It has been one year since the war on Ukraine began.
Newstalk's Sean Moncrieff travelled to Ukraine to hear from those who are living through a modern war.
In this special one off episode for Today FM Sean brings us stories from people affected by the war from across Ukraine.
You will hear about a man who escaped by putting his father in a wheelbarrow, a museum team who hid 2,500 artefacts to prevent them being destroyed, the impact on children and a zoo who found pets and exotic animals left at their gates as the conflict began.
Please note that this episode contains depictions of violence which some listeners may find disturbing.
Listen to the episode in full by pressing the play button ⬇️
Below are the segments from interviews gathered in Ukraine, alongside details about who you are listening to and what they have been going through over the past year.
Tetiana Serhiivna, Head of the metro station ‘Klovska’ Fedorchenko. Spoke about the opening days of the full-scale invasion, when 60,000 residents of Kyiv sought refuge in the subways. Almost 1,000 lived in her station for three days during a total curfew. Still today, people head to the subways when the air raid sirens go off. Interview conducted in the subway station through a translator.
Yurchenko Olena, practical psychologist in the centre of social and psychological rehabilitation in the war-ravaged city of Borodyanka. She talks about the behaviours children display due to the trauma they’ve experienced. Interview conducted at a child-friendly “spilno” through a translator.
Kyryl Partin, Director of Kyiv Zoo. The zoo is located very close to the city centre, so he spoke about keeping the animals safe, alive and well since the invasion. Some animals showed signs of stress and anxiety, they struggled to keep the zoo warm during blackouts (vital for some tropical animals), and residents and private operators in Kyiv left everything from turtles to alligators at their gates hoping the staff would be able to take care of them. Interview conducted while walking around the zoo, through a translator.
Topov Maksym Volodymyrovych, a volunteer with the Territorial Defence Forces in the city of Irpin. His father is diabetic so when they ran out of medicine, he managed to evacuate his father by putting him in a wheelbarrow and running through the forest - Russians were killing civilians on the roads if they tried to flee. Interview conducted in his home through a translator.
Mar‘iana Varchuk, employee of the Department of Funds and Preservation of the Collection, the leading custodian of the Khanenko Museum. They hid 2,500 artefacts within days of the full-scale invasion to protect them from being destroyed if the building was targeted. The building was hit by a missile in October 2022, but the structure remained intact. We spoke to her in the empty exhibition rooms about the way they’ve adapted to using the spaces for music and theatre. Interview in English.
Irina, a mother of three who fled the Mykolaiv region last May after three months of shelling. She evacuated to Kyiv and has been living in the home of a friend who fled to Europe. She talks about how she doesn’t think she’ll be able to return to her home city, trying to get work in Kyiv, and the impact this has had on her family. Interview conducted in a “spilno” in Kyiv where she goes for support and advice from Unicef. Interview conducted in the pop up centre through a translator.
Shozianko Vita, a grandmother in Irpin living in modular housing. Both of her family’s homes were destroyed during the six-week occupation of Irpin. She is now living in a modular home donated by the Polish government, with shower and cooking facilities in a former retreat centre. She works in the local gardens and parks to try bring back some beauty to her home town, 70% of which needs to be rebuilt. Interview conducted in the communal area of the centre, through a translator.
