Karyna Palamarchuk lived near Chornobaivka, and she recounts how on February 24, 2022, at 5 a.m., she received a phone call from her father, who lived near Kakhovka in the village of Kairy. His first words were: “Daughter, get up, the war has started.”

Karyna recalls a rally in Bilozerka. People on the square sang Ukrainian songs and expressed support for local activists who had been taken away by the russians. Then they marched down the main road with Ukrainian flags, continuing to sing. At first, there were no russian soldiers, but later they arrived in a large convoy and blocked people on both sides of the road...

Karyna dreams that someday she will be able to return to her native village.