Wartime diary, Kyiv, 07.03.2022

Live broadcast from Kyiv, or a diary to the sound of explosions.

The phone keeps reminding me of what I did a year ago, two years ago, three years ago this day. It is now impossible to make out which of this is reality and which is a dream. Either the whole life that had existed before February 24, 2022 was just a sweet dream, or everything that has been happening after that is a nightmare. Life has been divided into "before" and "after".

War really takes all the masks off people. It becomes clear who has what values, who has what fears, how much composure people can keep and what their weaknesses are. Every day we go out for groceries, trying to find something that can be stored for a long time. My mother-in-law is very afraid of the blockade of Kyiv. Honestly, I feel the same and am also afraid of the dark times in the capital. But it is important to remain humans and not sweep everything off the shelves, especially inexpensive products. There may be people around who need them much more.

Since the beginning of the war, many residents of our area decided to leave the city. There are 2 couples and several elderly single women left in our house. One of them is non-mobile - she can only move around the apartment with the help of a special chair. My husband and I go shopping every day, trying to buy bread, some meat, some vegetables to bring to our neighbors. The hardest thing is getting milk and dairy products now. I hope it was only yesterday, because all the people were frying pancakes, because yesterday was the last day of Masliana.

I've noted that many small businesses and shops near the house have opened, are working and sometimes even have a better assortment than chain supermarkets. I was born and raised in independent Ukraine and in my conscious memory I never needed anything - you just buy everything you need. Everything was always available. I never thought I'd have trouble buying potatoes in the 21st century.

I want to believe that there will be no interruptions in the supply of essential goods in the capital. At least the mood of the townspeople is quite positive and stable. Although the disturbing sounds that come from the suburbs - Bucha, Hostomel, Irpin, Vorzel - do not let you relax for a second. However, we keep believing in our valiant Armed Forces!

Glory to Ukraine!