“A year ago, I was awakened by explosions,” recalled Alina Shapoval, echoing the memories of countless Ukrainians of the morning Russia launched its attack on the country exactly one year ago.
“My little girl was sleeping next to me and the first thing I thought was: how is this possible?”
Shapoval, 36, lives in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, and was born in Nova Kakhovka, a town in the Kherson region that is now occupied by Russian forces. His first hours in the war resembled those of millions of his countrymen: frantically calling family members, picking up a suitcase, leaving the house.
At first Shapoval did not go far. She went to a relative’s house and offered to help supply the armed forces with clothing and equipment, just as she had done after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.
“Full of adrenaline, we spent the first few weeks helping our guys with almost no sleep,” she told CNN . “I wanted to stay in Ukraine, but it was dangerous and almost impossible.”
Shapoval ended up joining the millions who fled west, staying with a friend in Switzerland for nine months, then moving to Wroclaw, Poland.
She felt that her life was “torn to pieces”.
“I haven’t seen my relatives in so long, I didn’t know if I would see them again,” she said.
Olexander Atamas, 35, was living in Irpin when Russia invaded. “I was prepared, but it was still unexpected when it happened,” he said. “I felt scared, I was stressed, psychologically it disturbed me.”
Atamas is now serving in the Ukrainian Naval Forces. “Currently there is no fear, there is confidence that everything will develop in the right way, we will go through this modern liberation struggle, our state will resist, win, recover our territories”.
Fear quickly turned to defiance for millions of Ukrainians.
“I remember the 24th of February very clearly. That day, I opened YouTube with sweaty palms and decided to learn how to use a gun,” Yegor Firsov, a combat medic in the Ukrainian army on the eastern front and a former parliamentarian, told the CNN .
“Morally and psychologically, nobody was ready for war. But we overcame our fear, gathered our strength,” he said.
“We are ready to fight as long as it takes – days, months or years.”
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
