1000 days of war

This year has been a whirlwind of emotions, challenges, and perseverance. As we approach the 1,000th day of war, it’s impossible not to reflect on the resilience and strength that we, as individuals and as a community, have shown. These days have tested our endurance and unity, but they have also revealed the depth of our hope and determination.

Each day of this year brought its lessons. It was a year of striving to find balance amidst uncertainty, celebrating small victories, and cherishing moments of peace and connection. It was a time to recognize achievements—not just in tasks completed or goals reached, but in surviving, adapting, and continuing to move forward despite the challenges.

Anna Haidai:

Over the last year, I have accomplished one significant achievement that every Ukrainian should do. I have started the therapy with a psychologist in order to overcome the challenges in my life, and this decision has fundamentally impacted everything I do.

Throughout the year, I have engaged in various activities: I have created a Ukrainian language course, have separated from my parents, have published a book, have got my first official job and have even taken my first holiday. Despite these achievements, each step was incredibly difficult, as I faced them without any psychological support.

We must understand that our country is going through a very tough time due to air raid alerts, deaths, and power outages. It’s hard to remain as productive as before, and even harder not to beat yourself up about it. In case you are overwhelmed, I strongly recommend finding a psychologist to help go through these challenges.

Moreover, I firmly believe we need to reform the healthcare system so that all citizens have access to free psychological support whenever they need it.

Veronika Shevych:

This year, I believe my most significant achievement has been developing my social skills and building my self-respect. In the past, I could be described as naive and overly idealistic, often struggling to assess my surroundings and the world realistically. However, through consistent and focused self-improvement, I’ve managed to overcome these tendencies and grow into a more mature version of myself. I’ve learned to stand up for myself, say no when necessary, and, somewhat surprisingly, even allow myself to feel offended—something I now see as progress, as my previous excessive altruism often worked against me. While these aren’t academic awards or medals, I still consider this personal growth to be the most meaningful accomplishment of my year.

Viktoria Romas:

This year has been difficult for me, unfortunately, I do not have significant achievements. I am glad that I almost cured the disease with which I have been fighting for 2 years – depression. Many Ukrainians have such a problem because of the war, and I sincerely want our people to be better. For me, the achievement is that, despite the difficulties, I managed to study and work as a freelancer. Next year I really want to focus on an internship or job to develop professional skills. It is important for me to work in Ukraine, to be useful here and to join the development of Ukrainian culture, in particular the language. I hope that the coming year will be productive and full of personal and professional achievements.

Oleksandr Kravchenko:

This year has been a transformative journey for me. I’ve learned to truly value myself and recognize my worth, which has helped me approach life with greater confidence. I’ve figured out how to balance productivity and personal well-being, ensuring that my achievements don’t come at the cost of my happiness. Managing money—earning, saving, and making thoughtful financial decisions—has been another milestone, giving me a sense of stability and responsibility. On a more personal level, I’ve realized that being a good friend often means being there, unwaveringly, through life’s ups and downs. Looking ahead, I hope to build on these lessons. I aim to continue growing in my career while fostering deeper connections with the people I care about. I also want to dedicate time to exploring new hobbies or passions that bring joy and fulfilment. Ultimately, I hope to make the next year one of meaningful progress and shared happiness.

Marta Shvets:

This year is so special and dear to me, because a lot has happened: I’ve visited many countries and fulfilled a couple of dreams! The most significant thing I’ve achieved this year is probably taking part in three German educational projects, trying myself in singing in the choir and challenging myself with a writing course at university. I’m also proud of myself for starting the therapy journey – a lot of bad stuff has happened this year, so I’m happy to care for mental health enough to confront fears with a therapist. The thing I care about the most is the fact that I’ve achieved almost everything by myself – I reaped these rewards. In 2025, I plan to improve my level of German knowledge, get a job and challenge myself academically even more! I also plan to visit my dearest friend abroad – and for that I have to work very hard the first couple of months. My other goal is to stay safe despite war – I plan to take care of my physical and mental health even more.

