My hardest trip
home to Ukraine

Anna-Nabiulina
Anna Nabiulina
November 20, 2022

Day 2

Over a quick and rudimentary breakfast we started preparing for the journey ahead. Although my brother and I were not going to war, the goodbyes with our parents were difficult and we were overcome with love and fear. We had two soldiers supervising my brother and I, their mothers had come to say goodbye for the umpteenth time. Their teary eyes confirmed that it does not get easier with frequency. At midday we finally started our long drive.

Although I’d come back a few times since the start of the war, this was the first time that I’d ventured any further East than Lviv. In Lviv you would have to search for signs of war- power-cuts and occasional air raid sirens. In Kiev evidence of missile strikes were everywhere, our garden even had missile fragments, but heading to the front line was an entirely different thing.

Ukraine has a curfew from 8pm and the roads have frequent military checkpoints where travel documents are verified. Civilians are not permitted on the roads during curfew and military personnel are provided with daily passwords. Civilians in possession of a password would be detained for questioning. I had wanted to record the experience however I was not permitted due to the risk of giving away their location or protocol.

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Changing to winter tires in Dnipro

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Armor making

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Military vehicles on our journey to Kherson

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Military vehicles on our journey to Kherson