These are women I know well, with whom I communicate weekly, in whose homes I stayed on the occasions I visited Ukraine. When my two grown children, husband and I came to Kyiv some years ago, we were all welcomed in Lena’s apartment, while she and her husband moved in with relatives.
Since the nightmare began we have been in constant contact through Skype and we are wondering when and if emailing will follow. Until now, despite the distressing information, not only do I know that they are alive, but it also gives me up-close glimpses of the catastrophe.
Editor’s Note: To preserve their original form, the exchanges below have not been edited
Thursday, Feb. 24
[l turned on the computer and was greeted by a disturbing, panicked email from Kyiv]
My dear, we are in a hole, the situation is critical, clearly the adversaries are unequal. The neighbor: an aggressive, brutish, liar assaulted us!
They already got to Chernobyl (a menace for Europe), Konotop, Cherkassy, Genychesk. Shots are heard along the entire border.
Our only hope—the international community, but the WORLD is offering only sanctions.
We beg you to express your opinion and support through the internet. Support is essential against the aggressor! People are perishing here…
Help!!!
[The Kharkiv message was calmer, but still unsettling]
Hello! We are sitting on suitcases, not planning to run, but just in case.
We took a bunch of pills to calm us; I don’t know if we’ll be able to fall asleep. I’ll keep you informed. A lot of different information, we don’t know what to believe.
Kisses, Yulia
[The reference in my niece’s email to “different information” is her mother’s constant reliance on Russian news/propaganda television programs she watches to the exclusion of any other sources. Yulia considers herself Ukrainian, but it’s impossible to completely escape other points of view.]
Friday, Feb. 25
From Kyiv: 5:02 AM
Kyiv is surrounded, they are bombing residential areas!
We are in a basement
9:54 AM
they are bombing our neighborhood…
9:58 AM
we are in a bomb shelter, a dirty basement, 4 meters underground. They are bombing downtown Kyiv, the latest announcement — 45 bombers are flying toward Kyiv
From Kharkiv: 11:38 PM
Dear aunt Tania! They’ve been shooting at us since 11 in the morning. You can no longer buy groceries. We sit in darkness. We were being bombed. Horrible whistling and explosions. Whistling and explosions. Nerves can’t handle this.
There are casualties. If HE is not stopped as soon as possible, at the very least we will go out of our minds. Fog in the head and constant “boom! boom!” Hugs. Yulia
From Kyiv: 5:29 PM
now the next nightmare
Children are asleep, suddenly 3 explosions very close by
we grab the children and go into the hallway, it’s safer
Matthew is sick, Myron is frightened we sat for 30 minutes, went back to the apartment
Nothing else can be done…
From Kharkiv: 11:40 PM
We have bombing alert sirens, Kyriusha (5 year old) knows the order “hide!”. He understands that there’s trouble. We have problems with clean water, we filter the brown water from the faucet.
Mama is very frightened, but she watches Russian propaganda and thinks that Ukrainian themselves bomb kindergartens, and that they all are drug addicts and assassins. Yesterday we had a fight, she went home. I call her only when there are sirens so that she would go down to the basement. We no longer speak.
It’s a great pity that even our people (Ukrainians) have such opinions.
Kisses, Yulia.
P.S. I communicated with Vika all night. They are in a bomb shelter.
From Kyiv: 2:26 PM
they started bombing again. We didn’t go to the shelter, Matthew has a fever, we sit home, count explosions, pray…
7:02 PM
greetings dear ones! now a respite our army – heroes!
8:12 PM
the nation is uniting in opposition. how I would like to wake up from this nightmare, but alas… For us, the world will not be the same… as Grybauskaite says – Putin must be stopped, not punished with sanctions!
we are expecting a “restless” night
we hope, we have faith, we wish…
Saturday, Feb. 26
From Kyiv: 2:20 AM
The night was alarming, we ran into the hallway, just before morning there were shots nearby, there are shots now
I’m grateful to everyone for the support
Glory to Ukraine
7:26 AM
Andrey found a more secure bomb shelter nearby. We moved. The prognosis—the situation is getting worse. Out on the street the weather is beautiful, sunshine, but only ice in my soul…
9:44 AM
We’re sitting in the bomb shelter. The situation is extremely tense
Sunday, Feb. 27
From Kyiv: 6:03 AM
Kyiv is being assaulted by “winged rockets” from Byelorussia, thank you “brothers”
9:45 AM
morning , we are sitting in the basement, they are bombing
Tania! Yulia is home, in Kharkiv they bombed the suburbs, shots, they have no water or food, and a sick child…
Around Kyiv they bombed oil storage facilities
They are planning for a catastrophe in Chernobyl if they can’t assault it
So grateful to everyone for you support
It’s important!
Unfortunately, now it’s absolutely impossible to move about the city
Monday, Feb. 28
4:48 AM
Greetings dear ones!
The night was relatively quiet, from 4 AM there were shots, air raid warnings sounded 3 times. The children are in the basement drawing our soldiers, “fighting” with the enemy and are practicing hiding in case of bombings! 21st century…
Now, a respite, everyone is helping each other, many volunteers. Andriy is in the neighborhood patrol.
We have adapted a little, in other words we don’t panic, and know how to act at moments of danger.
Really hoping for something better…
Tatiana Liaugminas was born after WWII to Ukrainian parents, refugees from the former Soviet Union. She’s an American citizen, with relatives in Ukraine. She teaches Russian at the University of Dayton.
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