Messsage of the Day: War

This program contains graphic content which may not be suitable for all audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.

MALE NEWSREADER:

Breaking news this morning. Explosions were heard—

MALE NEWSREADER:

Russia has the troops to invade with overwhelming force.

MALE NEWSREADER:

It’s war.

NARRATOR:

On Feb. 24, Russia attacked Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. Many expected the city to fall in days.

MALE SPEAKER:

[Speaking Russian] It’s coming! Come on! Downstairs, downstairs! Shush!

NARRATOR:

But the Ukrainians refused to surrender.

SERGIY:

[Speaking Russian] Why should I go somewhere far away? This is my motherland.

NARRATOR:

Filmed over the first three months of the war, this is the story of the battle for Kharkiv, told by the people who lived through it. The displaced families.

VIKA:

[Speaking Russian] Being in the metro is safer than staying at home.

NARRATOR:

The civilians caught in the fight.

TATJANA:

[Speaking Russian] Let’s go! Let’s go! One, two, lift! Grab that side!

NARRATOR:

And the first responders risking their lives to protect them.

TATJANA:

[Speaking Russian] “Save Dad,” they said. Easier said than done.

ROMAN:

We have rescued four people. Putin said, “A special military operation.” How many people died already? You can call it any way you want. But still, it’s a war.

NARRATOR:

Kharkiv is just 25 miles from the Russian border. Most people here speak Russian as a first language. Known as a city of poetry and arts, it was one of the first places to come under attack from Russian forces.

ROMAN:

[Speaking Russian] You’re a good girl now, behaving yourself. Doing your homework, trying hard.

VIOLETTA:

[Speaking Russian] I hate English.

ROMAN:

[Speaking Russian] Study.

VIOLETTA:

[Speaking Russian] I hate English.

ROMAN:

[Speaking Russian] Study. Do it.

VIOLETTA:

[Speaking Russian] I hate English.

NARRATOR:

This is Roman and his 7-year-old daughter, Violetta.

FEMALE VOICE:

[Speaking Russian] Two units, urgent call! 19 Yurieva Blvd. Fire in an apartment!

VIOLETTA:

[Speaking Russian] Are you leaving?

MALE FIREMAN:

[Speaking Russian] Roman, we’re getting ready!

ROMAN:

[Speaking Russian] My helmet. I forgot my helmet!

[Speaking English] OK. Let’s go!

NARRATOR:

Roman is second in command at Kharkiv’s central fire station.

ROMAN:

We’re waiting until the shelling is over. It’s still shelling where we’re going right now. In five minutes we will go.

FEMALE VOICE:

[Speaking Russian] Quick, quick!

ROMAN:

First day of the war, 5 a.m. I wake up and see there’s shelling. Boom, boom, boom. I say, “Oh, s—! Oh, s—!” I hear my wife saying, “Probably the war has started.”

What the f—! I mean, really? Really? F— Putin. F—— why? Why?

NARRATOR:

It’s March 17, three weeks since the invasion began. Russia has just hit Kharkiv’s famous indoor market, known as Barabashova. Before the war, Barabashova was one of Europe’s largest markets and was at the center of daily life for many in the city. Fire crews from all over rush to the scene. Roman is among them.

MALE FIREMAN 1:

[Speaking Russian] Drop it here!

MALE FIREMAN 2:

[Speaking Russian] Give me one more man!

MALE FIREMAN 3:

[Speaking Russian] I have two men: Kostenko and Rudenko. You can take Rudenko.

MALE FIREMAN 4:

[Speaking Russian] Do it!

Roman’s helmet camera

ROMAN:

You just see this fire just blowing. You are going to f—— hell. It’s scary.

[Speaking Russian] We’ll get! We’ll get it! We’ll put it out a bit along the way. Arsen! Bring the ladder over here as well!

MALE FIREMAN 5:

[Speaking Russian] Get the f—— water here!

