War against Ukraine
February 20, 2025
This interview with a young Ukrainian is intended to show the genocidal nature of Putin’s aggression in Ukraine, through the living testimony of a teenager from the city of Mariupol, who since childhood grew up suffering the perverse repression of the so-called “Russian world .” And also to warn that the hell he describes is not yet over for many hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians and is a real threat for millions more.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine began in 2014, and at that time the port of Mariupol was occupied. Tell us about that first occupation, how long did it last and how did it end?
The first occupation in 2014 lasted three months. I was seven years old at the time and I remember the sound of cannon fire. I also remember how in January 2015 the Russians bombed the district where my relatives lived and they told me how they had to flee from the bombings and saw many corpses lying on the roads. But at that time I didn’t understand much and I didn’t really know what was happening. My parents didn’t talk, they didn’t want to talk about the war.
In early 2015, the Ukrainian Armed Forces carried out the Shyrokyne operation , moving the front line away from the city so that Russian artillery could not reach it. After that, life was calmer; there were not many soldiers in the city. But there were checkpoints on the outskirts. And when we went to the sea, for example, our documents were checked. But the military treated civilians normally and spoke to them in Ukrainian and Russian. This language problem did not exist at all in the city.
The Putin regime told the whole world that it was “coming to liberate the Russian-speaking inhabitants of eastern Ukraine from neo-Nazis.” Please explain to us, as a resident of Mariupol – the Donbass port on the Sea of Azov – why is this a lie? Who do Putin’s supporters call neo-Nazis? Why has the Russian language come to dominate over Ukrainian in the Ukrainian Donbass for decades? Why does the return of Ukrainians to their language provoke such anger in Putin’s Russia?
In fact, these are the consequences of Stalin’s “Holodomor” – the genocidal famine of 1932-33, in which millions of Ukrainian peasants were exterminated. Then, in their place, people from Russia and other republics were brought to these lands to work in the mines of Donbass. Moreover, from those years onwards, the Russification of schools and books was a state policy throughout the USSR. That is why the native Ukrainian language lagged behind in Donbass. Ukraine was like a colony. After the collapse of the USSR, Russia spent and spends a lot of money on propaganda of “everything Russian.” Especially in Eastern Ukraine, which is close to Russia and is connected to it economically and politically. And now Russia says that in Eastern Ukraine “everyone is Russian.” This is false. Of course, there were some people who “waited for Russia.” But not the vast majority.
There were no Nazis in Ukraine. Russia simply calls all Ukrainian-speaking inhabitants of Ukraine and all those who do not want to live under Russian occupation “Nazis” . It is absurd to call people who want to speak their own language in their own country Nazis!
Was Mariupol prepared for the invasion in 2022? Tell us about the defenders of Azovstal, who delayed the advance of the Russian occupiers for weeks. Who are they?
The city was not prepared for the invasion. For example, there were huge fields around the city that belonged to the oligarch Rynat Akhmetov, who also owns the Azovstal steel industry . He was asked to use this land for the construction of defensive structures, but he did not allow it.
And the defenders of the Azovstal factory – many of whom died and many others are still prisoners in Russia – were ordinary Ukrainians who defended their country. They not only fought against the occupiers, but also protected civilians who were hiding in the plant to protect themselves from Russian bombing.
Tell us how you and your family survived the first days of the invasion in 2022. How did you survive the occupation until you were able to leave?
On February 24th at 4am my mother woke me up and told me that the war had started. I thought it was a joke, but it turned out to be true. There was very heavy fighting in our area, so on the first day we moved to my grandmother’s house. We were transporting things and watching the news, trying to digest what was happening. On March 4th, the Russians destroyed power stations and cut off the gas, electricity and water supply. We had to cook food outside, cut down trees in the yard and light bonfires. Benches, tables – everything was used for heating.
Several Grad cassette bombs hit a neighboring 9-story apartment building. And the building burned for several days; there was a burning smell and ashes completely covered by snow. By that time, all the shops and businesses were closed and emptied. A warehouse was hit by a missile strike and the neighbors were taking out and delivering food in their cars. One day, pieces of frozen fish were brought to our yard: the residents of the yard joined in and distributed the pieces of fish among all the residents. We gave our fish to help our neighbors who were already running out of food at home.
