Ukrainians remain defiant two and a half years into the war
KHARKIV: A Russian drone flies overhead in the small village of Zolochiv in the Kharkiv region. It is the middle of May, just days into a Russian counteroffensive that took the entire Kharkiv oblast by storm, and the thud of bombs remains omnipresent. Attacks happen almost daily, and the once lively village is now desolate. Many residents have left for believed safer regions of Ukraine, and those who remained are fearful that Russian forces might soon come to their streets.
In a three-room house in the centre of Zolochiv, Zoia, a mother of two, has her laptop open on the desk in her bedroom; she is watching Netflix’s popular show, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. Sitting on the floor is her daughter, Olya, 8, who is surrounded by coloured markers and sheets of paper. She is making an anti-stress button to help with her anxiety from living in Zolochiv, a device she found the instructions for on TikTok.
Zoia knows that Zolochiv is unsafe and is considering moving her family to somewhere safer, like Dnipro, some 250 kilometres away. But she said, “I don’t have any parents or friends” in other regions.
Like many Ukrainians, Zoia would rather stay at her home instead of becoming an internally displaced person, a feeling familiar in Ukraine. Remaining at home could mean being killed in missile attacks or possibly under Russian occupation. However, upending lives and moving into temporary shelters or to central and western Ukraine, perceived safer regions of the country, could mean losing income, being separated from family members, or leaving behind beloved pets to fend for themselves in hotspots of the war.
Instead, some remain at home and develop a keep calm and carry on attitude to the war, clinging to whatever trappings of normality they can amid constant air raid alerts and frequent attacks. Throughout Ukraine, bars and restaurants remain open, people still frequent gyms, women go to nail salons, children run around a playground in Kostyantynivka, a city in the eastern Donbas region, while explosions can be heard in the distance.
People still have dates, get married, and invest in their homes, and in Lviv, Ukraine’s most western city, where attacks are less frequent, Leviza Nikulina, 26, and her fiancé, Sasha, 25, have set up their new lives as twice internally displaced people. The couple is from Donetsk, the eastern city that has been under Russian occupation since 2014. Nikulina and Sasha were teenagers when their city was occupied and remained in Donestk with their families; they are used to this war. Nikulina attended university in Donestk, studying journalism, which she said mostly consisted of Russian propaganda courses, and hoping for a better life in free Ukraine.
She and Sasha have been in a relationship for six years, and six months before the Feb. 24, 2022 war began, the couple moved to Kharkiv and planned to set up their lives in the city, which was once known for its vibrant artistic scene. But when Russian forces crossed the Kharkiv border on the morning of the invasion, the couple were forced to flee to Lviv, leaving behind their homes for a second time.
In the early days of the war, Lviv, like the rest of Ukraine, was attacked frequently by Russian missiles. But over the last two years, the city has become less of a target, and even when there are rockets headed for Lviv’s direction, people have between ten minutes to an hour to prepare for the attacks, given how far away the city is from Russia’s launch points. Nikulina said that she does not feel unsafe in Lviv.
Nikulina and Sasha got engaged in the first six months of the war, though she could not remember the exact date, but are waiting until Ukraine’s victory to get married, so that the couple’s friends fighting for their country can attended, and they hope that Donestk will be liberated so that their families can attend. “These are the people I would like to see most of all on my wedding day,” said Nikulina.
Until then, the pair call themselves husband and wife, and they have wedding rings to show their commitment to one another. In a time of uncertainty, they lean on each other. Nikulina’s depression and anxiety due to the war have made it impossible to sleep at times, and she often has to take sleeping pills at night. Sasha helps to support her. Still, the pair try to carry on as best as they can. Sasha works a tech job from home, and Nikulina focuses on her studies; she hopes to be a conceptual artist one day.
Last winter, the couple bought a portable power station for their home, a large three-room flat in a renovated building, and when there are power outages, “We can charge our laptops when the power goes out, we usually just watch TV shows. I also bought a magazine with crossword puzzles. When the charge of my phone or laptop runs out, I switch on the flashlight and do sudoku. I feel quite old at these moments.”
The pair hope that Lviv is a temporary home and that they can one day move back to Kharkiv, which Nikulina said is her favourite city in Ukraine. But Kharkiv has increasingly become one of the most dangerous cities in the war, with hundreds of residents currently fleeing.
For those who remain and have grown accustomed to constant attacks, they are trying to enjoy their summer, even if they might be harmed or killed for doing so. The summer heat throughout Ukraine is intense, and in Kharkiv, people often frequent the Arkada Kharkiv water park as a temporary oasis. Adults lay out in the sun drinking cold drinks. Children run around and jump into the cooling water, enjoying their summer holidays.
Volodymyr Belyi, the owner of Arkada Kharkiv, said that his resort is in a vulnerable location. Last November, it was the target of a Russian rocket attack, and at any moment, it could be hit again. On May 19, Russia struck a busy lakeside resort, and 11 people were killed in the attack. Belyi knows his resort could be next but refuses to shut down his business or leave Kharkiv. “We are patriots,” explained Belyi at his resort.
“We stay. We run our business no matter how hard it is. We are still here with our children. All my children, grandchildren, everyone is here. And we are not planning to leave anywhere,” he added.