ROMAN:

[Speaking Russian] On the left! On the left! Do that f—— bit!

NARRATOR:

As Roman and the crews battle the fire through the night, the market is hit again.

ROMAN:

One guy had been hit in the chest and died in the fire truck while the guys from his fire station tried to take him to the hospital.

NARRATOR:

The market fire would be one of many they would fight over the weeks of the invasion.

ROMAN:

We just try not to think about it. Life is life. Death is death. My wife doesn’t like when I’m going. When we coming back from the fires, she always cries. But she’s already used to it, also.

VIOLETTA:

[Speaking Russian] My head is spinning. I can’t do any more.

MARINA:

[Speaking Russian] Go! The boys need to sleep. Don’t disturb them.

VIOLETTA:

[Speaking Russian] Bye, Mommy.

MARINA:

[Speaking Russian] Listen, don’t go outside!

NARRATOR:

Roman and his wife, Marina, have moved from their apartment to the fire station due to the near-constant shelling. The station may be safer, but they need to pack up and bring a lot there to make it suitable for family life.

MARINA:

[Speaking Russian] Take this. Wrap it up or you’ll break it. Stop!

NARRATOR:

The neighborhood of Saltivka is on the northeast side of Kharkiv. It faces the Russian lines and has been bearing the brunt of the attack. At least 400,000 people used to live here. Most of them have fled.

But some have refused to leave. Sergiy is one of them.

SERGIY:

[Speaking Russian] This was my favorite mug. I was standing here, near the table. I was making lunch. Then a shell hit the apartment. There was a flash and, you know. I wanted to hide, but my arm was exposed, and the force of the blast threw me to the ground. So I was just lying in the rubble, and then someone found me. Dragged me out by the collar. I looked down, my arm was missing. I was in shock. My finger was also missing. Can’t find words.

NARRATOR:

Sergiy and others who have remained are sheltering in the basement of this school. The poorest and weakest and those without cars are stranded here.

FEMALE SPEAKER:

[Speaking Russian] How are things? Tell me.

PARROT:

[Speaking Russian] Good.

FEMALE SPEAKER:

[Speaking Russian] Good. Say it again: Good. How are things?

NARRATOR:

For Sergiy, this is home now.

FEMALE NEWSREADER [on radio]:

[Speaking Russian] There is information that the occupiers are conducting a census of the male population to make them fight on the occupier’s side.

NARRATOR:

Many of the people here have family across the border in Russia.

ELDERLY MAN:

[Speaking Russian] We haven’t done anything bad to anyone. Why did they invade us? I don’t understand. I’m also Russian. There are lots of Russians here in Kharkiv. Why are Russians killing Russians?

FEMALE VOICE:

[Speaking Russian] It’s just an excuse. Don’t you understand? I’m Ukrainian. It’s an excuse. Don’t you know what Putin is like? He’s a scumbag.

NARRATOR:

The area’s paramedics have also remained in Saltivka.

MALE PARAMEDIC:

Because this area has a lot of shelling, we’ve agreed on the procedure that when there is no shelling you wait in a safe place and report in. If there are no more calls, go back to the substation.

IRINA:

[Speaking Russian] Tatjana, there is some coffee here.

TATJANA:

[Speaking Russian] Found it?

IRINA:

[Speaking Russian] Here it is.

NARRATOR:

Irina has been on the job for seven years, her colleague Tatjana for 27.

IRINA:

Some of them are very strong. Very strong. Tatjana, for example. Whoa! She is very strong.

NARRATOR:

Today both women are preparing for a 24-hour shift.

TATJANA:

[Speaking Russian] Where to go? Abroad? Who needs us there? Nobody needs us there. We are only needed here. Who is going to help all those grandmas who’ve been abandoned by their relatives?

Only a fool is not afraid. Everyone gets afraid. Fear is normal.

NARRATOR:

Tatjana and a colleague are called out to an address in Saltivka. An entire apartment has just been destroyed by Russian shelling.

