktor and Arsydia.
liels paldies to latvia for its hilarious but effective method of providing cars for the ukrainian army 🇱🇻🫶
Morning in Ukraine is as always started randomly at whatever time russians decide to try to kill us. Explosion after explosion, and you stare at the information that there is so much shit flying to kill you. Thank you air defence for being here, so i can drink my coffee and listen quietly how you work, still being startled at the sound, but recognising that its not certain death yet
Mykyta Tatyanko "Zhyvchyk", a soldier of the 501st separate marine battalion, is still in captivity. He hit the front pages of all the world's media because he was simply helping the wounded during the shelling of the Mariupol maternity hospital. Because he just wanted to save someone.
In Mariupol, Zhyvchyk provided moral support to the locals. Ksenia, a resident of the city, met the soldier when a residential area was shelled. That day, March 12, her family was injured and slaughtered - her 16-year-old son and her sister's husband were killed instantly. "I was in a state of shock: I wanted to commit suicide because half of my family was killed in front of me, and the other half was not sure if they would survive," Ksenia said. The young defender helped the woman to keep her morale up. Mykyta convinced her that she shouldn't do anything to herself because many people around her needed help. "You are needed here, let's go help," Ksenia recalls. Ksenia told Mykyta's mother, Larysa, everything in detail, and told her that she had become the heroine of a movie about Mariupol. She also talked a lot about Mykyta in the movie, but she didn't give them any details. They are still in touch. Once she said: "Maybe you will be offended by me, but now Mykyta will be my adopted son." And Larysa was very happy about that, because now they both pray for him sincerely. Larysa was also contacted by one of the guys who was in the TRO and headed the security of the hospital in the city center. In a conversation with the soldier's mother, the defender said that in Mariupol, her son shared his food and medicine with the residents. Mykyta gave away almost everything he had.
❗In these pictures, he is 19 years old. At the age of 18, he voluntarily chose the path of the military, which even before the full-scale war, he was in the east part of Ukraine. Mykyta has been in captivity for almost 2 years, so he is now 21.
Please, share stories of our defenders in captivity. Many of them, including Mykyta have been there more than 2 years. You can only imagine what Russians do and tell them. Russians entertain themselves by breaking people, especially Ukrainians. They fiercely hate people who protect and fight for freedom. I hope our people find even more power in themselves to live through the hell of russian captivity. And when defenders all come back to their homeland, they will be themselves, in a healthy state like body and mind. There so many people are waiting for them. They deserve only good things after all of that.
The gorgeous Frank with important message in Kyiv.
I’d appreciate if you read and remember this:
Images source:
An acquaintance's child died at night. 12 years...
She screamed that she had a severe headache. The ambulance took her to the intensive care unit, where the child died😢.
An autopsy revealed a blood clot. Due to constant stress. The child was afraid of explosions and alarms.
Jobana katsapnia (fucking russians) killed this child
Animation for my uni project :)👍
It’s rushed, I wish I could work on it better cuz I think it’s a pretty good base
This is my homecity, Kyiv, on the 2nd of January after russia attacked Ukraine with Shahed drones, 16 Tu-95MC bombers, "Kinzhal" and "Kaliber" missiles during the night.
(Overall russia launched 99 missiles of various types and 35 attack drones over Ukraine during the night and morning).
As for now, 49 people are injured, 43 out of them were hospitalized. 2 people died.
I cannot express the pain I feel seeing the beautiful and strong city where I was raised being so viciously destroyed in the front of the whole world. And I certainly cannot imagine the pain of those, who suffered during the attack today and who lost their loved ones, one of them being Lyudmyla Shevtsova, doctor of biological sciences, professor, teacher of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
DON'T LOOK AWAY.
DON'T FORGET THE FACE OF THE TERROR.
SUPPORT ARMING UKRAINE SO WE CAN DEFEND OURSELVES, OUR LIVES, OUR CULTURE FROM BEING DESTROYED.
Local kids are collecting things that belonged to their dead friend.
A book on Chemistry for the 7th grade, children drawings, younger brother's book on Math for 1st grade, an Alphabet book, old photos...
In Synelnikove, Russian missile killed a whole family in their own house - a grandmother, her daughter and her two granddaughters - 14 and 8 years old. Doctors were able to reanimate the youngest child - a boy of 6.
🇵🇸🍉 Небосхил | 🇺🇦 | artist | укр/eng/pol | https://linktr.ee/neboskhyl
297 posts