Book Description

Things change quickly in a war. When you take your gaze away from the kaleidoscope, it has turned. The greens have vanished, and the reds have made their way in. The question of who survives and who does not, as well as how things change instantly, is always present. Suddenly, your body begins to move in directions that your brain is unable to comprehend. You're cruising to the dentist one day. The next thing you know, you're chattering away with random people in a dark basement. It is a time when instinct takes over and emotions are obstructed in order to save your children or get through the next checkpoint. Finally, it is the startling realization that you are suddenly, unwillingly, a refugee, reliant on the kindness of unknown people, no longer a middle-class person in control of your own life. It reminded me of the stunned quality of other wars' early moments, when folks are still in disbelief, habits haven't hardened, and society hasn't completely collapsed. The Kiev I grew up knowing is no longer there. My Instagram has devolved into a post-apocalyptic haze of blood-filtered images of the dead and injured, and my friends send me Videos on YouTube of an AK-47 annihilating civilians who fall like toy soldiers. Since Russia's invasion, over 5.5 million Ukrainians have fled the country. This figure is expected to rise as Russian troops move into Kharkiv, Ukraine's second biggest city with a population of more than 1.5 million people. President Yanukovych, along with other politicians, fled Ukraine amid the brutal treatment of Ukrainian citizens and the 70-100 casualties, leaving the country in political limbo. Citizens are the only ones who aren't fleeing Ukraine. Men in Ukraine today leave their families to fight. Women now have to look after their children, siblings and parents, while the men stay and fight. I saw a viral picture somewhere of a wounded nurse who had been shot in the neck while attempting to help casualties. My friends emailed me about how they've replaced their purses with Molotov cocktails, their heels with headgear, and their jackets with bulletproof vests–the city has devolved into a war zone.