MALE VOICE:

[Speaking Russian] Go, Go!

TATJANA:

[Speaking Russian] Keep up! Oh, s—!

MALE VOICE:

[Speaking Russian] On the left side, right hand, left leg. There is no bleeding. We put on a tourniquet. We put it on a minute ago. Right side of the chest. It happened six minutes ago, maybe 10.

FEMALE SPEAKER:

[Speaking Russian] This is my father! Please take him to the hospital. [Cries]

MALE PARAMEDIC 1:

[Speaking Russian] Please step back.

TATJANA:

[Speaking Russian] To tell you the truth, it’s—oh, f—.

MALE PARAMEDIC 2:

[Speaking Russian] Careful! Watch the falling debris!

TATJANA:

[Speaking Russian] Oh, s—.

MALE VOICE 1:

[Speaking Russian] The wound on his leg.

MALE VOICE 2:

[Speaking Russian] Are there any men here who can help?

MALE SPEAKER:

[Speaking Russian] Yes, yes, here!

MALE VOICE 2:

[Speaking Russian] Let’s go. Let’s go! One two, lift!

TATJANA:

[Speaking Russian] Grab that side! Let’s get him downstairs!

MALE PARAMEDIC 2:

[Speaking Russian] Someone else, help!

TATJANA:

[Speaking Russian] F—! Let’s move faster! F—— hell! Take him out quicker! You’re gonna f—— drop him! Take that handle.

MALE PARAMEDIC 2:

[Speaking Russian] I’ve got it. Let’s go! Faster!

TATJANA:

[Speaking Russian] Come on boys, run! Every second counts! It doesn’t look good.

We need to get to the hospital. But we probably won’t make it.

MALE AMBULANCE DRIVER:

[Speaking Russian] I’m saying that I can drive or stop.

TATJANA:

[Speaking Russian] Stop somewhere. I’ll try one more vein. This vein is weak.

MALE AMBULANCE DRIVER:

[Speaking Russian] OK, OK. OK, I’m stopping.

TATJANA:

[Speaking Russian] Andryusha, just wait two seconds. Get the drip ready. Come on, old man! Why does this f—— s— always happen? Get the drip ready, darling. Get it ready. Stick it in there, put the tape on. Stick it on. OK, I got it. “Save Dad,” they said. Easier said than done.

MALE PARAMEDIC:

[Speaking Russian] Was it you who went to this block?

TATJANA:

[Speaking Russian] Yes, the fifth floor was destroyed and the windows shattered everywhere. It was s—, a missile.

MALE PARAMEDIC:

[Speaking Russian] I know.

TATJANA:

[Speaking Russian] We took the old man to the hospital, but he died later.

MALE PARAMEDIC:

[Speaking Russian] Oh, he died?

TATJANA:

[Speaking Russian] Yes.

NARRATOR:

Roman is also dealing with a death.

ROMAN:

The hardest moment was to lose your brother. You know, your fire brother. It was the hardest.

MALE VOICE:

[Speaking Russian] He was one of the best. He was capable of so much. What is happening now does not spare anyone.

NARRATOR:

It’s the funeral of the firefighter who died at the huge market fire.

MALE VOICE:

[Speaking Russian] Today we are saying goodbye to our comrade, our brother. He died tragically in this war that nobody wanted.

ROMAN:

It was scary for everybody. It’s not like, OK, I’m ready to die and I’m not afraid. All of us afraid.

NARRATOR:

A month into the onslaught, parts of Kharkiv have been reduced to rubble.

Kharkiv used to have a population of 1.4 million. By late March, it’s down to about half of that. As many as 1,500 buildings have been destroyed, and streets are deserted. For thousands of people still in the city, life has moved underground.

VITALI:

[Singing in Russian] The gypsies, the gypsies were on their way, from the fair. And they stopped under a big apple tree.

