A Year of War in Ukraine

[0] My name is Igor Luzenko.

[1] I am 44.

[2] I am a reconnaissance specialist in the Ukrainian army.

[3] In one of the military bases, not far from the front line now.

[4] During the first stage of war in February and March, you just go and meet a lot of people, and you try to talk to everyone to...

[5] be friends with everyone who you see because you have an emotional need to speak to someone.

[6] And the operators of the mortars were a very nice guy and we became close with them.

[7] Then we lost the contact for a couple of weeks and when we tried to ask, where are the mortar guys?

[8] I remember the eyes, one of the person from that unit, we didn't talk each other, we just looked at each other, and we understood that we know our friends died.

[9] We don't have to use some words, we just shared the same grief just with sight, with each other.

[10] Then I decided that the time when you are trying to be friends with everyone who you see in your position, it's just better not to know much about them.

[11] Now I have a rule not to be so close friends with people on war, because if you lose your close friends, it's much more pity than if you lose just your warmates.

[12] So it's kind of a way to protect yourself from more griefs that you already have.

[13] From the New York Times, I'm Sabrina Tavernisi, and this is the daily.

[14] For much of the past year, the war in Ukraine was mostly defined by Ukrainian success.

[15] In battle after battle, Ukraine had unexpectedly and improbably kept winning.

[16] But now, a year in, That momentum has slowed.

[17] Russia has hit back, throwing tens of thousands of draftees at the Ukrainian front lines, causing casualties on both sides to soar and forcing Ukrainians to come to terms with a new reality.

[18] That the war is unlikely to be over anytime soon.

[19] Today, I talk to Ukrainians about the ways that the war has changed their lives.

[20] It's Friday, February 24th.

[21] Hi, Maxime.

[22] It's Sabrina.

[23] How are you doing?

[24] Hi, Sabrina.

[25] I'm well, and how are you?

[26] Good, good.

[27] So, Maxime, could you introduce yourself for me?

[28] Okay.

[29] My name is, as you know, Maxim.

[30] My nickname is Mouse.

[31] I'm 44 years old.

[32] And before the war, I was a lawyer and have a own practice.

[33] And I live the same city when now it's NEPR.

[34] Wow.

[35] And what about your family?

[36] Do you have a wife, kids?

[37] Yeah, I have a wife.

[38] I have two kids.

[39] My daughter is 22 years old.

[40] And my junior son, he is 11 years old.

[41] Oh, 11.

[42] I very miss him.

[43] I bet.

[44] What's his name?

[45] Michael.

[46] Michael.

[47] Yeah.

[48] Oh.

[49] Maxime, tell me about your recent military experience.

[50] In the military service, I became in April of 2022.

[51] When I came to the army, I have no a lot of experience in this case.

[52] That's why I must learn a lot of new things for me. But as I know right now, I have a good practice in this.

[53] So you joined the military and you've been fighting.

[54] where has the battle been most intense?

[55] It was beginning of December.

[56] We spent a couple of days already in the forest near Krimenna.

[57] Before that day, it was a couple of days, maybe two or three days, when the Russian forces were trying to capture us.

[58] Fifteen on us was on duty.

[59] It was in the forest.

[60] It was a hole in the earth.

[61] A hole in the earth?

[62] Yeah, we call it Blindash.

[63] So it's a military shelter.

[64] Yeah, yeah, correct.

[65] And when our soldier who was on duty, saw a couple of Russian soldiers coming on our position.

[66] And they're screaming, Russians, Russians, we didn't expect that they came to our position so close.

[67] 30 meters unseen and they start shooting on us we start shooting on them in that time I just trying to make my job and trying to stay alive I didn't think about nothing they start falling down some of them no screaming just falling down on the ground, that's all.

[68] Life is over.

[69] Another part of them continuing to shooting on us.

[70] After that, way, after way, way, after way, after way.

[71] They continue to move, move, move, shoot and move.

[72] And didn't try to hide from the fire, our fire.

[73] Like a zombie.

[74] for me it was I'm an actor in a horror movie I don't feel that is real and all of these continues quite a long time two and a half hour that's just unbelievably long for a firefight yeah we lost 95 % of our ammunition If you ran out of ammunition and the Russians captured you, what would you do?

[75] Kill myself.

[76] Kill myself with the grenade.

[77] You were prepared to do this?

[78] At that time, yes.

[79] And after that fight, we continued to look around us.

[80] We were awaiting another group of Russian soldiers.

[81] But it's ended.

[82] They didn't come.

[83] Yeah.

[84] I just hear scream.

[85] Help, help, help, a couple of minutes.

[86] Russian soldier was dying.

[87] And that's all.

[88] After that, it was full silence.

