Russian missile attacks shock 8-year-old Angelina

AP/NATACHA PISARENKO

Nila Zelinska holds her granddaughter's doll that she recovered from her destroyed home during Russia's invasion in Potashnya on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Zelinska returned after escaping war to find out she is now homeless.

Unlike what some might think, it turns out that not all of the Kyiv area has been damaged by the war. In fact, there are parts of the capital city, especially in the area known as the Right Bank, that have been left completely unscathed by munitions from the Russian offensive, since the country invaded Ukraine on 24 Feb., mainly targeting the northern areas of the city before shifting its focus to the eastern region.

The capital city of Kyiv has two administrative jurisdictions. Kyiv municipality is headed by former heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko as mayor, while the regional government is headed by Oleksiy Kuleba. In the early stages of the war, battles raged in the northern areas of the city, leaving Irpin and Bucha under the siege of Russian forces.

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As the war continues to rage, Kyiv residents are still grappling with fear and trauma, with missile and rocket attacks putting them in peril, as experienced by Angelina (8).

On Sunday (05/06/2022), a railway maintenance depot near her family home in Darnitsky district, southeast of the city, was hit by missiles. The facility, which is in an area known as the Left Bank, was badly damaged. The roofs of three buildings collapsed and part of the wall crumbled.

"Some of our [apartment windows] broke," Angelina's father Igor (28), said on Friday (10/6).

The depot is located 300 meters from the apartment where Igor was born. Igor and his family were still asleep at the time of the shelling. “My daughter cried in fear,” said Igor, who works as a mechanic and a driver.

AFP/DANIEL LEAL

People, some carrying bags and suitcases, walk at a metro station in Kyiv early on February 24, 2022. - Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine on Thursday with explosions heard soon after across the country and its foreign minister warning a "full-scale invasion" was underway.

Awakened by the explosions, he rushed to grab a bag containing important documents, including citizenship identity papers, and evacuated his family from the building. He acted bravely in the face of grave situation, while his daughter was frightened.

Warning siren

Igor said that when they were rushing out of the apartment, he paused a moment and thought about running back inside. "I forgot my lighter," he said with a chuckle.

When the explosions occurred, he had not heard a siren. Only after the shelling was over did he hear the wailing blare of a siren. "I was awakened by the explosions, not the sirens," he said.

The Ukrainian government has set up an early warning system to anticipate such attacks. In addition to the sirens, alerts about impending attacks are also sent through a mobile app. When a warning is sent, the residents are to take shelter immediately.

The blast on Sunday morning was the first to have occurred close to Igor's home. Previous explosions had been heard at a distance, as the area where Igor lives was not a major target of the invaders.

Like other Ukrainians, Igor and his family have become accustomed to rushing out of their apartment to take cover from a Russian attack. People at home or work will run to seek shelter in a subway station or in a building’s basement when an alert comes.

Igor was born after the Soviet Union broke up in 1991 into a number of sovereign states following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

The conflict has spilled over into the ongoing war, with millions of families becoming victims, including Igor’s family and his brother Ivan.

Among those new states, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus are now involved in the conflict, with Belarus siding with Russia against Ukraine. Kyiv is reportedly moving closer to the western geopolitical bloc in opposition to the Minsk-Moscow eastern proxy. The conflict has spilled over into the ongoing war, with millions of families becoming victims, including Igor’s family and his brother Ivan.

Igor and Ivan have since joined the volunteer militia. During an interview on Friday afternoon, Ivan’s two thumbs were swollen, which he said was due to using his rifle.

Those who are not used to firing a rifle risk stress injuries in the hand. The rifle trigger can tear the thumb when it is pulled.

Civilian mobilization

Civilians carrying weapons have now become a common sight in the city in recent months. When the Crimean Peninsula crisis broke out in 2014, the possession of firearms was still strictly regulated. A license for possessing a firearm was granted only if the applicant had passed a psychology test and had no criminal record.

However, one day before Russia launched its invasion, the Ukrainian government imposed a state of emergency and altered the regulation to allow all Ukrainian citizens with ID cards or passports to own firearms.

KOMPAS/HARRY SUSILO (ILO)

A Ukrainian citizen who has just returned to Kyiv takes a break with his family at Kyiv Station, Ukraine, Wednesday (6/8/2022).

One day into the war, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that anyone holding a Ukrainian ID card or passport who was willing to fight for the country would be given a firearm. The government’s decision was part of its effort to mobilize the civilian population in the face of the Russian invasion.

As many as 25,000 weapons have since been distributed to civilians by the Interior Ministry. Some are equipped with grenade launchers. Igor and Ivan are among those given license to possess and carry firearms. They participated in a mass firearm training program with other civilians.

For some civilians, rifles have now become part of their daily lives. They carry their rifles in the standby position, with their finger on the trigger and ready to fire. They are found at shopping centers, public squares, government offices, and especially checkpoints.

With gun in hand, the Ukrainians are sending a message, aside from their worries, fears and trauma, of their resilience against the invaders. But for how long, they don't know.

This article was translated by Musthofid