NARRATOR:

This is the Heroes of Labor metro station. Day after day, for weeks, it has been home to hundreds of people. The trains have stopped running and it has become a makeshift bomb shelter.

VITALI:

[Singing in Russian] He lost his street. He lost his home. He lost his girl. He lost his blue handkerchief.

FEMALE VOICE:

[Speaking Russian] Keep it down!

MALE VOICE:

[Speaking Russian] They are shelling like crazy outside.

VIKA:

[Speaking Russian] Last night they were shelling as well.

NARRATOR:

Despite the shelling, some aid has been arriving.

FEMALE VOLUNTEER:

[Speaking Russian] Dima, should I start?

DIMA:

[Speaking Russian] Yes.

NARRATOR:

Local volunteer groups have been providing two basic meals a day.

DIMA:

[Speaking Russian] Stand in line! One at a time! Stand further back! That’s all!

WOMAN’S VOICE:

[Speaking Russian] I was told to stand here.

DIMA:

[Speaking Russian] I’m not talking to you, someone else is getting nervous over there.

NARRATOR:

Many people are trying to maintain normal routines. Before the war, 10-year-old Vika took ballroom dancing classes.

VIKA:

[Speaking Russian] That’s me at the dances.

VIKA’S MOM:

That’s her ballroom dancing. [Laughs] What a beauty. She got medals. Our little Vika.

VIKA:

[Speaking Russian] At 3 o’clock we heard explosions. We knew that was not thunder and lightning. There was firing. We got into the car, but then the whole car jumped. My mother was panicking because it was scary. The planes were flying above. We were afraid. We were shaking. We understand that there is a war, but we don’t understand why it has started.

NARRATOR:

Vika is here with her mom, grandmother and little brother Misha. She’s trying to keep up with her school work.

VIKA’S MOM:

[Speaking Russian] Vika, a new line.

VIKA:

[Speaking Russian] I’m only little!

VIKA’S MOM:

[Speaking Russian] “Happy,” continue on the next line.

VIKA:

[Speaking Russian] Is that a Russian word?

VIKA’S MOM:

[Speaking Russian] That’s Ukrainian.

FEMALE VOICE [on loudspeaker]:

[Speaking Russian] Attention! All children under 16, please come to the ticket hall. We will be handing out presents. Attention! All children under 16, please come to the ticket hall. We will be handing out presents.

MALE VOLUNTEER:

[Speaking Russian] Most important of all, who has been well-behaved?

CROWD OF KIDS:

[Speaking Russian] Me! Me!

MALE VOLUNTEER:

[Speaking Russian] Ladies always go first! You, girl.

YOUNG BOY:

[Speaking Russian] But she was naughty.

MALE VOLUNTEER:

[Speaking Russian] Look at this Batman costume I brought.

CROWD OF KIDS:

[Speaking Russian] Me! Me!

VITALI:

[Speaking Russian] I’m 86 years old. I am an actor. A theatre actor. If I go home now, I get anxious. Missiles are flying, it’s scary. I don’t have a wife. I’m on my own now. I have nobody. My daughter has left for Lviv. That’s all.

How is it possible to kill another human being? I think it’s all stupid and unnecessary.

YOUNG GIRL:

[Speaking Russian] What did you get?

YOUNG BOY:

[Speaking Russian] It’s mine!

MISHA:

[Speaking Russian] Like this?

VIKA:

[Speaking Russian] Mom!

MISHA:

[Speaking Russian] Wow.

VIKA’S GRANDMOTHER:

[Speaking Russian] All done. Go off and do some good deeds!

NARRATOR:

Above ground, the people of Kharkiv routinely wake to new ruins from shelling in the night.

MALE SPEAKER:

[Speaking Russian] Yesterday at 9 p.m. there was a bang and we ran into the bathroom. That’s what saved us.

NARRATOR:

Roman is out helping to search for survivors.

FEMALE SPEAKER 1:

[Speaking Russian] Galya!

NARRATOR:

Desperate relatives are doing the same.

