{"id":187478,"date":"2022-06-24T18:28:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-24T15:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/golosy-regioniv-1"},"modified":"2022-07-22T00:11:59","modified_gmt":"2022-07-21T21:11:59","slug":"golosy-regioniv-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/golosy-regioniv-1","title":{"rendered":"Let it hit us, but so that we wouldn\u2019t suffer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A step from a luxurious past to an uncertain future is by far not what Katya Zozulia imagined a few months ago. She loved her Mariupol, was happy to watch it change, breathed the sea, dreamed, and believed that it would always be so. Now she knows how melted snow tastes.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn 2014, we realized that we do not want any Russia, we do not want anything other than Ukraine\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

She is bright not only in appearance but also in nature. It is so easy to talk to her that you can walk for hours along an embankment under the linden trees, drink delicious Uzhhorod coffee and laugh. Until an aircraft hums overhead. Then she freezes warily. And if it flies very close, she covers her ears with her hands. As soon as the plane flies away, she exhales and returns to reality. This is Katya Zozulia’s phobia acquired under the Russian bombing of Mariupol. The girl says that she has always appreciated every moment of life, loved to walk along the coast of the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov in her world\u2019s best Mariupol, danced passionately and taught other girls to love themselves. On February 23, she finished training at 10 p.m. and was going to go to work in the morning. But the morning of February 24, 2022 began with her friend\u2019s message: \u201cKatyusha, it’s started. The whole of Ukraine is being shelled. There is nowhere to run yet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katya lived in Mariupol since childhood. Her worldview was not limited to that city, so she assures: \u201cWhen we left Mariupol, we realized that it was the best city in the world. In the last few years, Mariupol became European: with beautiful squares, parks, lawns, tulips. I think every European would have been delighted if he came there. And the sea. You could live, do everyday things, and then come to the sea and the world would stop. You\u2019re sad – you come to the sea, you feel good – you come to the sea. It’s like a good friend, a companion you can always come to and enjoy his company. They made a beautiful pier in the city; there were many cafes with delicious coffee. You sit on the pier, people walk, you drink coffee, the sun shines, and the surf rustles. It was such love! I cannot find the right words. I miss it so much.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I learned about the war firsthand back in 2014. Then the city was under occupation from May to June. However, even after the liberation, the Eastern district was shelled from time to time. Although Katya lived in the Central and the explosions were far away, life next door to the war affected her anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere really were some older people waiting for the return of the Soviet Union. But young people did not even think of it. In 2014, we realized that we do not want any Russia; we do not want anything other than Ukraine. It was as if we had something, but weren\u2019t aware of it, didn’t appreciate it, and when they tried to take it away, we understood. We are Ukrainians and we are ready to fight for it. We knew that Mariupol had not been taken and would not be taken.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

On February 24, it all started in the Eastern. Then the Russian army began to move on, the explosions were closer. We knew they had already captured the Eastern and the Left Bank districts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were preparing, but did not believe in a full-scale offensive until the end\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The people of Mariupol trusted what they saw: \u201cIf the elite build something, nothing will happen.\u201d However, the situation in the city escalated, a threat seemed to be boiling in the air and it was more and more difficult to drive away scary thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI and my kith and kins were preparing, but did not believe in a full-scale offensive until the end. I had my suitcase packed, my car fueled and I knew I would be able to leave if the time came. On February 23, I had a workout until 10 p.m. There was some bad feeling, but I was ready to go to work in the morning. On February 24, I had to wake up at 7 a.m. and go to work. But I woke up at 6 a.m. after my friend texted me that the war had begun.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"\u041c\u0430\u0440\u0456\u0443\u043f\u043e\u043b\u044c.<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen there is no connection, your family is those around you in the shelter\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Katya moved from her apartment to her mother’s private house – it seemed safer there, because there was a basement. They did not leave the city – her mother did not want to leave her dog, cat and grandmother, and Katya was afraid to go on her own. Later, the girl\u2019s friends joined her, her mother and her boyfriend. The five of them started living together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“When there is no connection, your family is those around you in the shelter. We became so close. I really consider my friends family. Families don\u2019t go through what we did in several years.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

First, connection disappeared. There was no news from the outside, and I did not want to listen to the propaganda of the so-called DNR, which was broadcast on the radio. Then light went out. Then water. Finally, gas. There were only sounds of explosions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rockets and shells flew overhead, and people were walking in search of food and water. They stood in lines for hours. Some would leave and never return. At first, Katya and her family also went out for water and food, but then it became so dangerous that they stayed in the house most of the time.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMelted snow tastes disgusting. Don\u2019t ever try it\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On March 7, they cut off gas. The day was relatively quiet, so Katya and her family were able to go out and see if there was anything left in the shops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt seemed as if it was May 1 and everyone went outside to cook shashlyk, not because there was no gas. As soon as communications disappeared, everything was looted in the shops. People cannot be blamed for this, because everyone wants to eat. Shops were looted even by volunteers: there was food, but there was no one to sell it. And people in bomb shelters needed it. Therefore, in my opinion, looting is normal during the war. They even took carpets from shops – people slept on them in shelters, and they used them to cover windows and doors in houses. Large hardware stores left a few days before the looting began. But in war, it is matches, water, oil, food, toilet paper, wet wipes that have real value, not clothes and expensive equipment.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"\u041c\u0430\u0440\u0456\u0443\u043f\u043e\u043b\u044c.
People prepare food in the yards<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Katya and her family had some food supplies, so they ate once or twice a day. There was still snow in the city, so they put buckets under house drains to get water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We even brushed our teeth with that water. But it\u2019s disgusting. Never try it. That water was not enough, so over time we stopped washing dishes and used disposable dishes several times. We only dreamed of washing ourselves. We cooked on water, for which we queued for hours.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe heard an explosion and a window frame started flying at me very slowly.\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At first, we were hiding behind a sofa between two walls, and went to the shelter during air raids. Over time, the shelling got closer and we understood that we\u2019d better hide. To distract our minds, we played cards, checkers, battleship, looked at photos from a life in which everything was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\u041c\u0430\u0440\u0456\u0443\u043f\u043e\u043b\u044c.
Between the shelling\u2026<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Everything changed when air raids began. Then the 2×2 meter basement, which only had enough room for shelves with canned food, became our permanent home, and it was no longer possible to distract ourselves from fear and tension. The walls of the house began to crumble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katya will remember the night of March 9 the rest of her life: \u201cThe plane was buzzing very loudly over the house, it lit through the windows first on one side and then on the other and flew away. That was the first time. Since then we slept only in the basement. The temperature was below zero, so we slept sitting on stools or lying sideways in two jackets under blankets. It wasn\u2019t very comfortable.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It became scary to leave the shelter. Everyone knew that planes would drop bombs. And if during the shelling it was clear where to and where from it was flying, planes were absolutely unpredictable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe enjoyed life for short periods of time, and then everything would start all over again. That time, at breakfast, we heard a plane flying. I put a fork to my mouth and waited to see what would happen. It flew by and began to return. There was an explosion and a window frame started flying at me very slowly. Everyone fell on the floor, the window fell on my back and hit my friend in the temple. We get up, run to the basement, blood flows from my friend\u2019s temple, she faints, we bring her to life. We call that day our second birthday.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n