[89] Only win in the forest, in the trees.

[90] You know, sometimes I still hear this.

[91] scream.

[92] It was Pomagite, help in Russian in the dream a couple of times.

[93] It was a nightmare.

[94] I heard the sound.

[95] I heard his scream.

[96] And I wake up.

[97] It's not very usual thing for human being to kill each other.

[98] For normal human being.

[99] Do you think the war will be over soon?

[100] No. Maybe I'm wrong.

[101] No, I hope I am wrong.

[102] Did you think the war would be over soon at the beginning of it, when it first started?

[103] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[104] What made you change?

[105] The war, how it looked like, and what did I saw?

[106] maybe I open my eyes maybe I understand something about war I will be a most most happy man in the world if this war ended tomorrow for example and even from the week or months I don't know but soon but I understand that's unreal Maxime thank you for talking to me You're welcome.

[107] Hi, Ira.

[108] How are you doing?

[109] Hi, can you hear me?

[110] I can hear you.

[111] I can hear you.

[112] And Ira, can you introduce yourself?

[113] Mm -hmm.

[114] I am Irina Tsibuk.

[115] I am from Kiev and I have 24 years old.

[116] Now I am very not far from.

[117] Bahmoud, do you know about Bahmut?

[118] I do know about Bahmoud.

[119] Are you on the front lines in Bahmoud?

[120] Yeah, but like not exactly in the Bahamut, but we're near.

[121] On the front line near Bahmut.

[122] Mm -hmm.

[123] And I am the paramedic on the cause -evac evacuation.

[124] We are exactly the team that are going to the front line and taking the person is injured from that place where it happened.

[125] and I'm in my car right now so now I'm just trying to be quiet to listen what is going on outside Ira, do you hear fighting?

[126] Is there fighting happening now?

[127] Yeah, for sure, yes.

[128] I'm just waiting for the commander and for his tasks.

[129] If somebody will have injuries, we will have work.

[130] Ira, remember back for me to a time when you saved someone's life.

[131] Tell me that story.

[132] This is, you know, like many stories and nothing special.

[133] But I guess there was this person who, like, injured on the right hand.

[134] It was from the, like, drone.

[135] Yeah, yeah.

[136] So he has, like, really huge injuries with the many, many, many of that part of the bombs, you know, in his hands.

[137] Mm -hmm.

[138] A massive bleeding.

[139] And we just help him to the hospital.

[140] But after that, he write me, do you remember me?

[141] You evocated me. So, however you, I just want to have a video call with you.

[142] And I said, man. No, not today.

[143] No video calls.

[144] I just evocated you.

[145] I saw that maybe he wants to have like communication with me and I don't like such things.

[146] So that's why I told him.

[147] No, no worries.

[148] See you.

[149] Take care and blah, blah, blah.

[150] So what he said, please, I'm very asking you, you need to have a video call with me. I said, oh my God, okay, just for a minute.

[151] And he said, yes, okay, just for a minute.

[152] And he called me. And he called me. he said I need to show you somebody and he showed me his daughter six years old daughter she's like very tiny girl and she was just just smiling to me and she just said hi miss Iira I just want to tell you thank you for my that you saved the life of my father and that was oh my god very strong moment sometimes here in the war it's everything is very depressive but in that moment all my sadness tiredness is like just gone and i'm just like staying there and feel that i can I know why I'm doing this and I can do more and more and stay for how much that guys need me. Yeah.

[153] When I remember the story, I just feel like I have a sunshine inside of me. Yeah.

[154] Wow.

[155] You know, after all this month of the war, I just really feel like I don't have a more.

[156] like enough so this is something that war did with me and I really don't like it I just want to stay that person today who have been before the war very easy going I am like had every Friday night with my friends that we were we were we drink the wine and it was it was perfect life I loved myself and I loved everything that going on with everything, with my boyfriends, with my life, with my job, with the Friday nights.

[157] And it was the person I loved, it was me. And I don't know is it clear right now to understand, but I'm telling you this and I'm smiling right now because that was crazy perfect life now I'm just want to come back and to feel the same to feel all this perfect things from living life this is that's why I love this this life and I just sometimes feel very lonely because of this because I come back to my parents cities where I have had a lot of friends and we had coffee together and I said to my mom, I said here, you know, I just don't know how I can ask somebody to go with, to have a coffee with me because everybody's died.

[158] You said to your mom, how can I ask somebody to have coffee with me?

[159] Everybody's died.

[160] You mean because so many of your friends had died?

[161] Mm -hmm.

[162] Exactly, yes.

[163] And I just, like, don't know whom I can ask for this.

[164] About how many of your friends died in this war, era?