FEMALE SPEAKER 1:

[Speaking Russian] I can’t get through to them.

FEMALE SPEAKER 2:

[Speaking Russian] They might have escaped.

FEMALE SPEAKER 1:

[Speaking Russian] I can’t breathe. Galya! There is no answer.

ROMAN:

I need to check another place.

FEMALE SPEAKER 2:

[Speaking Russian] They should—they should check our basement as well. She might have gone to someone else’s place.

FEMALE SPEAKER 1:

[Speaking Russian] I don’t know where to go.

MALE SPEAKER:

[Speaking Russian] If they are buried here, they would be in that room.

ROMAN:

[Speaking Russian] Is anyone there? Anyone alive?

FEMALE SPEAKER 1:

[Speaking Russian] Bastards. [Cries]

NARRATOR:

With much of the city in ruins, many remain missing. The authorities don’t know if people have left or lie dead beneath the rubble.

In the Saltivka neighborhood, Sergiy has been adjusting to his changed life. In the shelter, they go outside for air during pauses in the bombing.

IRINA:

[Speaking Russian] What was that sound? Let’s go. This rumbling is strange.

FEMALE VOICE:

[Speaking Russian] Yes, we need to leave.

IRINA:

[Speaking Russian] It’s some sort of fighting. First there is a long sound, and then as if something is falling down.

NARRATOR:

Among the neighbors, the topic of discussion is whether they should stay or try to escape with volunteers who are organizing groups to leave the city.

MALE SPEAKER 1:

[Speaking Russian] Let’s wait two days.

MALE VOLUNTEER:

[Speaking Russian] Here? I wouldn’t advise that.

MALE SPEAKER 1:

[Speaking Russian] Yes, I’ll come in two days. You get it organized first. I’ll wait here with the dog.

FEMALE VOICE:

[Speaking Russian] It’s coming! It’s coming!

MALE VOICE 1:

[Speaking Russian] Come on, come on, downstairs, downstairs! Don’t run! Don’t panic! Go, go, go! Who is still out there? Close the door!

MALE VOICE 2:

[Speaking Russian] Heavy shooting, just wait for a bit, it’s very heavy.

MALE SPEAKER 2:

[Speaking Russian] Everyone’s alive, everyone’s well.

FEMALE SPEAKER 3:

[Speaking Russian] I’m scared to stay here.

MALE SPEAKER 2:

[Speaking Russian] I understand.

MALE SPEAKER 3:

[Speaking Russian] We have everything ready.

IRINA:

[Speaking Russian] And what about if you’re driving and rockets are flying above your head?

MALE SPEAKER 3:

[Speaking Russian] As if they’re not going to fly tomorrow? They’re going to fly even more.

IRINA:

[Speaking Russian] Are you going to draw?

NARRATOR:

At the start of the war, Irina chose to stay in Saltivka with her son and brother. But by early April, she’s desperate to get out.

IRINA:

[Speaking Russian] I just want things to be calm. Before the war my child was calm and everything was good. But the war traumatized him. He can’t tolerate hearing explosions all the time.

MALE VOLUNTEER:

[Speaking Russian] You wait here. We’ll get two cars and start evacuating.

MALE VOICE:

[Speaking Russian] We are going.

IRINA’S SON:

[Speaking Russian] The cars are here.

IRINA:

[Speaking Russian] No, that’s not ours. Down! Go down! It’s coming this way!

MALE VOICE:

[Speaking Russian] Go, go, go!

ROMAN:

This movie is about the Second World War. They’re from different parts, from different countries, but they’re speaking one language. There was one nation. [Speaking Russian] And now what is happening in our country. The Russians are against us.

MALE FIREFIGHTER:

[Speaking Russian] Our grandfathers would be ashamed.

ROMAN:

[Translating] He feels sorry for his grandfathers, for grandparents. Because our grandparents, they was working and fighting together in front of Germany. His grandpa had been fighting against Nazis. And now we are their grandsons, we are their sons, fighting between each other.

