Brain tries to follow as if nothing is happening, says Brazilian in Kiev

Brazilian Gabriel Costa resumed the life he had in Ukraine two months after leaving the country. He works as marketing director in the capital, Kiev, where he returned on April 17 after spending the last few weeks at friends’ houses in Germany and Croatia.

He said that as he crossed the border back, he was left with a sense of fear that he was returning to a country at war. Insecurity has not gone away, but Brazilians believe that the mind adapts even to extreme situations.

“At the first siren, you leave the house, go to protect yourself, do the whole procedure. Then the second, the tenth sounds and then the siren is part of your life. She plays and life goes on,” she told the CNN Radio. “And everyone’s brain is trying to cheat and go on with life as if nothing is happening.”

Gabriel Costa said that in the capital, Kiev, people continue to find essential products on the shelves of markets, but in a smaller diversity of brands. He said that the item in shortage in the city is gasoline.

But the Brazilian notes that the war has increased nationalist sentiment and the will to defeat Russian President Vladimir Putin’s troops. “Ukrainians are very confident in Ukraine’s victory. This you feel anywhere, in a circle on the corner, in a supermarket. Wherever you go, there is only one phrase: ‘Ukraine will win’”, he says.

Costa also said that the date of May 9 is seen as a turning point, because the date is also remembered by Ukrainians as the day of victory over the Nazis.

“If you listen to the radio and television here in the country, they explain that from now on, all the heavy war material from the United States and the other allies begins to arrive. There is an expectation within the country that Ukraine will be able to launch a very large counter-offensive now,” said the Brazilian.