During those days, there was a constant whistling of bombs and Grad missiles. You never know if a shell is flying at you or not, so if you can, you should quickly hide. And if we were on the streets, we hid in the entrances, in the hall or in makeshift shelters in the basements. If someone lived on the upper floors, they hid near the wall facing the elevator, because these walls are thicker. When the missiles hit the neighboring house, it was so strong that everything shook and the ceiling of our roof fell down.
After that we all moved into the basement because of the frequent bombings. There were many compartments there, but of course these basements were not suitable for living. People slept between the pipes. But we all helped each other: heating food and helping with fuel. Phones were charged with car batteries. Some men went to the wells to fetch water. And then a bombing started! We waited for them for hours… We didn’t know if they would come back or not… But after that, we got so used to the bombings that I didn’t go down from our fourth floor to the basement anymore. A feeling of immense sadness. You wake up in the morning and see your hometown being bombed…
In early March we left Mariupol. We wanted to reach a small village not far from the city. There were five families in a convoy. We had white cloths with the words “Children” written on them so that we wouldn’t be shot at. But mortars fired at us, and three grenades fell. But they didn’t hit the cars, which were only damaged by shrapnel. It was at that very moment that the Russians bombed the Medical University. In that chaos, our vehicles were driving around in a disorderly manner… But we were able to leave because the checkpoints were not controlled. And in those days, the inhabitants left the city even on foot. The most shocking thing was seeing baby carriages abandoned all over the city. All this together with the corpses of animals and corpses of people.
We felt like we had escaped from hell. But… another hell followed.
When we arrived in that small village, we felt like we had escaped from hell. Mom immediately called my sister. She was in another region when the invasion started and we were able to talk to her… for the first time! We lived in an old boarding house and there we were able to register to receive bread. The shops were closed, there were only spontaneous farmers’ markets or fairs. But people had no money. The Russian occupiers patrolled the village looking for Ukrainian soldiers. They imposed a frequent search of all new residents. For example, when they brought some food, which the occupiers called “humanitarian aid ,” they filmed all the people standing in line .
What is it like to live in the “Russian world”? Are there examples of Russification of the city, of repression, of terror?
While we were still in the city of Mariupol, Russian radio announced the points from which civilians would be evacuated. One of these points was the Drama Theatre . Then the Russians dropped a bomb on this place, where civilian refugees and children were. And Russian propaganda spread: “it was the Ukrainians themselves who bombed” !
The Russians looted the city and took everything . For example, the maternity hospital was bombed in the first days, all the equipment was destroyed in the fighting, and what was not, they took. Now the building has been “restored.” But what kind of equipment is there? Only less and worse.
In the village I went back to school. It was now controlled by the Russian occupiers. We were forced to learn Russian and sing the Russian anthem. There was a Russian flag hanging over the entrance and in the school itself there was a portrait of Putin. Many students did not want to study under the occupiers, they walked past this portrait and spat on it. And at the end of the school year, I took a Ukrainian literature textbook from class to save it from destruction and gave it to a friend of mine.
The occupiers held various festivals. They claimed that they were celebrations of the “liberation” they had achieved. And they brought people there, forced them to attend under threat. And some, like me, on the contrary, drew yellow and blue stripes with a marker to show the students that we must resist the Russian occupation and value our land, our country. One teacher they had brought wrote denunciations against those who resisted like me. There were “re-education committees” that watched over the children. And these committees used them to conduct propaganda against “Nazism in Ukraine.”. !
The occupiers force all residents to adopt an internal Russian passport . But they cannot leave the country with this. For this they must have an external Russian passport “zagranpassport”. In Mariupol, you cannot speak Ukrainian . If they hear the Ukrainian language, they can stop you and ask why you speak Ukrainian “on original Russian land” . People are repressed for speaking Ukrainian . The radio, TV channels, music – everything is in Russian. That is why I completely switched to Ukrainian at the beginning of 2023. But to survive under occupation, it is better to pretend to be “apolitical” and not speak your own opinions. Russian agents in plain clothes listened to what locals said in public places, monitored their opinions and wrote denunciations, just like in Stalinist times!
Russian propaganda intimidates Ukrainians under occupation. We are told that refugees from eastern Ukraine will be immediately mobilized into the Russian army, because they are no longer wanted in Ukraine… I cannot tell you the details of how and where I managed to escape. But in reality, when I left the occupation for the territory free of Russians, I did not encounter anything like that!
Russian propaganda is spreading the word about how the city is being rebuilt. What is it really like?