Denis Popov:

I would match this year as the most musical. Many achievements were reached. One complete score for a theatre play, first choir piece, also theatre, first short film score, first string quartet and even some sketches for the first symphony with more upcoming projects. My piano skill has never been higher than now. 10 visits to the National Philharmonic with even more visits planned for the end of the year, and one to the Lviv philharmonic. So, despite this year, as previous two, was full of stress and struggles, it remains pretty productive in the most, for me, important field, and it also proves that the cultural life of Ukraine is still bursting.

Sofiia Samborska:

The great war gives us a new challenge every day, we face fear, loss, danger of injuries, and death. It is extremely exhausting because you can never stop resisting it, doing something to stop it and help our defenders. It feels like once you stop, you will die. And it is really so. However, this war taught me to overcome the differences between people when we need to work on a common goal. It taught me I am capable of everything. I am capable of surviving anxiety and still being productive and useful for our country.

During the next year, I hope to fulfil my dreams and have enough power to do everything possible to enrich my country.

Marusya Shcherbina:

This year was exciting and difficult for me at the same time. A lot of nice events have happened to me, such as, for example, the publication of my book “Yara”, which is an extremely important achievement for me, as long as this story reflects my own experiences that I have acquired during the full-scale war. I have also travelled a bit, which was fascinating and inspiring. However, this year was also difficult and brought me a lot of sorrow. It made me think about all the things in our life that we find significant, which, however, are not essential in the list. The sad events helped me to look at my values more carefully and define the crucial aspects of human life.

I really look forward to the next year and hope that the situation at the frontlines will change for the better, that there won’t be so many tragic events, that some positive moments will happen.

Maria Brui:

This year was tough for me because of the war, but I still have accomplished a lot. I finally have a realistic plan for my life, I know what I want to study and which sphere I want to work in. The next year I want to start working as a videographer and video editor, move in with my boyfriend and start to build our own home. I also hope to continue working on my film, which I’m preparing for a film festival. All these things bring me happiness and I really hope that I won`t give up.

Alina Hostar:

The most significant achievement for me this year is that I’m still alive. Even though I had a worse sleep schedule because of all the bombing and also my anxiety only deteriorates, I still can enjoy small things in life. I also find quite important that I moved out of my old room in the dormitory and left behind year-long toxic relationship with my previous roommate. Another accomplishment that I can mention is that I’m finally settled down in Kyiv and found a few people I can call friends. Soon I will sign the corporate agreement with the Kyiv-Mohyla academy and get some benefits from my high marks.

In the next year I want to get my first job and spend my first salary on the psychological treatment. I want to become more independent and less afraid of trying new things.

Anna Bryndzia:

This year was full of new experiences and changes for me. I know that I grew up mentally a lot and gained an absolutely different perception of a lot of things in my life. I don’t think I’ve accomplished anything global but I feel like that’s ok because I’m patiently heading towards my goals.

The best achievement of this year is the people who surround me, because I got closer to my friends and now I realise how I appreciate people with an unusual world-view that share it with me and care about me. It feels like we create something absolutely unique together just by synthesis of our thoughts and interests. I also become a lot more self-dependent since I live alone with my cat for more than a year now, and I have gained interest in things I love again. Sometimes it’s hard for me to do some activities because lack of concentration and time are clogging the interest that I have, but I’m now gently getting out of this dead-end circle.

For the next year, I hope to spend more time doing art and putting everything in my head in order, as well as becoming more confident and independent. I really hope that the reality we live in won’t break my plans and I will continue to enjoy my life and the things I achieve.

Anastasiya Chepeleva:

This year was full of ups and downs, I overcame many challenges which has shaped my personality more profoundly. Overall, I should mention that this year I was focused on my mental state and its stability. I’m proud of myself because I have achieved some good results. First, I get accustomed to living alone, to fulfil some basic needs. And now I’m not afraid of solitude, and I’m not scared to face my emotions and feelings face-to-face. Also, I have managed to rebuild bonds with my mum and sister because the previous year I felt that we moved away from each other. Now I know that our relationships are great and we can count on each other. The last thing about my mental state is that I overcame the journey of releasing the person who became special for me, however, decided to vanish from my life. It was so cumbersome, but now I feel much more harmonious than it was.