I know that the name of the vodka—what is the name? Do you know this? It means “air.” Literally, it says “air.” Cheers! For the peace! For the peace, for the peace.

NARRATOR:

Since the shelling began, Kharkiv has been under a strict curfew. Underneath the city, thousands of people turn in each night. It’s bitterly cold.

MISHA:

[Speaking Russian] They are snoring. The Snorey Snore! Off to sleep.

“Russian ship, go f— yourself”

NARRATOR:

As they sleep below, above, the battle is intensifying.

MALE NEWSREADER [on radio]:

[Speaking Russian] Kharkiv residential areas are under bombardment. The citizens are advised to stay away from the streets even if there’s no air raid siren.

ELDERLY WOMAN:

[Speaking Russian] These are to help me sleep.

MALE NEWSREADER [on radio]:

[Speaking Russian] Specifically, around 1:30 p.m. north Saltivka was shelled. The Department of Civil Defense asks citizens to stay in shelters during the day and not to go outside.

MALE VOICE [on radio]:

[Speaking Russian] We received up-to-date information from the State Emergency Service. Over the last 24 hours they answered 79 calls.

NARRATOR:

Irina has been working for 39 hours straight.

IRINA:

[Speaking Russian] Where is the house?

NARRATOR:

The city is under a total blackout. By April, over a third of Irina’s colleagues have left.

IRINA:

[Speaking Russian] Oh, shoot! There is fire.

MALE PARAMEDIC:

[Speaking Russian] Oh, s—.

IRINA:

[Speaking Russian] Hush now.

MALE PARAMEDIC:

[Speaking Russian] There is something moving there.

IRINA:

[Speaking Russian] That’s not our call. We need to go further.

MALE PARAMEDIC:

[Speaking Russian] That one.

IRINA:

[Speaking Russian] That one?

MALE PARAMEDIC:

[Speaking Russian] Yes.

VOICE FROM GPS:

[Speaking Russian] You have reached your destination.

IRINA:

[Speaking Russian] Please move out of the way. Give us some space.

NARRATOR:

This couple’s home was hit by Russian shelling.

IRINA:

[Speaking Russian] You put a belt on your arm? Why did you put this tourniquet here? Is there a wound?

ELDERLY MAN:

[Speaking Russian] The blood was gushing out.

IRINA:

[Speaking Russian] From your arm or higher up?

ELDERLY MAN:

[Speaking Russian] My side. I can’t breathe.

IRINA:

[Speaking Russian] I’ll take you to hospital.

ELDERLY MAN:

[Speaking Russian] It’s too late. Lock up the apartment.

NARRATOR:

The couple survived, but many others have not. Hundreds of civilians have been killed or injured since the invasion began.

FEMALE CALL DISPATCHER:

[Speaking Russian] Emergency Service, Yarushevka Street. It’s Arsen calling. Are there any victims? OK. Duty Unit is calling. OK, got it.

NARRATOR:

By late April, the city has endured two months of shelling, with estimates of more than a hundred schools and over 2,000 homes damaged or destroyed.

MARINA:

[Speaking Russian] She said, “My grandpa lives in Horlivka.” And it’s been well known for eight years who’s been shooting at whom.

ROMAN:

[Speaking Russian] Violetta! What’s happening? Don’t go out there anymore.

Put the helmet on.

[Speaking English] Me and Violetta, we are very close. We are like on one wave, you know? We are good. And she knows Daddy is the best.

[Speaking Russian] Oh, this is dangerous, he needs to cross the street. “Oh, danger, danger,” it says. Danger!

[Speaking English] I realize it could happen, you know. For my wife it’s very hard. Everything is hard. I just really worry about them. I don’t know what will happen here.

MALE VOLUNTEER:

[Speaking Russian] Don’t rush, don’t rush.

NARRATOR:

After weeks living under the school in Saltivka, Irina and her family are finally leaving.

