It was very cold and windy in the city of Kyiv, Capital of Ukraine, and in spite of the prevailing apprehension over the security of lives and property following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Ukrainian people woke up as usual to face the challenges of daily life.
In their resilience, they went about their businesses, pretending as though all was well even when they have to live each day as the last.
Unfortunately, as they engaged in their respective activities, they were again reminded of their situation by the sound of siren that rented the air.
In their mundane engagements, they were not to lose conscious of regular air raids by their common enemy, the Russian Federation.
The windy Wednesday morning was not an exception, especially as there were sounds of siren the previous night in Kyiv, indicating trouble.
The siren has become a regular warning sign that Russian plane is in the Ukrainian air space and by calculation, it takes a minimum of 30 minutes for missiles to travel from the point of launch to its target in any Ukraine village of city.
Consequently, the morning of Wednesday called for extra carefulness. And as if to confirm their fears, the siren went off at about 11.30 am – a clarion call for take cover for survival.
The idea of the siren is essentially to warn people to quickly get to a nearby shelter within an interval of 30 minutes and remain there until there is calm in air and on land.
Immediately the siren rented the air Wednesday morning, everyone moved towards the direction of the closest subway to the Holodomor Museum – the Arsenalna Metro, for shelter.
The subway is considered to have the longest escalator in the whole of Europe, leading far below and providing the presumed necessary shield from air strikes until the missiles find their targets, most times, taking lives and leaving properties in shambles.
Not less than 5,000 people had ran to the subway on hearing the siren. This is the price Ukrainians have to pay regularly as long as the war lingers.
Cold or warm, they embark on regular unprepared journey for safety whenever the siren is heard.
Within few minutes the siren began, people gathered in large number, some sitting while others stood, gazing widely but seeing nothing in particular but despair and disillusions. Yet, the subway might not guarantee absolute safety and security bombs.
Thus, they live in perpetual fear, dying so many times before their deaths or better put, awaiting death by installments; outwardly healthy, mentally traumatized.
They only wished the war could end so they can manage their lives and plan their movements.
So, they gathered – old, young and children, not knowing where the enemy’s target will hit. These are the real casualties of war; the dead are well out of it.
One of such casualties managed to speak amidst tears.
A 56-year old music teacher – Mrs Nathalia Chernenko, told The Guardian that her greatest desire was to see the war end.
Feeling ill, she had gone to the hospital for treatment and had received an injection but on her way back home, she heard the siren and like others, quickly redirected her destination to the subway.
She is affected by war in many ways. Her brother is even currently fighting in the army, and she has also watched Russian army shot children and adults dead in the wakes of the war last year.
She said that life of an average Ukrainian has changed for the worst, leaving traces of stress and “a lot of depression.”
She added: “It takes a lot of time to stay in a shelter. It happened yesterday when alarm started and we came here in the shelter and stayed for three hours, even though I needed to be in the hospital.
“There are many people here who are made to stay here until the alarm stops.
“First day of the war, it was a feeling like it will end shortly but day by day as it lasts, the feeling is that it will last for a while.
In her opinion, Russian occupation of Ukraine is a hybrid warfare “and it feels like someone is engineering this – like those who make more drones, who make more missiles and going by what I heard about the Second Wold War, it is the other form of war.
“I feel this is a hybrid warfare, an engineered warfare.”
The visibly sobbing woman informed that she has never lost her hope that Ukraine will emerge victorious. This is the common position of an average Ukraine citizen – that they will someday reclaim their territories, enjoy their independence and leave without fear of intimidation.
Yet, the pains forced to think that her government should make peace with Russia even if it means losing some parts of their territories, “because we have lost more people than territories.”
“I am very sorry for those young guys we are losing. That is why it makes me sad. My brothers are among those fighting the war.
I have been under Russian occupation and it was a region on the way to Kyiv, Ukrainian Capital City.
“Under the occupation, some were not cruel and didn’t do anything but just occupying the city, but some were shooting people to death just because they could; because Russian had arms and Ukrainian didn’t have any arms.
“I don’t know about rape in the place I stayed but I heard about the killing of civilians just because they weren’t armed.”
Chernenko recalled how on February 26, 2022, Russian army came into their community, shot and killed many children, young men and others.
When asked if she would want her name mentioned, she nodded with assurance, stressing that was not afraid to say her first name or family name because she was in her country.
Mrs Nathalia Chernenko might be the voice of many Ukrainians. Though very patriotic, resilient and committed to the cause of their freedom, they want the war to end without further delay.
Or, to what extent would they endure the harsh living reality they have been subjected to in the past 20 months?
END
Be the first to comment