Dear Ones,
I’d like to share a summary of a vlog by a YouTuber named Victoria Vlasenko. I stumbled upon her channel for minimalist content a while back.
Victoria shared that misinformation is rampant within Ukraine, and she wasn’t sure what was real or not. She could only trust certain videos such as one showing bombing on streets that she was familiar with in Kiev.
She felt safest hiding in her home rather than in a metro station/shelter or crossing the border. She couldn’t leave her cats or her husband, who is now unable to leave the country anyway because of conscription.
They still have electricity and the internet.
They have some food and water on hand. There was a long line at the local market at first, so she went home. Then she tried again and the line was gone, so she went again to get more water (since tap water is not potable there.) However, there was a curfew and the markets were already closed at 4PM local time.
Instead, she went to the local water pump, which seemed disgusting to her but at least gave her potable water.
Her cat keeps her calm and she’s envious of his ignorance of what’s going on. She is also not hiding in the bunker because they don’t accept pets.
Some of her friends have escaped to Romania and Moldova. The owners of the company she works for already escaped towards the border.
Some men appear to able to cross the border with special documents from the army.
She read about the SWIFT disconnection and she heard that the president is ready to negotiate. She is frustrated about radicals from both sides who want victory, instead of peace.
She’s not comfortable with the use of Molotov cocktails, or the distribution of weapons to civilians.
She’s still working remotely for a few hours a day, which gives her some relief from checking the news and feeling anxious.
Her family is OK for now. Some live in Kiev and the Kiev suburbs.
She’s sad that now she’s had to learn so many military words in English.
She got a lot of hate on her Russian YouTube channel, where people were unsympathetic and unsubscribed.
She hid in the bathroom when she heard bombings.
She asked those who live near the Ukrainian borders, and are able to shelter or help, to leave their contact information by DMing her on instagram. She will provide this information to vetted friends and colleagues who want to leave.
She created this list of ways to donate (note that I have not verified these sources myself, so please do your due diligence. Here’s a list from NPR as well.)
Warm Wishes,
Christin
Thank you for sharing that. It heartening to hear from somebody there rather than watch everything on the news ❤️
What a wonderful way to learn. Life happenings straight from the person living it.