[165] If we can say from 2014, I guess it can be 16.

[166] person.

[167] Sixteen.

[168] Yes.

[169] Oh, you're, that's a lot of people.

[170] Yes, yes.

[171] That's like something that hard me the most in this war.

[172] Yeah.

[173] This is the feeling like people of my age.

[174] This is very hard to explain, like feeling that I lose my, um, my, Youngest?

[175] Yes.

[176] I don't know how.

[177] I love it for it.

[178] Feeling that you lose your youth.

[179] Yes, my youngness, yeah.

[180] Just a moment.

[181] Okay, just a moment.

[182] Just let me answer my commander.

[183] Yes.

[184] It sounds like you need to go.

[185] Yeah.

[186] I'm very sorry, but I need to say to my team that we will have a new task.

[187] Got it.

[188] Ira, thank you so much for talking to me. It's nothing.

[189] Good luck.

[190] We'll be right back.

[191] Hi, Olga, it's Sabrina.

[192] Yeah, hi, hello.

[193] Hello, Sabrina.

[194] Hi, hello, hello.

[195] So, Olga, let's begin.

[196] Tell me your name, your age, and where you are right now.

[197] My name is Olga Berzul, and I'm 40 years.

[198] I'm currently based in Vienna, because, as you know, Ukraine is still under shelling.

[199] And I gave a promise to my husband that I will protect our daughter.

[200] She's nine years old.

[201] Her name is Zaharia.

[202] And he asked me to stay for a while somewhere in a safe place.

[203] Got it.

[204] Olga, I'm going to ask you some questions about Victor.

[205] Mm -hmm.

[206] How did you meet you and Victor?

[207] We actually meet on the 1st of January.

[208] And it was a very funny story because Vita called me. We had mutual friends and he got my number, but we actually haven't seen each other at all.

[209] We just heard something about it.

[210] And I even don't know.

[211] I've asked him why he decided to call me. He told me, I actually can't explain.

[212] I just had your number and they told, why not?

[213] And just called.

[214] And like, hi?

[215] What about meeting?

[216] I have some champagne.

[217] What about meeting?

[218] I thought that it's a joke.

[219] And I said, yes, of course.

[220] He just came to my flat and I was surprised because I said that it was a joke.

[221] And like we talked a lot, we laughed a lot.

[222] We were kids.

[223] We were 23 years old and as usual you need some time to understand that this guy is good for you.

[224] But like I was really surprised that we have so many common favorite things.

[225] I mean music, film, books, art. And like after that we just started to.

[226] We meet each other and very fast we actually started to live together.

[227] And after eight years, I just asked, what are you thinking about having baby?

[228] Because like eight years is quite long.

[229] And he told me that I think that having baby is a very good idea.

[230] And yes, we were very happy young parents because like it was a kind of adventure for us.

[231] And tell me your occupation, your job, for the war?

[232] I'm actually a film curator.

[233] I've organized film festival.

[234] And Vizier, he was a film editor on different artistic films.

[235] And actually, it was a quite strong blue for us.

[236] It's like our, how do you say it?

[237] Our air, yeah.

[238] It was quite popular activity for us to spend our, evenings by discussing different films and our impressions.

[239] And actually, sometimes we had different opinions.

[240] And for us, it was quite, you know, usual thing to fight because of the films.

[241] We had a joke that normal families, as usual, fight trying to find proper refrigerator.

[242] But we, instead of it, fight to find the common impressions regarding the film.

[243] but then as you know when the war started Vita told that he would go to this military recruiting military services and he told me that of course he feels fear and it's normal but it's not like that point of history when he can wait and to hesitate and then he was sent to the war and after that it's very important not to panic during the communication with your husband when he is at war because it's quite difficult for them to stay there they don't sleep they can't eat normally they're on depression all the time and when you explain to your husband that you are worried that you are in anxiety that you can't sleep it doesn't help them to fight.

[244] And actually, I also was trying to talk with him about books, literature, history, and especially films.

[245] We have one favorite film, which is called Apocalypse Now, which is made by Coppola.

[246] And Vita told me that he definitely would have another impression of the film after this war experience, that the film can express all that human being experienced in warline.

[247] And he told me that it's quite important for him to hear all these pieces of of like previous life, this peaceful life, because it helps him to believe that war is not only the reality in which he now exists.

[248] And during this nine months in war, We only had one chance to see each other.

[249] It was at the end of August.

[250] I had my birthday.

[251] I had my 40th.

[252] You're 40th.

[253] 40, yeah.

[254] And I asked Vita to find like a day or two to meet us.

[255] And we met in Rivner.

[256] I came from Vienna.

[257] We spent together three days.

[258] And it was a very happy moment in my life because I took my daughter.