To talk about some visible things, I’d like to stress that my friends and I have launched our podcast about literature, where we talk about poetry and crucial social topics. Also, I succeeded in my educational process – I raised my marks and now have a scholarship. I successfully have undergone the challenge of writing, and now I’m sure that I can write, and it can be worthy, especially for me. I’m glad that I restored my course on the fronted developing and even can allot enough time to solve the tasks there and create my projects.

The main goals for the next year are distinct — support my mental health and work on it, thrive in studying, give it a shot to write some articles as a job (not a hobby), and pass some military courses (for instance, tactical medicine)

Anna Bryndzia:

This year was full of new experiences and changes for me. I know that I grew up mentally a lot and gained an absolutely different perception of a lot of things in my life. I don’t think I’ve accomplished anything global, but I feel like that’s ok because I’m patiently heading towards my goals.

The best achievement of this year is the people who surround me because I got closer to my friends, and now I realise how I appreciate people with an unusual world-view that share it with me and care about me. It feels like we create something absolutely unique together just by synthesis of our thoughts and interests. I also become a lot more self-dependent since I have lived alone with my cat for more than a year now, and I have gained interest in things I love again. Sometimes it’s hard for me to do some activities because lack of concentration and time are clogging the interest that I have, but I’m now gently getting out of this dead-end circle.

Sofia Holovko:

This year was very concentrated and, well, grotesque. If I had to fit everything into one word, it would be «dichotomy». There was – still is, and will be in the nearest years – a big amount of very new experiences and choices that are even more contrasted in the war conditions. Therefore, from time to time, I felt lost and derealised. Simultaneously, I became much more stable in general: finally, I have a clear sense of movement in the right direction, a sense of groping something much more concrete than dreams.

I started working as a journalist and an author in a media, writing about people, art, and war. I’ve returned to writing fiction or something in between, experimenting and exploring my perceptions and limits. I’ve visited a lot of cultural events, meeting new people and discussing new visions. This year my main focus was on trying to integrate vectors and parts of myself into one quite eclectic but whole image. And I think I succeeded. Even though I still have troubles connecting polar realities, I am starting to feel as though I can actually make it work and combine art, science and war without falling apart. That’s what stays as a goal for the next year.

Lisa Kozlovets:

I am proud of the fact that now I mostly work with promoting the Ukrainian book in our country and abroad. I have identified the professional direction in which I wish to, and I am moving. Though I understand that my impact is not that great taken without context, when I look at numerous similar initiatives, I see the unstoppable cultural power. And I take pride in being a part of it.

Moving to the further plans, I feel the need to learn when to stop. As I work with the things I deeply love, sometimes it is hard for me to take a break. And now I have come to realisation how important it is to rest, especially in a situation when you don’t have an opportunity to fully stop. And Ukrainians don’t have it, as our work is both the way to survive and to escape intrusive thoughts. And still, you have to rest not to collapse. That is the thing I constantly remind myself of.

Victoria Velichko:

I believe that my achievement in studying at the university was breaking the boundaries of my thinking. Last year, I could prepare well for a seminar and then be quiet because I was afraid that my answer was wrong, this year I start to speak more even if my answer is not correct. I am proud that this year I started working as a Ukrainian language tutor, I prepared a foreigner for the state language exam in 10 days, and I also taught 3 more school-age students. But what is critical to me is that I raised money to help the military and bought 10 gas cylinders and chemical heating pads myself and sent them to the front.

What am I going to burn next year?

Not to give up any more and to learn to be confident. I want to read more books. I want to become financially independent. I dream of going to a Billy Eilish concert. Most importantly, I want to help the military all the time and benefit this world.

