Worry, Anger, Love: See the Texts of Ukrainians within the First Hours of the Battle

Listed below are among the thousands and thousands of messages Ukrainians wrote to pals, household and family members when Russia invaded within the early hours of February twenty fourth. These messages are a snapshot of a fateful day for Ukraine and Europe that captures worry, love and help. shared within the early hours of the battle.

“I’m impressed by the humor, the honesty, the braveness, and the numerous “how are you” and “I like you” that have been mentioned that day,” mentioned Ira Yaroshko, an writer who compiled the posts on this web page and is writing a guide utilizing them. . The textual content messages tied Ukraine collectively “like threads,” she mentioned.

Ms Yeroshko, who was visiting her mother and father in Lutsk in northwestern Ukraine that morning, mentioned she began texting herself as quickly as she wakened and heard the explosions. “I knew instantly what it meant,” she mentioned.

A lot of the following messages have been translated and a few include profanity.

Alexander Starun, 27, works as a manufacturing unit supervisor within the Czech Republic. Mr. Starun is from Belarus, however his grandparents stay within the Chernihiv area in northern Ukraine. He wrote to a buddy, additionally residing in Europe, about their issues for family members in Ukraine and a couple of televised handle given by Russian President Vladimir Putin that day.

Vitaly Gordienko, 24, YouTube blogger. On February 24, he was getting ready to depart Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, and corresponded together with his buddy, who was on his approach to the navy commissariat for registration within the military.

Liliya Turchin, 33, assistant decide within the Lviv area in western Ukraine. Her first messages have been together with her sister, who lived close to a navy base in Lvov. Later, on the twenty fourth, her sister and her husband moved from Lvov to a close-by metropolis that appeared safer.

Piotr Krushelnicki, 27, works in Poland. He was in Warsaw on 24 February and wrote to his brother, who had been recalled from trip a number of weeks earlier than the invasion and despatched from western Ukraine to the Dnieper area.

“I took out my telephone and opened the information and it was a shock,” he mentioned. “The primary particular person I wrote to was my brother Nikolai.”

On October 16, 2022, the 128th brigade, wherein his brother served, launched a counteroffensive from the Dnieper area in direction of Kherson and “in a heavy battle, my brother died close to town of Zelenodolsk. A few minutes after I discovered that he had died, my mom referred to as me, and it was probably the most horrible name in my life.

“My brother was a really variety man,” he mentioned. “Sadly, it’s true – the perfect die in battle. Now I’ve to stay for 2 and discover a approach to be completely satisfied, as a result of in any other case all these devoted lives will likely be in useless.

Inessa Matyushenko, 33, is the co-founder of a charity that helps most cancers sufferers. Her first dialog was in English with an acquaintance from the Netherlands, a person she had solely seen in particular person as soon as, with some others, a yr earlier.

“I used to be very stunned when he wrote to me,” she mentioned. “He discovered in regards to the battle and wrote to all of the individuals he knew from Ukraine, and that was me. It was very scary then, however even this message was in regards to the help that all of us actually wanted.”

She added: “It can be crucial for me to recollect those that wrote to me in help on at the present time.”

Inna Zhurba, 45, is an administrator on the Cherkasy State Technological College in central Ukraine. On February 24, she wakened from messages from colleagues, opened Fb and noticed that many pals have been writing that the battle had begun. She selected to not evacuate together with her 14-year-old son. “Now I discovered these messages and began crying remembering that day,” she mentioned.

Philip Dotsenko, 31 years previous, photographer. I wakened from the explosions in Kyiv, bought up and went to search for a bomb shelter, photographing what I noticed alongside the way in which. He referred to as his mom, begging her to remain at residence and never go to work. On the primary day, he spoke on the telephone together with his household, and on February 25 he exchanged his first messages with pals.

Andriana Chunis, 32, illustrator. On February 24, she was in Lvov together with her husband and 4-year-old son Ustim. They instantly determined to evacuate to their mother and father’ home within the village, as they have been very afraid that Russia may assault from Belarus.

“I spent the entire day on the telephone with my pals evacuating from throughout Ukraine,” she mentioned.

“My buddy from Kiev couldn’t depart as a result of there was no method, so she simply put her baby in one of many vehicles moving into our path, and I, together with 17 different individuals, took her baby to my mother and father’ home. She was capable of get to us solely the subsequent day. All of us slept within the basement and corridors. There was no time to fret as I wanted to cook dinner for 17 individuals. Somebody was washing the dishes on a regular basis.”

Ekaterina Pesotskaya, 30, a lawyer, wakened in Kyiv to the sound of explosions and commenced to consider evacuation alongside together with her brother Sasha. By February 26, they have been already in Chernivtsi, in western Ukraine. Her father was in Mariupol, an industrial port in southeastern Ukraine that was about to face a brutal siege. On February 26 they argued in regards to the battle. “He informed me that Kyiv will not be being bombed. This was our final dialog, as a result of on March 5 he hit a mine on the seaside on the left financial institution in Mariupol.”