Maksym (19) from Kharkiv 

On the night of 24 February, I was awake watching the news with my friend. I felt something was going to happen... I fell asleep at two o’clock in the morning and woke up at five to the sound of my mother saying, ‘That’s it... It has started... Putin has attacked us, they are bombing Kharkiv, Kyiv, all the cities’. I couldn’t believe it. I was in despair. That day my father went fishing. When my mother called him, he first thought she was joking, but then he turned around and saw the glow over Kharkiv.  On the first day, we packed important things, prepared first-aid kits, filled up the tank, stocked up on food and spent half a day in the basement.

The first week was the scariest. We didn’t know what to expect. We heard booms the whole day long. The district, where I live, Saltivka, was damaged the most in Kharkiv. Already on the first day, there were hits not far from our house. On the second day I saw Russian military equipment in my street. I was scared, because I didn't know, what to do. IT TOOK US THREE DAYS TO GET TO LVIV. THE FIRST DAY, WE DROPPED BY OUR FRIENDS IN POLTAVA. THE NEXT DAY WE MOVED ON. EVERYONE USED THE SAME ROUTE, IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO GO AROUND OR SHORTEN IT. ON THE SECOND DAY, WE SPENT NIGHT IN THE CAR ON THE HIGHWAY, AND TRAVELLED THE WHOLE OF THE THIRD DAY.

We spent days in the basement and returned back home at night, but we couldn’t sleep, sure thing. We grabbed all our things and quickly ran to the corridor every time we heard air planes. That was our life until we left the city. When leaving, we took everything we had and drove in an unknown direction just to flee. Over time, you get used to explosions and even start to understand how far away the strike is and what they used to shoot. At some point, life becomes a lottery: strikes are getting closer every day.

I SPENT FIVE MONTHS IN LVIV OBLAST, I HELPED OTHERS AND VOLUNTEERED ALL THE TIME. THEN I MOVED TO POLAND TO STUDY, BUT I CONTINUE TO PACK AND SEND HUMANITARIAN AID TO UKRAINE. 

BW PICTURES COURTESY OF MAKSYM

Anzhelika  (22) FROM Kharkiv. 

On the night of 24 February, I was in the Kyiv-Mariupol train together with my nephew.  At 5 o’clock in the morning, a train attendant woke me up, saying, “There’s a war”. We were already in Donetsk Oblast at that time. We turned to Volnovakha, but as soon as we got there, the city was bombed. The driver decided to go back to Mariupol. When we arrived, there was panic in the city, the cars were filling up fast. There were 8 adults and 7 children in the compartment. It took us almost 24 hours to get to Kyiv. We didn’t sleep and didn’t go to the toilet. That was 25 February.

I STAYED AT MY FRIENDS’ IN KYIV. THE NEXT DAY WE DECIDED TO GO TO RIVNE. THERE WAS NO TRAIN SCHEDULE AT THE STATION, IT WAS CROWDED AND IN CHAOS. WE STOOD FOR 15 HOURS DURING OUR TRIP. WE PUT OUR BAGS ON THE FLOOR TO SEAT OUR CHILDREN AND ELDERLY. WE STAYED TWO DAYS IN RIVNE, AND THEN WENT TO WARSAW ON AN EVACUATION TRAIN. ALL THAT TIME, MY MOTHER WAS IN POLAND, WORRYING FOR US. MY SISTER STAYED FOR 10 MORE DAYS IN MARIUPOL, AND WE COULDN’T GET IN TOUCH WITH HER. FINALLY, THEY COULD ESCAPE THROUGH BERDIANSK AND ZAPORIZHZHIA, AND THEN BY AN EVACUATION TRAIN TO WARSAW...   

OUR WHOLE FAMILY IS IN WARSAW NOW.   

BW PICTURES COURTESY OF ANZHELIKA

VERONIKA (19) FROM CHERNIHIV.

LEFT UKRAINE ON 14 MARCH

PEOPLE WERE LOOKING AT US WONDERING WHAT WE WERE RUNNING FROM, BUT THAT WAS DIFFICULT TO EXPLAIN. ONLY BLUE PASSPORTS AND SAD TIRED EYES GAVE US AWAY.