Voice of Ukraine

Kharkiv, the metro. The start of the academic year in Ukraine. The first bell of 2023.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Will there still be a war when you finish school?
How will it end?

Isn’t it strange to start first grade in the metro?
Yes. It’s safer. But that’s not true. Although it is safer.

They’re interesting. They’re funny and serious. They’re open and sincere.
But some don’t want to go back to school, and they cry.

Heavy fighting near Kupiansk, 100 km away.
The border with Russia is so close. They hear shelling every day.

They live, play and study… in the metro
And then they go home, where they may meet a falling bomb…

From Euromaiden Press