“Wake up, we’re at war” – 3 years since the Russian invasion of Ukraine

“After 3 years of war, you stop reacting to the sound of the sirens. When you read that missiles are targeting your city, you close the windows to hear fewer explosions. Unfortunately, we’ve adapted to the war. It may sound terrible, but I believe it’s a defense mechanism of the brain. Otherwise, we would go insane.”

For Oleksandra Zaveryko and the residents of Ukrainian cities, the past 3 years, since the full-scale Russian invasion began on February 24, have been marked by one constant reminder of daily life: the war sirens.

Although there are no strict restrictions – aside from the nationwide curfew from 12 a.m. to 5 a.m. – and everything remains open, including bars, cafes, cinemas, and shopping malls, when the repetitive, terrifying, and piercing sound of the siren is heard, everything must close.

The 2nd phase of the war, found Oleksandra, Artem, Anna, Ukrainians, and the rest of the world anxiously watching what would happen next.

As the war is ever-present, residents try to carry on with their lives as they did before, with many ignoring the sound of the sirens – as much as possible. In Kyiv, the sirens go off 2 to 3 times a day, while in Dnipro, 100 kilometers from the frontlines, they sound 10 to 15 times.

The UN reports over 12,300 civilian deaths since February 2022, though the true number is likely much higher. The WSJ estimates that 80,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died, with 400,000 wounded, while BBC Russia and Mediazona have confirmed 90,000 Russian soldier deaths, with the real number possibly reaching 223,000.

In reality, the war in Ukraine did not start on February 24, 2022, but several years earlier, in 2014, with Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the eastern regions. What began almost three years ago is simply the second phase of the war. This phase found Oleksandra, Artem, Anna, Ukrainians, and the rest of the world anxiously watching what would happen next.

“On February 23, before going to sleep, my boyfriend messaged me saying that he had a feeling the war would start tomorrow. I told him everything would be fine and said goodnight. On February 24, 5 a.m., I received a phone call from my boyfriend: ‘We’re being bombed. Rockets are hitting Kharkiv. Wake up, we’re at war.'”

Oleksandra Zaveryko, 23, was born in Zaporizhzhia and currently lives in Kyiv. When the Russian invasion began in February 2022, she, her boyfriend, her father, and other family members stayed in Zaporizhzhia. Her mother, sister, brother, and stepfather left the country five days before the war and ended up in Turkey. During the war, she and her boyfriend lived in Lviv (2022), Odesa (2022-2023), Kharkiv (2023-2024), and eventually settled in Kyiv.

“We couldn’t eat, sleep, or even shower properly because all we did was constantly check the news, 24 hours a day,” says Oleksandra Zaveryko in an interview with fyi.news.

She explains that it’s harder to be abroad, visiting her mother, who now lives in Greece, and reading about Russian attacks in Zaporizhzhia, where half of her family lives, than to be in Ukraine. “Leaving your family during a war feels different. My father didn’t meet my little sister until almost a year and a half later,” she says.

There are videos online showing people waiting for their coffee in a café, explosions in the background, and the barista keeps working without reacting. This is our reality.”

The fact that she lives in a different place than her family, has changed the way they communicate. “Before, we used to talk and message each other often through social media apps. Our conversations might have been long, but now it’s just short messages: ‘How are you? Everything okay?’” she says.

During this time, Oleksandra Zaveryko tries to spend time with her friends, either walking around the city or at a café. “Ukrainian businesses have adapted to the situation as well. There are videos online showing people waiting for their coffee in a café, explosions in the background, and the barista keeps working without reacting. This is our reality.”

There are many groups on Messenger and Telegram where she follows developments in Ukrainian cities. Checking the news on Telegram has become part of her daily routine.

“You read: a missile in Zaporizhzhia, just 30 kilometers from the front line, where the Russians are launching missiles that air defense can’t intercept. That means the missile is certain to hit somewhere. And you’re sitting in another city, hoping it won’t be where your family is sleeping. This is Russian roulette,” she concludes.

Artem Kulia, 32, lives in Kyiv and works as a journalist. His family is in Dnipro, one of Ukraine’s five largest cities, about 100 kilometers from the front line.

“We were under a lot of stress during those days, but it was still a huge shock for everyone. That day felt like a shock,” says Artem Kulia in an interview with fyi.news.

At the start of the war, there was great unity in response to the Russian invasion, but according to him, this has changed over time.

“It was a frightening period, but at the same time, everyone was encouraged by how the Ukrainian army held off the Russians, who couldn’t achieve their goals. But as the war went on, things became much harder. Especially last year, when the Russians took control of much of the eastern territory. People’s reaction to what happened was more ‘depressing,’ but personally, my relationships with those around me didn’t change at all.”

Of course, we’re always aware of the war, and the Russians with their constant bombings of our cities, make sure of it.

When he hears air raid sirens, Artem now chooses not to go to a shelter, unlike some friends who take cover in the subway or underground parking. “The alarm goes off three times a night. If I went down every time, I wouldn’t get any sleep, and my whole workday would be lost,” he says.

He adds, “We try to live as we did before the war, if possible. Of course, we’re always aware of it, and the Russians with their constant bombings of our cities, make sure of it.

Artem believes Europe’s main problem is not understanding how close the war really is. “I filmed a story about a Dutchman who moved to Ukraine as a volunteer. As a cook, he prepared meals for our soldiers at the front or brought supplies to the volunteers.”

He told me that people in the Netherlands forget how close the war is. To drive from the Netherlands to Kyiv takes 23 hours, he points out.

“So,” he continues, “the main issue is that for Europe, the war has become something normal or inconvenient. But we continue to live in these conditions, and we can’t forget what’s happening. Every minute that passes, our soldiers are dying on the front lines, and the most troubling part is that the world is starting to get used to it. And that’s the problem.”

Anna Uzlova, 41, is the director and co-founder of the charitable organization “Inspiration Family,” established in Kyiv in 2020 by five women with personal experiences of cancer, with the goal of creating a cancer care system. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, they have had to restructure their work, adjusting to the situation, with many projects being paused or stopped altogether.

“With time, the situation stabilized, and we gradually returned to our usual operations. Some functions expanded: we became the voice of Ukrainian patients in the international community and are actively working to integrate into the European community,” Anna Uzlova told fyi.news.

On the day of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, she recalls, “We all woke up to explosions and began calling each other. My husband joined the territorial defense, while I stayed at home, trying to adapt and figure out what to do next. My house is on the outskirts, in the direction the enemy was advancing from. We could hear all the battles – it was terrifying.”

However, after the initial shock, the foundation’s work and the activities became a “lifeline” for her. “Realizing my role in the war, knowing that I’m doing something meaningful, brought a small sense of reassurance,” she says.

We still wake up to go to work, take care of our cats, go on dates, visit theaters.

First COVID, then the war – both have significantly changed our daily lives and priorities, says Anna Uzlova.

While she feels grateful that she and her family are safe and their homes remain unharmed, the overall situation in Ukraine has worsened.

“Especially in the past year, the economic situation has worsened significantly – every Ukrainian feels this. Many men have been drafted, many have lost their lives, and this is becoming more and more apparent. We are constantly following the news, staying informed, and the general state of mental health has worsened greatly. We all feel it deeply,” she says.

The constant air raid sirens, bombings, blackouts, and curfews keep people in a constant state of stress. She, like many others, stopped going to shelters long ago.

She concludes: “We still wake up to go to work, take care of our cats, go on dates, visit theaters. Shops, cinemas, and theaters remain open, events still happen, we celebrate birthdays, we get sick… life goes on.”