Yelyzaveta Shramko:

Every year during the full-scale war is a series of challenges and hardships. Every day, we face difficulties that inevitably make us stronger, even if they break us. As for my personal experience, I feel like I’ve become psychologically stronger this year. I endured many challenges and tough situations, personal or regarding war in our country, and that made me rethink some of my values and parts of my world-view. How does it help me to deal with the harsh reality that we live in? Well, this is mostly a question of moral stability. I had to become more realistic about the world and all the events that occur around us. More to it, I’ve grown more confident about speaking up on topics that are important.

I don’t feel like I’ve reached the personal ideal yet, though. And that makes up my goal for the future (not the next year specifically): to take that confidence and finally do something. I can think of many important things that could be done to help Ukraine endure these hardships, and it’s time I did some action. I don’t have a strict plan, it’s the matter of sudden opportunities for me yet. However, I really want to accomplish something that would help our country in one way or another – be it a development in professional field (some kind of historical research) or in personal.

Oleksandra Ferenets:

For me, 2024 became a year of transformations. I am doing my best to be more responsible, more conscious, more empathetic than before. I am trying to be stronger. This year I worked a lot on many plays within my amateur theatre organisation. It truly feels powerful that during the war, thanks to our defenders, we can still create art, still tell many wonderful stories. We raised a lot of money for the Ukrainian army by our plays, I am very happy about it. This year, I generally feel happiness a lot more often than before. Suppose, sometimes in our reality being happy and calm may seem odd, but that’s just about being human. Humans…people… Ukrainian people! There are days when I feel so much love and respect towards total strangers. I think how beautiful they are, how strong they are. Again, this started happening to me more often. Next year I really hope to volunteer more. I feel love and happiness, but I also feel anger. And this anger also needs to be transformed – into drones, masking nets, medicine, and gear. There’s been a lot of work done, but a lot more is coming.

Veronika Martynova:

This year, my life has been very busy and fulfilling. I started my first official job, where I have already gained a completely new experience and am still learning. I also partially overcame my fears related to the realization of ideas and formed a student initiative group. Although not everything is going smoothly, I am glad that I have something to work on and strive for. Another achievement is that I have not yet been expelled from the university. So, I hope that next year I will continue my movement towards scientific progress, finally learn time management and be able to develop all aspects of my life that I have set for myself in this year 2024.

Sofia Shelest:

We can’t stand aside the fact that we are living during the war, which means we need to focus on war and put all effort to resist the russian invasion. At the same time, I as a Ukrainian philology student try to get a diploma, start my career, feel something positive under the permanent danger of being killed, loss my loved ones or my country if think globally. Compared to the previous year, I always see progress in my achievements. It is still hard to praise myself for this, but as I said there is always progress even with inner doubts. Proud that helped to gather money for the armed force and was a responsible citizen. But it never be enough, and this terrifies. Compared to what Ukrainian worriers do, this is bare minimum if not less, but still maximum on what I can influence. Couldn’t say that it was the best year of my life, but the key word that it was and I grateful for this. I hope that I would be able to say this at the end of 2025. Sounds pessimistic, but actually is really optimistic if take into account Ukrainian reality. The thing I really appreciate is honesty, so I’m being honest with you about my thoughts and feelings. Eventually, I’m proud that I have strength to develop as a person, gain new knowledge, keep fighting with inner demons and the outer ones.

Evelin Horban:

For me, this year was a bit harder than the previous one. Ever since the full-scale invasion first started I’ve been waiting for it to end. I never fled the country or considered studying abroad, partly because I believed everything would end soon. This year I finally came to terms with the fact that it won’t, which was hard but also extremely liberating. I travelled a lot this year, both in Ukraine and abroad. I’ve taken up work and educational opportunities and started building my future, with the war in mind. Yes, it means some of my dreams and plans have to be adjusted, some things are not going to happen the way I imagined five years ago. But they will happen, definitely.

I have many plans for the next year-more travelling, numerous important events, a lot of “first time”s. Many things might stop me from achieving those goals, but that only means I need to readjust, and that’s nothing I haven’t done before.