Voice of Ukraine

From Maia Mikhaluk in Kyiv (484th day): Every time Briana and I got for a walk I can’t cease being amazed at how many kids are crowding playgrounds. A year ago, Kyiv emptied to a big extent of children. But now, obviously many people returned, and thousands of internally displaced families chose to try to make life here for now too. Of course, Kyiv is probably not the most popular place among people who are relocating from the danger of war. Kyiv is the most targeted by ruzzian misisles and drones city after Kharkiv. But on the other hand, Kyiv has more jobs and the economy seems to be functioning better here than in some other parts of Ukraine. I don’t know if there are statistics, but it feels like we have the pre-invasion number of people in the city.

So the playgrounds are bustling with kids, and the air is ringing with kids’ laughter and voices. One can almost forget about the war and the danger that is hanging over all of us. But when air raid starts, parents will rush with their kids to bomb shelters or home. We know that we should have at least 15 min to get to safety or possibly longer, depending on the type of missiles coming our way. The drones take hours to reach targets. It’s weird to have that kind of knowledge and, even worse, to have that first-hand experience of hurrying home while counting explosions and figuring out how close they are and if it’s our anti-missile defense or ruzzian missiles hitting targets. Kids will be scared during missile attacks and explosions, but isn’t it amazing how they could be living in the moment, having fun, laughing, playing, and putting away the horrors they have seen and the fears of future missile strikes.

God, please, protect our children!