Anna, Kherson
I found out about the war on February 24 at 06:18, when I heard an explosion from a local airfield, it's not far away.
My name is Anna, I am from Kherson, which was completely occupied by Russian troops.
I found out about the war on February 24 at 06:18, when I heard an explosion from a local airfield, it’s not far away. I reached for my phone and saw dozens of messages from my university friends who live in the USA, and a message from my husband, who is now on a flight. On the same day, I packed my things and went with my son to my mother, she lives on the first floor, and I’m on the seventh, and there is a basement there. The first days I couldn’t come to my senses, I was constantly crying and reading the news. When the fighting took place from the Antonovsky Bridge, we were quiet, and my mother and I began to amuse ourselves with thoughts that we could spend the war on the couch and not hear a single explosion. The siren does not work in this area, we learned about the alarm only from local telegram channels and from my brother’s wife.
And then a shell flew to the neighbors, and the shock wave shook our house so that it seemed to me that it flew to us. I’ve never been so scared. We sat in an incomprehensible stupor in the corridor, observing the rule of two walls. I held my son in my arms, trying to figure out what to do next.
After blocking the city, we have no way to leave or enter. Food trucks cannot pass either. There are huge queues everywhere, and people are moving around with wheelbarrows. The feeling that we have returned to the times of the collapse of the USSR. It is aggravated by the fact that ATMs almost do not issue cash, and many stores do not accept cards. But many have stocked up on food for a month in advance, and the work of volunteers has been established in the city. There are many groups in Viber and Telegram where you can ask for help or provide it.
Today is the 20th day and I think I’m getting used to explosions. The fighting is conducted mainly at night, closer to the airport. There was an alarm when I am in front of the windows. There was no fighting in our area, but I’m terribly afraid that someone might shoot through the window. We started going outside with my son, and I’m constantly reading information: how far we have moved away from the entrance, where we can hide, whether my son will step on the tripwire.
I am a teacher of Spanish and English. I used to have several classes a week, and I canceled them from the very beginning. I will be coming back this Thursday. I run a conversation club and I understand that not only my students need it now, but also me. I have colleagues from Russia, but very few correspond with me. I am amazed how you can not believe the photos and videos from the scene and say that we are shooting ourselves. But these are people who speak English!
Today we have been fighting all day and we only know that the APU has launched a counteroffensive. I believe in the victory of our country, but I don’t know when it will happen. It’s very hard to plan ahead now. I was hoping to return to my apartment, moved my things — more explosions! It is impossible even to estimate how the day will pass. One thing I know, if the idea of creating the HNR ever comes true, we will definitely leave it here
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Nastya Krasilnikova
Nastya Krasilnikova’s channel about women and their rights.
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