Chloe (17) lived in Kharkov, in eastern Ukraine. Until her mother woke her up on Thursday because of bombs. She grabbed the backpack that was already ready and at 7 o’clock in the morning she was in the car with friends. They had to leave Ukraine.
“We knew what Putin is capable of and that this might happen. Now that the time has come, I mostly feel empty inside.’ To her great sadness she had to leave her mother behind. ‘She’s stuck there,’ says Romanska. ‘We have five cats and a sick grandfather. She couldn’t leave without them, she couldn’t.’
Her mother wrote a message in Russian on Facebook on Thursday morning, as she herself says, to wake up her Russian friends. “Don’t let me tell you how we felt this morning at 5 o’clock. It was dark, the sky had flashes. Let me not write anything about how scary it was.’
She also writes about Chloe’s grandfather, an 84-year-old Russian who survived World War II and the occupation of Ukraine by the Germans as a child. ‘Do you know what he said? “I never thought I’d live to this point. This is so terrible and shameful. I thought they were really our brothers, I thought they were normal.”
It hurts 17-year-old Chloe to leave her hometown. ‘I was only able to take my mobile and other gadgets with me and a hug from the past. My whole star warsLego collection I had to leave behind. I think it will all be destroyed or stolen.’
‘I made an escape plan with my family’
Orest Zub (34) is located in Lviv, the largest city in western Ukraine. He thought he lived in a safe area as it is far from the separatist republics to the east. But now Zub hardly notices that safe status. “Friends of mine who live an hour from here have heard Russian missile attacks,” he says. “It’s unbelievable, we never thought the war would reach us too.”
It is a lot quieter than usual on the streets, says Zub. ‘Many restaurants are closed here, there are hardly any cars on the streets. Possibly because people are moving towards the Polish border, which is about a forty minute drive from here.’ In front of his house in Lviv’s old town, Zub sees long lines in front of ATMs. ‘It is also very busy in supermarkets and pharmacies. People get everything for first aid at home and women stock up on tampons, for example.’
Zub has no plans to leave town for now, but is preparing for a flight. “Everyone here has an emergency kit at home, including me. Over the past few days we have called a lot with the family about our flight plan. If necessary, we go to our country house. We also have a plan C: to Poland, but I really hope we don’t have to.’
That the war is being felt even so far in western Ukraine should worry the rest of Europe, Zub believes. ‘For us, the east is very far away. The distance to Donetsk is the same as the distance to Frankfurt in Germany. It has also moved closer to the rest of Europe. I hope European leaders will consider this when they consider their response to the Russians.’
‘Stay to fight’
The Kiev Katya Cmill (37) sees the traffic jams from her window from 5 o’clock in the morning. ‘Many people were awakened by the air raid siren and left immediately. It was still dark when it was already established on Peremoge Ulitse, the road to the west.’ They drive to the western part of Ukraine, to their dachas (country houses) or perhaps even to the Polish border. “The line of cars barely moves.”
The panic in the capital is great, says the Ukrainian. ‘For weeks. My sister had a baby two weeks ago and we’ve been talking about it over and over: should we evacuate them or not. Her husband wanted to stay, to fight. In the end they stayed. They’re at home now.’ Weapons are sold out all over town, Chmill says. ‘Shooting training sessions have been fully booked for weeks. I myself was supposed to take a first aid course on Saturday, but I don’t know if it will take place now.’
She herself decided weeks ago to stay. ‘I really wouldn’t drive away now. It’s safer not to hit the road. Going somewhere where many people gather is also unsafe. Then you make yourself a target. But I don’t want to leave anyway. I’m too angry. I don’t want to leave my country, I’m going to help how and where I can. I’m about to donate blood just to do something. If I flee now and we lose our country, I will be ashamed for the rest of my life.’
‘If I have to, I’ll fight’
When the Russian army invaded Donetsk eight years ago, Vasyl Revenko (30) fled the city. Now he lives in Kiev and does not want to know about fleeing. ‘I will stay here. I brought the most important things for my wife, brother and cat into the house. Although there are really only three things you really need: money, documents and an internet connection.’
On Thursday morning, Ukrainian President Zelensky called on the population to defend the country. If that request becomes a duty, Revenko will also leave for the front. ‘If I have to, I’ll fight. My uniform is already hanging in my room. He is not afraid: ‘In 2014 I was, but now I know that our army is much stronger. We have to, because Russia won’t stop until it’s stopped. We have no right to succumb.’