Air sirens blare overhead as 19-year-old Anna Isaienko walks to the school shelter to continue her university classes. 

Every day the sirens sound several times, disrupting the lives of thousands of people who live there.  

This became reality after the invasion of Russia into Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Life became harder for those living in the country, especially those in the cities that were taken first. 

“I’m lucky that we don’t have soldiers,” she said. “But right now we have a lot of air raid sirens when they start bombing my city.” 

The war in Ukraine started years earlier, in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and raised military presence in the region.  

Andrew Roth from The Guardian reported Vladimir Putin’s comparison of Peter the Great and himself. 

Roth said former prime minister of Sweden, Carl Bildt, called Putin’s desire to take back lands a “recipe for years of war.” 

“Carl Bildt, a former prime minister of Sweden, called Putin’s desire to take back lands claimed by Russia a ‘recipe for years of war,” he said. 

In Putin’s essay, On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians, Putin claims that Ukraine didn’t have an identity of its own. 

“Therefore, modern Ukraine is entirely the product of the Soviet era,” Putin said. “We know and remember well that it was shaped – for a significant part – on the lands of historical Russia.” 

Isaienko said she knows Russian, as well as many others in the country. She said this has helped her understand the negative sentiment that some Russian people have on the situation between the countries. 

“A lot of people died because there was no food to eat,” she said. “And they [Russian citizens] want to repeat it. So maybe not all Russians are the same, but they’re not doing anything.”  

She said that, since the beginning of the war, she has spent her holidays scared that it might be her last. 

“So why should I be kind to Russians when I’m being scared and bombed every day?” she said. 

Statista reported that about 35,160 people died during the invasion from 2014 to 2024. 

Isaienko said it is required for there to be shelters in every building because of the air raids and those that are in apartments have to follow the two-wall rule. 

“First wall will get destroyed, but the second wall will protect you,” she said. 

She said it is required for all public buildings to have a shelter, such as institutions, work, building and schools. 

She said that Odessa is safer and does not think the invasion will move into the port. But, a report by the Hudson Institute, says that Odessa is a big component for Russia while Putin asks for the city to “come back home.” 

“The savage bombing of ports on the Black Sea and the Danube,” it said. “As well as the use of mines, blockades, electric warfare and abusive inspections of ships to disrupt maritime communications and GPS, are all part of Russia’s strategy to undermine Ukraine’s economy and freedom of navigation in the Black Sea.” 

This action would be both a buffer and a tactical decision from Putin as they box in Ukraine by taking cities near the port closest to Turkey. 

This would stop the idea of Ukraine joining NATO and also produce a stronger relationship between the two countries. 

A paper by the Carnegies Endowment for International Peace said that Turkey has also expressed interest in joining BRICS, led by Russia and China. 

Isaienko said that if the war moves to her city, she and her family would be forced to leave everything behind and move somewhere else. 

“I don’t think it will ever happen, but, if it did, we would just have to move to another [place],” she said. “My town is also close to the border with Moldova, which is a country next to us.” 

Isaienko is not the first in the country to think of leaving. After the invasion started, many thought it would help their situations. 

“My sister does work in London now,” she said. “And there was a building construction site. They did a loud noise, so she was scared of it.” 

Many of those who did move are faced with the traumas of the war and the loss of the homes they had.  

She says some of those outside the country are naive to this reality that millions have to face. 

“They think it’s so far away,” she said. “And if you’re from Ukraine, you don’t actually feel the situation.” 

Others, like Nataliia Chaikovska, a Ukrainian native, said the war came as a surprise because both countries acted like brothers. 

“A lot of Russians, especially from eastern Ukraine, didn’t speak Ukrainian well,” Chaikovska said. “We were very close, really close.” 

She said, when the war started, people were in disbelief and denial because they didn’t believe it would happen. Chaikovska said that it was common to talk in Russian, especially in the eastern towns, and to see Russian concerts.  

“Right now, for Ukraine, [there are] no good Russians,” she said. “Most Ukrainians start[ed] to speak Ukraine, even in eastern parts. It’s like a bad tone to talk in Russian.” 

She said that every night people in the country fall asleep to bombs and worry if they will die. Chaikovska also said that a lot of people have started becoming fatalists. 

“A lot of people are not going to the bomb shelter,” she said. “A lot of our employees said they have a choice. Do not sleep and my life is a nightmare?” 

She said that part of why Russia was able to invade so easily had to do with the fact that Ukraine didn’t have enough military weapons. She said that when the Soviet Union split, they sent their weapons to other countries. 

“Russia, Britain and [the] United States will protect us when someone tries to invade, but that is not happening,” Chaikovska said. 

She said that this is still the biggest problem and she hopes countries like the United States will send reinforcements so that the country can defend itself. 

She said that people are gaining a new perspective on life and that it affects everyone.  

Chaikovska said her friend was walking to the shelter with his family when bombs fell overhead. 

“They were on the way actually to the underground and [the] husband just went because he forgot something from the apartment,” Chaikovska said. “And at that time a bomb came and he actually lost everyone dearest. A wife and three kids.” 

She said she wants people to learn about what is happening in the country and hopefully Ukraine will receive help against Russia.