The supposed restoration of the city is a show put on to deceive those who watch its channels or to divert resources by corrupt collaborators and contracted companies. The houses there are in terrible condition, everything leaks, it is impossible to live in. It is a concentration camp in the form of a city.
Can you tell us about some evidence of resistance?
From the very beginning of the war, I took a stand in defense of Ukraine and tried to help my country in every possible way. I resisted the imposition of the Russian language. I skipped Russian literature classes at school and rescued Ukrainian language textbooks from destruction. I photographed Russian ships in the Sea of Azov and sent the photos. I never agreed to make pro-Russian speeches or sing its music. I tried in every way to avoid conversations with Russians. I rarely left my house, I read books and tried to work on my personal development.
During the occupation, I was forced to go to a Russian school. Otherwise my parents would have lost their parental rights and could have been deported to Russia. But I skipped entire classes. I went, registered as present and left. At school, in addition to literature and geography, there were what they call “conversations about important things” – stories about Russian holidays and ideology. In fact, it is a real brainwashing of children and adolescents . In geography class, we were forced to draw maps of Russia, including Crimea and Donbass .
Russian soldiers came to the school and showed us their weapons: mines, rifles, etc. The weapons they shot at us with! And they also called on us, Ukrainian students, to join the Russian armed forces. They made us listen to their anthem, and once I even had to stand up because I was in the front row and it was dangerous to ignore it. But I avoided bending in every possible way . People who destroyed our lives, who ruined our entire future, want to convince us of their goodness and reproach us for our “ingratitude” for having brought us their “Russian world”!
We resist as we can
We painted pro-Ukrainian graffiti. One day the occupiers wanted to bribe us and gave us 10 thousand rubles (equivalent to almost 100 dollars) to each student. And with that money we bought cans of spray paint. And the graffiti “Glory to the UDF” appeared . This inscription was on the school wall and lasted for 24 days. Until the Russian occupiers changed it to “Glory to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation” , but then we painted over it again with “Glory to the UDF” .
Near the yard of another house there was a Ukrainian school, it was destroyed during the offensive and the Russians did not restore it until two years later. And there I went and found a whole library of Ukrainian books and brought home 32 books, whole collections . I would carry these books for two days and it was dangerous because they could stop me and ask me what I was carrying there. And my room looked like a Ukrainian patriotic room, with a poster of Shevchenko! Most of the books were from the Soviet era, but there were also exams on Ukrainian history, for example. And I found several books from the time of Ukraine’s independence .
I rescued the Ukrainian books from destruction because the occupiers destroy everything related to Ukraine. Why were all these books in one room? Because the Russians were preparing the books to be burned. The Russians consider Ukrainian books to be “extremist literature.”
What would you like to say to students in Europe and the world, to workers and ordinary working people? Why is it so important to support the struggle of the Ukrainian people against Putin’s occupiers? How important is this struggle for the whole world and nations? And most importantly, what can those who read this interview do? How can they specifically help the Ukrainian Resistance?
Ukraine needs to be supported because the Russians are destroying the culture of other nations and their own people. They are committing genocide against other peoples. And this has not only happened since Stalinist times, but since the time of the Tsarist empire. They are simply imposing Russian culture, the Russian language, and the imperialist mentality with violence. The Putinists are people with fascist ideas. They cause a lot of damage, including to nature: today two of their Krasnodar oil tankers sank and have seriously polluted the Black Sea. Putin’s regime is dangerous for the whole world with its aggression and threats. It is a totalitarian regime in which many freedoms are prohibited.
If Ukraine falls, Putin will intensify his offensive against other countries. Russia supported militarily and politically genocidal regimes such as Bashar Assad in Syria or North Korea. If we do not stop Putin here in Ukraine, we will have more wars in Europe. We already see in Mariupol how they try to force Ukrainians to go and fight for Russia!
That is why it is important to support all those who fight against authoritarianism. And those who resist imperialism, like the Palestinian people . We must pay attention to the Palestinian resistance against Israel, to fight against the genocide that Israel is committing and the humanitarian crisis it is causing. Or also to support those Americans who are against the United States helping Israel to destroy the Palestinians. I learned that it is important not to be indifferent, to be political, to learn from everything that is happening. To see, to understand and to help in the struggle.
And the most concrete help is to demand that governments provide more weapons to the Ukrainians so that they can defend the world from the Russian occupiers . And in general to expand support to the Ukrainians. If Russia takes control of Ukraine, the consequences will be much more dire.