Being a Refugee in Ukraine

Here is an (ongoing) story of the war in Ukraine as seen with my own eyes.

More than a week of war has passed. Imperial Russia attacked my country at 4 am in the morning with a move right from Hitler’s playbook. We had a bad sleep that night and woke up to the sounds of explosions. I got up quickly, checked the news, and the worst fears became our new reality — Russian attacked Ukraine. An unprovoked attack to remove inexistent “nazis” from the power. To remove the military threat that we never posed. To “liberate” Russian-speaking people, who had more freedom than people of Russia themselves.

My pregnant wife started crying. After I calmed her down, we started packing. We had a go-bag for a case like this because Russians built up their military presence for months. But till the last moment, most Ukrainians didn’t believe Putin’s insanity. We packed some more stuff, woke up our six-year-old son, had a quick nervous breakfast. I called my parents, relatives, and some friends, warning them. Some heard the explosions, and some did not. Later we were told those were cruise missiles, targeting primary military targets but failing to inflict any real damage because ZSU (Ukrainian armed forces) were warned.

Morning of the Russian invasion. We were staying at my parent’s.

Our first stop was at my parent’s house. It is (I hope still “is”) a private house at Saltovka, a large northeastern region of Kharkiv. I spent the first 18 years of my life in that house. Then 18 more years later, I was listening to the sound of explosions and gunshots coming from the north of the city — Russians were advancing. The Ukrainian army, however, was prepared and had a plan. Russian advance units were quickly scattered, leaving the equipment behind. My parents decided to stay in Kharkiv for a while until things went from bad to worse (they surely did later). We left two of our cats in their house and drove to the city of Dnipro, where I had a few friends who promised to help us with a place to stay.

The first few days of the war were chaotic. Russians advanced but were heavily hit in counter-attacks as their lines got overstretched. Near Kharkiv, the defense was held at the city’s outskirts along Okruzhna (“circle”) road. It didn’t take much time (a few hours, actually) before the first images of burned Russian machinery appeared in local Telegram channels. One of the most popular is called Khuyovyi Kharkiv (“f*cked up Kharkiv”).

Russian vehicles are burning on Okruzhna.

Dnipro is located in the center of Ukraine. It was and still is relatively safe. There is no shelling, except for the initial cruise missiles attack, and while Russian forces sheathing from the south, they are still far away and by now almost halted the advance. Still, I found that once you start fleeing, it is hard to stop.

After a couple of days, the news of Russian making gains in the south and advancing on Zaporizhzhia started to appear. At the moment, it still didn’t happen, luckily, and the Russian advance more or less stalled. Nevertheless, we moved further westward.

We stayed near Vinnytsia for a couple of days but then moved further and settled in Mohyliv-Podilskyi, a small town on the bank of Dniester with Moldova right across the river. We are staying at a small summer guest house. Three families — mine, my brother’s and a friend’s live on the second floor of the diner. The latter makes it feel a bit like being in a zombie apocalypse movie.

Meanwhile, Russians failed to reach the objectives they hoped for. Blitzkrieg didn’t work out. So they turned to other tactics — if you cannot take the city, raze it to the ground. My beloved Kharkiv, that was my home for 36 years, is among the most suffering. Our parents were afraid to leave, but eventually, we convinced them. Currently, they are staying in Dnipro with our cats, which I hope to see soon.

Ploscha Svobody (Freedom square) is hit by a missile. My apartment building is 7 minute walk from the place.

I am sure: we shall win, rebuild, Kharkiv will be even better than it used to be.

I am a software developer from Ukraine. Before the war, I had a small offshore development company then was involved in some startups. I want to tell the story of Ukraine and the War as I see it with my own eyes. Appreciate any feedback and what you would be interested in hearing about.