All Testimonies — The Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Archive of Personal Testimonies

Testimonies Recorded in 2024

Recording
We won’t be here, but it will remind people that a Russian missile hit and killed half the village
A resident of the village of Hroza about the strike that killed 59 people
Volodymyr Bespalyi09/04/24
Recording
I kept bragging to all my friends in my dreams: 'See, Ira is alive'
A resident of Dnipro lost his wife in a strike on an apartment building strike. His story continues two years later
Oleksandr Bulhak07/03/24
Recording
I mentally cannot see myself as disabled. I want to walk into the operating room and work
An obstetrician-gynecologist survived under rubble during the shelling of a maternity hospital in Vilniansk. His story continues two years later
Andrii Kozyn06/27/24
Recording
For me every photoshoot is like another therapy session
She was 19 when she lost her leg from a missile that struck Kramatorsk. Two years later, she’s finishing university and posing for Vogue and Playboy
Anastasiia Shestopal06/21/24
Recording
I was told to my face that we invited Russia ourselves, that it’s our own fault
A resident of Sievierodonetsk on evacuation — through Russia and Poland to Germany
Anonymous01/12/24

Testimonies Recorded in 2024

We won’t be here, but it will remind people that a Russian missile hit and killed half the village

I kept bragging to all my friends in my dreams: 'See, Ira is alive'

I mentally cannot see myself as disabled. I want to walk into the operating room and work

For me every photoshoot is like another therapy session

I was told to my face that we invited Russia ourselves, that it’s our own fault

Testimonies Recorded in 2023

I was furious, thinking: 'Let everyone just give in to Putin, as long as this war ends'

A journalist from Rzhev plans to become president of Russia

We couldn’t stay on the sidelines — we understood that many people would suffer

During World War II, Jews hid in this house in an Italian village

She recognized me, she was screaming. But by the time we got there, she’d already bled out

Our house in Kherson still stands — that gives us strength. The house in Abkhazia — nothing’s left but the foundation

They’ll have to drag me out in some creative way

Russia exports prisoners from occupied territories and makes them into slaves

You’re like a Spartan wife. If I die, it will hurt, but you’ll survive

I’m for Ukraine, and they’re against. I don’t know how to explain it

Mom, who is Uncle Vova and why is he the president of the whole world?

The coffins were sealed. There were three intact bodies; the rest were fragments

Fourteen-year-old twins Yulia and Anya Aksenchenko were killed by a Russian missile in Kramatorsk

Dad’s house is flooded, Mom left for Russia, my brother is in the Armed Forces

They loaded everyone: dogs, cats, a hedgehog

It was someone’s birthday. The relatives were sitting in the cemetery

To be near the treasures like a mother with her children — to protect, to tend, to cherish

I bought a coffin for my daughter: small, white, cozy

For me, bread means sweat and calluses. And now blood, too

One must not lose the ability to love and not fall into total hatred

'Let’s be honest — what about my eyes? ' 'Son, you don’t have any'

They removed my left eye. They said it had burst

I’m a man, but I won’t take part in a war

My grandmother wasn’t killed by a 'Nazi Ukrainian' but by a Russian bastard

They told me that when I give birth, they’ll take the baby away

When you’re dragging a wounded man, you have one prayer: 'Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck'

Not a day goes by that I don’t think about it. Especially about the dead girl

They made us shout 'Glory to Russia'

Let’s scream together so they can hear us

Kherson is now a face covered in wounds

Sasha, you’re alone now

I’m not giving up my Donetsk identity

Just don’t get caught, just don’t get turned in

When I’m feeling down, I remember: I’m not in the army. And I feel so much better!

'There’s fighting there, girl.' 'I don’t care, my puppy is there'

I always felt like a master of my own country

What sports, when your teammates are going off to fight?

Ma’am, brace yourself — we’re going to pass you through the window

She was screaming for everyone to stop shooting, even though no one was shooting anymore

I didn’t know what I’d find: a corpse or someone alive

They forced us to kiss their flag and the St. George’s ribbon

I didn’t realise right away that it was our dad

We could hear people screaming. Terrible screams

My sister says: 'Well, it’s your own people bombing you'

I realized I was standing in a minefield

If they restore my sight, I want to go to Ukraine

I’m 84 years old, I have nothing to lose

Testimonies Recorded in 2022

A bloody trail leads to you. About twenty meters

The owner came out, all cocky, so we shot him

For me they’re alive — I talk to them constantly

I lost faith not just in Russia, but in people altogether

I realized: they’d taken me out to be executed

They put a bag over my head. A pink, new one

Grandpa comforts her: 'The skin will peel off — you’ll be pretty again'

37% burns, a large laceration

I’m the strongest woman on the planet; I urgently need pet food at the lowest price

We walked out of school, and police were waiting on the steps

Children have been born, weddings have been held, but there has not been such joy since

A text came from Mariana: 'Dad, we’re at Azovstal'

I stayed on my shift for 4 and a half extra months

Mom made canned stew for the Armed Forces — we didn’t eat it even on the hungriest day

No matter where a woman is, she always stays a woman on the inside

I’m the only adult who has to protect everyone

I ran and blocked my colleagues' numbers

We’ll never return to Love Story

I was sent to the transit prison, and my daughter to Zaporizhzhia

People made your home into a literal barn

The hardest thing is watching your hometown being destroyed

I felt something flowing from me. I looked at my sweater — it was all blood

Most of them don’t want to fight — they just go with the flow

The thought that I’m working for killers got stuck in my head

They plundered, murdered, mocked people