Olha Lasa says that after the occupation of the village Velyka Dymerka, the Russians drove a tank into her garden and hid in the cellar, kicking her, the owner, out into the street. A large hospitable house, where children and grandchildren visited, burned down.

Yurii Pladko is a pensioner from Makariv (Buchanskyi district, Kyiv Region). The war brought much grief to his family. The man tells about the invaders: “They didn’t look who was there — child or adult — they just shot whoever they wanted...”

Mariupol is one of the main symbols of the Russian army's war crimes in Ukraine. The Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group is engaged in documenting crimes and helping the victims. Oleksandra Netkacheva survived many shellings of the city. Unfortunately, her husband was injured during one of them and died in the hospital.

Pensioner Mykola Perepelytsia lives in Krasnopillia (Donetsk region). His village has been subjected to numerous airstrikes. He says: “An aircraft came every morning, smashing houses and tearing down roofs”.

Oleksandra lived in the Mykolaiv region. By 24 February, she was 32 weeks pregnant. Together with her husband, they moved to the hospital where they worked, but the Russians shelled it too. The woman with the baby was forced to go down to the basement 12 times only 36 hours after giving birth.

A resident from Kherson tells how the city lived during the first days of the Russian occupation.

Oksana is a teacher of Russian language and literature. When Mariupol was shelled, she felt as if her heart was turning into a small bird. It was painful to look at the blackened houses and the faces of the neighbors that faded from the war and seemed to have been erased.

Oleksandr, the code name “Typhoon”, has been fighting since the age of 24. Having survived captivity after Ilovaisk, he will not be captured again.

On February 22, 2022, International Memorial was dissolved by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. But, as we see, Memorial cannot be “dissolved”, just as a human being cannot be deprived of their innate ability to keep memories and reflect.

The award of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize has been wrongly perceived by many in Ukraine, he says. He explains who in Ukraine is eligible to receive a part of the prize money awarded to the International Memorial Society.

We spoke with Olha Leus from Mariupol at the YaMariupol center in Lviv, where the Kharkiv human rights group came to help Mariupol residents who live in Lviv after leaving their hometown.

Ruslan, a fighter from the “Azov” brigade, speaks about his way to “Azov”, a book that changed his worldview, an actual image of Ukraine, and a feeling of support and victory.