IRINA’S SON:

[Speaking Russian] Mommy, are we going? Are we going now?

NARRATOR:

A volunteer organization is helping them.

IRINA:

[Speaking Russian] At the moment there is anxiety because we’ll be going on a journey. There is a little—I’ve been thinking about it for two days. The main thing is that we make it there, that everything goes well on the road.

ELDERLY WOMAN:

[Speaking Russian] It’s just there?

MALE VOLUNTEER:

[Speaking Russian] Yes, a nice blue car will pick you up.

IRINA:

[Speaking Russian] We’ll take the cat in the car with us because she cries.

I spent my entire childhood here. My parents’ childhood was here, too. I don’t want to. But the circumstances demand that I do it.

NARRATOR:

It’s early May. The city of Kharkiv is pushing the Russian troops farther away for the time being. Burned Russian tanks and dead soldiers are scattered in the fields outside the city.

VITALI:

[Singing in Russian] Set me free if you don’t need me anymore. Set me free if you don’t need me anymore.

NARRATOR:

Spring has arrived, and people have begun tentatively emerging after more than two months underground.

VITALI:

[Singing in Russian] We drank wild honey together. I thought the world of you. Why, then, did the cold ice in your heart not melt?

NARRATOR:

The battle for Kharkiv may be subsiding for the moment, but the war for Ukraine rages on.

VIKA:

[Speaking Russian] Mommy. I picked some flowers. See over there, there are plenty of them.

VIKA’S MOM:

[Speaking Russian] No, don’t.

VIKA:

[Speaking Russian] I wanted to go further.

VIKA’S MOM:

[Speaking Russian] It’s frightening.

VIKA:

[Speaking Russian] It’s not frightening.

VIKA’S MOM:

[Speaking Russian] Mommy is frightened.

VIKA:

[Speaking Russian] Vika is not frightened. Let me go.

VIKA’S MOM:

[Speaking Russian] No! [Laughs]

VIKA:

[Speaking Russian] Before, I used to be afraid of spiders. I’m not afraid of spiders anymore. I want to stay in Ukraine. I don’t want to go to any other country.

NARRATOR:

As for Sergiy, he’s on his way to see his neighbor and friend.

SERGIY:

[Speaking Russian] I stole these from the school. [Laughter] I stole these from the school.

Is it healing? No?

FEMALE NURSE:

[Speaking Russian] It’s getting better. [Laughter] The war goes on. [Speaking English] It’s fine.

SERGIY:

[Speaking Russian] Why should I leave if this is my home? Shall I go and lie in a ditch? If it’s meant to be, so be it. We’ll go on living here. This is my motherland.

VITALI:

[Speaking Russian] Sorry, I need to brush my hair.

NARRATOR:

Vitali has gone back to see his apartment.

VITALI:

[Speaking Russian] Here, I have a book called “Cure Yourself.” I live by this principle. Cure yourself by willpower and self-persuasion. If something is troubling me I always say to myself, “Nothing is threatening me, I am totally safe, I am calm.” Good words!

NARRATOR:

He lays out pictures from family albums.

VITALI:

[Speaking Russian] Look, here I am when I was serving in the army as a tank crew member. Oh, and here are my two grandsons, Ruslan and Maxim. Maxim now lives in Israel.

What beautiful clouds. Good Lord! Everything is good, but they are banging and shooting.

NARRATOR:

With artillery going off in the background, Vitali sings along with the television.

VITALI:

[Singing in Russian] Heart, you don’t want peace. Heart, how good it is to live in the world.

IRINA’S SON:

[Speaking Russian] It’s a long way to Kharkiv.

IRINA:

[Speaking Russian] A long way.

NARRATOR:

Irina and her son have found some peace. They’ve moved into a school building in the Ukrainian countryside, away from the front lines of the war.

IRINA’S SON:

[Speaking Russian] Next stop is Kharkiv. Are you waiting for this train?