[259] and it was actually our last meeting.

[260] It was 20th of August.

[261] It was sunny and warm, beautiful day.

[262] And I was in a bus when I saw him and my daughter, Zahari, I saw him.

[263] Actually, we ran to him and hug him.

[264] He was with this flower, with this sunflower, you know, this is our traditional flower.

[265] And he was in his military form, and we were very, very happy.

[266] but actually it was a little bit difficult because like you all the time want to cry but you can't because you don't want to to cry during these three days like because you don't know when you will happen this meeting will happen again and so we went to the park we played with our daughter a lot and then actually we also went to the cinema of course because for us it's important because cinema is a part of our And watched a very strange entertainment film because as usually we watch art house films.

[267] But at that moment, it had no matter what kind of film.

[268] For us, it was a desire to catch this feeling of our normal life before the Russian invasion.

[269] And it was a little bit surrealistic feeling that, you know, the ordinary life is surrounding you.

[270] kids, young families, teenagers, and imman, all this normal reality, you and your husband in a military form.

[271] You know that war is going on, but in this part of Ukraine, you can't feel it because it's not on the front line.

[272] And only the sounds of sirens somehow reminds you that it's war.

[273] And I was like counting all the time, the minutes and hours to the end of our.

[274] meeting because I knew that we had two and a half days.

[275] And as you know, the time ran very fast.

[276] Yeah.

[277] And then it was December.

[278] It was cold.

[279] It was difficult.

[280] But he told me that he's trying to be strong, that he is really believed that he will come back home, that he will hold me in Zaharia, that I should should believe that he will come back and sometimes he even apologized that he can't support me at this moment that he had to be on the war he never told me anything about the chance of his death he always told me that he will come back and he promised me that everything will be okay in future that I have to believe in this 30th of December.

[281] I wrote him in the morning and didn't receive anything.

[282] And during the whole day, I was sending him messages, Peter, please send me this plus just something.

[283] Tell me because you do not answer me. And I had this terrible feeling that maybe something happened.

[284] And then in the evening, I got a call from a soldier and he told me that Vita died because I even can say that he died because of this missile attack.

[285] When I got this call, it was maybe the most terrible and terrifying call in my life.

[286] I had also to tell this news to my daughter, then to Vita's parents, to my parents, to Vita.

[287] sister.

[288] And on the 1st of January, we celebrate our anniversary.

[289] So like in two days, we should celebrate the 17 year anniversary.

[290] And now I will never have New Year anymore.

[291] I think I will never have this celebration again.

[292] And next day, I got this message.

[293] Vita sent his friend Sasha a message when he was alive when Vita was on the front line on the south of Ukraine and in this message Vita asks Sasha to tell me and Zaharia that Vita loves us that he always will be with us that he actually was right to go to to the front line and to defend Ukraine and that he asks Sasha to tell me that Peter loves me because he can't send this message to me in order not to make me panic, you know, because he still all the time tried to create the atmosphere that he will come back.

[294] And then I was in the train.

[295] I was moving to Kiev to to organize funeral and so on.

[296] And we played his favorite sounds with dance, we hugs.

[297] It was like very crazy, but I know that he wanted to have a party because in his taxes he also told me that when he come back, there will be a good party and we will dance in order to recover after this shocking and bloody war.

[298] We'll be right back.

[299] Here's what else you should know today.

[300] A new report issued Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board confirmed that the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in East Palestine, Ohio, carrying hazardous chemicals, was caused by a wheelbearing that overheated.

[301] The train derailed earlier this month, and the hazardous gases on board were burned off to avoid the threat of an explosion.

[302] Since then, federal and state, officials have said tests have found the water and air to be safe to breathe and drink.

[303] But residents continue to report an array of lingering symptoms and have questions about whether it will be safe to continue to live there in the long term.

[304] And former film producer Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years in prison Thursday for committing sex crimes in Los Angeles.

[305] He'll serve the sentence on top of the 23 -year term he received in New York in 2020.

[306] Thursday's sentencing all but ensures the 70 -year -old will spend the rest of his life in prison.

[307] Today's episode was produced by Claire Tennis Ketter, Shannon Lynn, Rob Zipko, and Nina Feldman.

[308] It was edited by Liz O 'Balen with help from Lisa Chow.

[309] Contains original music by Mary Lazzano, Rowan Nemestow, and Dan Powell, and was engineered by Corey Shreple.

[310] Special thanks to Natalia Yermak, Carlotta Gall, and Andrew Kramer.

[311] Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg, and Ben Lansfirk of Wonderland.

[312] That's it for the Daily.

[313] I'm Sabrina Tavernyce.

[314] See you on Monday.