Ihor (Teacher), Kharkiv region, 06. 05. 22

Ihor [...]

History science candidate, docent of Ukrainian studies, culturology and history of science

[...]

[...]

The beginning of the war

For the residents of [...], the war started with the sounds of the explosions early in the morning on February 24th. I think that everyone immediately understood everything. When I went to walk my dog at 6 am in the morning, there was a big line for the water already. When I ran out of water, I went to the nearest supermarket and there was almost no water there. It is interesting that despite all the chaos that was going on, the workers of city utility services continued working. A truck came to pick up garbage. A car from the village came – it usually brings dairy products. Many neighbors gathered and got in their personal cars. However, I saw that they returned in the next few days as they probably could not leave immediately.

Over the first 2 days, public transportation continued running, but by the middle of the first day of the war, the subway stopped running. It was turned into a bomb shelter for the civilians. By the way, me and my family (a 7-year-old daughter and wife) were hiding in the subway for the first 2 days. As far as I know, many people stayed at this station for weeks, rarely leaving to visit their homes. As it turned out, the subway is probably the safest place during bombings and artillery shelling.

Over the first few days of the war, in addition to bombings, another danger for civilians was Russian diversion groups which were sent to the cities close to the borders. Some of them were just hundreds of meters away from where we were located.

Thanks to my friend and colleague, in the next few days, my family was able to stay at his private house with a cellar. As it turned out, having your private shelter in a house is of great value during a war.

One of the symbols of war in [...] is darkness. In a literal sense. After 6 pm, there is a curfew, and none of the streetlights are turned on, and the city just ‘freezes’ still until 6 in the morning.

The most valuable things in war iIs the ability to access information. It is important to have up-to-date information, not the old one from a couple of hours ago. For example, when the Russian military were in the city, and people had to leave to get food, they exchanged information on whether it was safe to walk around the city. Another is seeing Ukrainian soldiers and understanding that the city is under our control.

It is also important to identify the sounds of explosions. Whether it is our soldiers firing back or the city is being shelled. In order to not have to go back to the bomb shelters, which is often not convenient at all. Although, it is safest to not leave them at all if it is not necessary.

Maybe the most important thing is connection. Without connection, it is impossible to follow the updates of the information and find out where exactly the city is being bombed at the moment and be in touch with family.

The greatest valuable is power bank chargers and electricity at home. I remember the fixing of electricity after a long break as the most positive event. Another is running water at home, drinking water, food, money, as well as having medications and pet food (the biggest lines were to the pharmacies and pet shops). Having personal vehicles during the war is about the means of survival, not just of transportation.

Evacuation routes

During the Second World War, [...] was one of the furthermost Ukrainian cities from the frontlines. During the war of 2022, it became one of the frontline cities. In 1941, before the war, the city’s population was 900 thousand people, in October of that year, the population, including those who evacuated, grew to 1 million and 500 thousand people. This year, the situation is the opposite. According to the data available from the city, a