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Voices of war
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‘I am running away from the war, but it's catching up with me,’ — a resident of Kramatorsk

Svitlana Leonova has been fleeing the war since 2015. At that time, she moved from the temporarily occupied Shakhtarsk to Kramatorsk, but on 24 February 2022, the war came to her home. Now, she lives in a modular town in Borodianka and dreams of returning home most of all.

‘I live in a modular town and weave nets,’ — a resident of Borodianka

On 1 and 2 March 2022, Russian aviation destroyed eight multi-storey residential buildings in Borodianka with powerful FAB-250 aerial bombs. Nadiia Khomich’s house was also destroyed. Now, the woman and her family live in a modular town. She weaves nets for the military, makes trench candles, and does not lose hope.

‘I realisied that it's a kilometre to run through unexploded shells to get to the well...’ — Chronicles of occupied Izium

Vitalii Smazhev spent 100 days with his mother in occupied Izium (a town in Kharkiv Region). He had to dig graves for old people who were dying of cold and get food from destroyed supermarkets.

‘Our evacuation train was shot,’ — memoirs of a film director from Irpin

After ten days of being under shelling, Olha Hdulia left Irpin with one backpack and two cats. Like thousands of city residents, she evacuated across the destroyed Romanivsky Bridge, which is now called the Bridge of Life.

‘Graves of killed civilians in every yard’ — Yurii Liapkalo, Mariupol

Yurii Liapkalo and his three-year-old son Hlib tried to survive almost two months under constant shelling without normal food, water, heat, or communication. They managed to evacuate in April 2022. They live in the Czech Republic now, but sometimes Hlib still looks for shelter when he hears a rumble in the sky.

How does the European network help Ukrainian prisoners?

Shelling of prisons, lengthy consideration of the case, occupation, and even mobilization into the Russian army — tens of thousands of Ukrainian prisoners faced these and other problems because of the war. The Advocacy Director, Hugues de Suremain, talks about the work of the European Prison Litigation Network (EPLN).

‘The rocket killed my father. This will never be erased from my memory or heart’

Ostapovska Nataliia and Iryna are residents of the Krasna Hirka village. Without holding back tears, mother and daughter tell their story. Before their eyes, the rocket destroyed the house, animals, and the most dear person — father and husband. “In memory of the victims, we must not give up and move towards victory,” the women say, despite the grief they have not yet overcome.

‘Your wife will be in a cell next door, and your son will be in a Russian penal colony’. In Kharkiv Region, Russian soldiers tortured a school principal

Vitalii Chernov was taken by the Russian troops to the police station in Kupiansk (Kharkiv Region) on 2 September (2022). He refused to cooperate with the Russians. On 8 September, during the counter-attack of the Ukrainian troops, 150 prisoners broke out of their cells and set fire to the hated prison. We publish the story of the school principal’s capture and subsequent rescue.

‘If they gave me a machine gun, I would have killed them all...’

Olena Movchan is a resident of Shybene village in the Kyiv Region. The settlement was occupied from the first days of the full-scale invasion. The woman experienced many hardships. Olena says that she was forced to communicate with Russians. Mostly, these were Buryats and Kadyrovites [Chechens].

‘An old lady’s leg was torn off and her blood splashed on the granddaughter’

From the first day of the war, Kharkiv and its suburbs were brutally bombed. The Russians destroyed entire districts. Despite this, some of our interviewee’s Russian relatives refuse to face the truth.

‘We were driving, and they were shooting at us’

Tamara Vyshniak met a full-scale war in her home village of Borodianka in the Kyiv Region. The woman was shell-shocked during one of the air raids, which destroyed a neighboring house. The wrecked slabs covered people, but it was impossible to save them. Her evacuation was also not easy. Tamara says that Russian helicopters fired at civilians.

‘Bodies were lying in the street. Neighbours covered them with blankets’

“The bus stop was crushed like a tin can. Concrete slabs flew into the neighbouring street, and shrapnel damaged houses and windows. Imagine the force of the rocket strike,” said a resident of Lysychansk (town in Luhansk Region).

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