On February 24, 2022, the deafening explosions shattered the calm of Bucha and its surrounding regions, plunging residents into a nightmarish reality. Eyewitnesses like Marychka Shcherbyna and Melania Melnyk vividly recall the terror of hiding in basements, the heart-wrenching separation from loved ones, and the surreal moments of familial warmth amid chaos. Their firsthand accounts capture not only the overwhelming fear and disorientation of war’s onset but also the enduring resilience and hope that compel them to strive for a return to peace.
Horenychi, Bucha region by Marychka Shcherbyna
The 24th of February 2022 began with explosions. I remember running to the basement and hiding there for hours. Remember not being able to eat and how my hands were trembling. The first day of the full-scale war was definitely one of the most horrible. The worst part was not to know what to expect and how to act. I almost couldn’t sleep. The new reality was weird and scary, and it was unbelievable that just yesterday everything was completely different.
As I live in Bucha region, it was loud and dangerous from the very beginning. We were staying in our house together with my mum and brother, my grandparents, uncle, aunt, and cousin. Despite the horrible reality, I also have some relatively good memories from this period, which is still difficult to understand, how the scariest moments can be combined with something good. However, I remember cooking together with my cousin, listening to my uncle reading a book for us and playing the guitar. It was snowing on the first of March, so I remember going outside and building snowmen with my brother and cousin. At the same time, we could hear the explosions. I remember playing board games, when the power supply disappeared, singing and dancing.
As my dad is a doctor, he had to stay at the hospital in Kyiv to be able to help people, and for me, it was probably one of the most difficult things at that time. I was worried about him and didn’t want to leave without him. However, we had to: the longer we waited, the worse the situation became. So, on the 6th of March we moved to Lviv. It was extremely difficult for me to leave my home without knowing for sure whether I will be able to come back. The journey to Lviv was long and exhausting, but finally, we arrived and that was the beginning of the new phase of the full-scale war for me.
It was not easy being away from home, from my dad, but, fortunately, at the beginning of summer we returned. A lot has changed: we got used to almost everyday air alerts and to going to the shelter when necessary. However, it is still difficult to see the places you remember visiting as a child ruined, destroyed by the war. It is still sometimes difficult to talk about the very first days of the full-scale invasion, as long as this topic is very painful. However, the most important now for me is the opportunity to be at home, to study and live in Ukraine, to have my closest people around, to hope for the victory and to do everything for it.
Bucha by Melania Melnyk
I remember the morning of February 24, 2022 very well. I woke up to the explosions and at first, I thought it was my dream, but it was reality. I was terrified, but I immediately understood that the war had begun. I knew the war would start, but I didn’t think it would happen so soon, so I was very surprised and disappointed. I heard the voice of my parents, so I immediately went to the kitchen. My parents looked scared and did not understand what we should do. I called my friends and relatives and watched the news to get official information.
I live in Bucha, so my house was not far from the Antonov airport, so when I looked out the window, I saw helicopters and planes flying. My heart was beating hard, and I began to feel nauseous from stress, sedatives did not help me. I was in Russian captivity for 2 weeks, they robbed my house, killed my neighbours, took our phones and food. I still remember the eyes of the soldiers and how they put their weapons to my head. I was most worried about my life and the life of my family, but we were able to leave the occupation.
My perception of this war has changed. At the beginning of the war, I thought that the war would end quickly, the Russian military would certainly be punished, and my life would be the same as it was before the war. Now I understand that the war will continue for a long time, and we need to help to support each other. My life will never be the same again because I will never forget the horror that I experienced, but because of this, I know that I have to value my life.
