KATERYNA, an entrepreneur

Life cracked in two halves after the first explosion. It doesn’t feel whole anymore. Especially after my dad’s call at 6 a.m. and his phrase: “The war has begun”.

Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. You go through these every day.

KSENIA, a medical student

I started preparing for the war long before it actually started, but wasn’t in a hurry.

It feels like I don’t remember much, except for a few days “before”. One night I woke up at 4:40am because I heard a bang outside. I thought it was an explosion, because several cars on the street had their alarm systems activated. I grabbed my rats, hid the very first version of my ‘emergency bag’ in two boxes from Nova Poshta, a local post service, woke everyone up and sat down at the exit, far from the windows.

MARYNA, an artist

My physical and mental state has been on and off normal … In the first days, there was shock and stupor, fear and panic, tears and anxiety, tension and despair.

Then, a few days of helplessness and tears. It gave me a feeling of a heavy bundle inside, the inability to gather myself. I felt self-hatred because I had not yet gone anywhere to volunteer, while others had.

For the first few days, I just lay there, curled up in blankets, drinking soothing, mint-herbal infusions, and listening to the terrible news. Time lasted an eternity. It was possible to plan the moment only “here and now”. No future, not even an hour ahead.