IRINA:

[Speaking Russian] No, I’m waiting for it to pass.

At the moment, we are living in a very quiet place, surrounded by nature. It’s very nice here, very calm. There’s no shooting, no bombing.

NARRATOR:

But she misses Kharkiv.

IRINA:

[Speaking Russian] I really want to return. I hope it will all end soon. We will rebuild and everything will be good again. Things will be back to normal.

IRINA’S SON:

[Speaking Russian] Mom! Mom! Mom! When will those devils, the Russians, die? When? When?

IRINIA:

[Speaking Russian] Soon.

TATJANA:

[Speaking Russian] What does peace look like for me? It’s to wake up peacefully. To go to bed peacefully. Come home from work, no rush, take a shower. It’s to visit friends. To take the metro to the park.

IRINIA:

[Speaking Russian] I’m so tired, totally pooped.

TATJANA:

[Speaking Russian] I think the war has brought us together, to tell you the truth. People who couldn’t stand each other are now united because of this disaster. We started to help each other. We were united by this tragedy.

Time to go home.

We became like an anthill: If you touch it, you’ll be eaten.

ROMAN:

Hello, everyone! Hello, lovely people! Today the Jamie Oliver is cooking for you a plov!

MALE SPEAKER:

[Speaking Russian] Where is that wanker from?

ROMAN:

[Speaking Russian] Jamie Oliver? From Britain

MALE SPEAKER:

[Speaking Russian] He’s a chef, right?

ROMAN:

[Speaking Russian] Yes.

MALE SPEAKER:

[Speaking Russian] Do you watch him on YouTube?

ROMAN:

[Speaking Russian] I used to but stopped once I learned some things.

[Speaking English] The most awesome moment is when you thought you’d be dead, but you’re alive. That’s wonderful.

I really care about my family. I really care about my daughter. I just wanted them to have a normal life. It could be—[Explosions] It’s probably our troops. So everything is fine. [Laughter]

NARRATOR:

Roman, like so many still in Kharkiv, is trying to make the most of an uncertain future and the ever-present threat of the war.

MARINA:

[Speaking Russian] Good night. Let me cover her.

ROMAN:

[Speaking Russian] I’ll cover her later.

MARINA:

[Speaking Russian] If Mother says cover her, then cover her. That’s it, close your eyes. Good night.

ROMAN:

[Speaking Russian] What lullaby do you remember?

VIOLETTA:

[Speaking Russian] I know only horror stories.

ROMAN:

[Singing in Russian] Sleep, my bunny, sleep. And don’t be naughty.

VIOLETTA:

[Speaking Russian] Daddy, tell me a fairy tale. All scary fairy tales end well. Daddy, tell me something that starts scary but ends well. Please, tell me.

ROMAN:

[Speaking Russian] Please stay still and sleep, please.

VIOLETTA:

[Speaking Russian] Daddy, I am staying still!

ROMAN:

[Speaking Russian] Let’s count a minute if one of us can stay still and sleep.

VIOLETTA:

[Speaking Russian] No, Daddy, stop. Let’s play the quiet game.

ROMAN:

[Speaking Russian] What about the game “Who can pretend to sleep best?” What are you doing? Calm down.

VIOLETTA:

[Speaking Russian] No, no, I won’t sleep without you. We’ll sleep till morning. Together.

VITALI:

[Singing in Russian] We looked into each other’s eyes: the clocks stopped. Madness was transformed into tenderness. With every breath it drew us closer together. That love’s indescribable tenderness. There’s nothing permanent in the world. But my love is eternal. A bird flies into those memories, into the eternal love. The bird greets those years for the first time and the last time.

Russia continues the intermittent bombing of Kharkiv.

Roman’s family fled to Germany.

He’s still on duty in Kharkiv, as are Irina and Tatjana.

Sergiy and Vitali are both living in apartments above ground.

After five months of living in the metro station, Vika and her family are planning to flee to Finland.