[♪♪♪] [wind blowing] [distant explosions] [seagull squawking] [Ivanna] This is our cellar.

Be careful, you need to bend down.

Everyone probably knows what horrors have fallen upon Ukraine.

On February 24th, at 4:40 a.m., Russia began bombing Ukraine.

[distant explosions] [Ivanna] Every morning, we heard shooting from machine guns, from tanks.

And I heard them walking and chatting, and we were quiet.

It was terrifying because they could come in and find us because they could just come in and throw hand grenades into the cellar.

They wouldn't even check to see if there were people in here or not.

[in English] My name is Ivanna.

The stories I am going to read to you I wrote during my 256 days in the cellar.

[♪♪♪] [Ivanna] Once Upon a Time in Ukraine.

In Ukraine, people believe in God and their armed forces.

God did not know how to help Ukrainians and it tormented him.

So, sitting at the dining table he eyed a golden plate with vegetables and fruit.

"Eureka!"

God shouted.

Flying over, to see them better, he transformed every vegetable and fruit into male and female defenders, and gave them each names... [♪♪♪] [music ends] [Ruslan] I am Ruslan.

I am eight years old.

We are in Moshchun.

So, bread.

[cabinet squeaks] Of course.

I have to go to Grandma and Grandpa.

Grandma, give me bread you don't need.

Now I will get it wet.

I am wetting bread to fish.

A missile landed here and made a pit.

And then there was rain, and then... it flooded and became a big pond.

[splashes] [♪♪♪] [Ruslan] When the rockets were flying, I watched a video on my mobile about how to lay down correctly on the floor.

So, first you lay down and put your hands to protect like this.

I collected all my things.

Then we went to the cellar.

[speaks indistinctly] It was scary and there were missiles.

There were ottomans there, too.

Here was the small table.

And here is my cat, Simon.

He's gone to catch a mouse.

Here, Granny was making jam and we canned stew during attacks.

And when they weren't shooting, my mom ran to the house to cook borscht.

The cat slept with me.

Sometimes he went out for a walk.

And before that, I had a cat.

Tima.

He was white.

Our house burned down.

[birds chirping] The living room was here.

The door to the house and the entrance were here.

[Ruslan's mom] When we moved to a different town to a temporary house, there were no other children there.

And there was a swing there.

And when he was riding that swing.

it went squeak-squeak, squeak-squeak.

And he kept going for a half a day or more.

So I go to Ruslan, "Let's play."

But he doesn't want to.

He just keeps swinging, squeak-squeak.

The neighbor's house was such a beauty.

We can go inside here.

[grunts, pants] [Ruslan] Here, there are such lovely bushes.

Look, the lanterns survived here.

[breaths heavily] [Ruslan] I didn't know there is a pool right here!

[interviewer 1] Perhaps you have some dreams?

To build a new house.

To rebuild our house.

It will be beautiful.

A tree house.

That's what we are going to build.

I'm chopping, you're gathering.

[thumping] [birds chirping] [Ruslan] A television, sofa... plants... flowers.

[♪♪♪] [Myroslava] The bed.

Here are the toys.

My name is Myroslava, I am eight years old.

I am from Mariupol.

Here's the elevator.

She goes here, hop!

I had a parrot there and I got a rat there.

There is a drama theatre there.

So, what else is there?

There are a lot of cool playgrounds.

The roads there are really smooth.

[Myroslava chuckling] [Myroslava] All the days were terrible.

There wasn't one that was most terrible.

They all were the most terrible.

[♪♪♪] Are you feeling hot?

I kept saying, "Mom, have you closed all the doors?"

Because they could shoot at any house where there was a light on.

Mom said, "Right", and started putting up all kinds of blankets and towels to block out any light.

I begged, "Mommy, let's leave!"

but she said, "No, nothing will happen to us."

That's it!

[♪♪♪] Mama.

[indistinct chattering] [Myroslava] Once there was such a funny incident... [Myroslava mother] We were out, chopping firewood.

I had a saw, and my girlfriend had an axe.

We were just standing on the street, and a mine exploded next to our car.

Right next to us.

I had fire in my eyes.

Mom grabbed me by my hood, and we ran into a building.

I am shaking and crying, and Mom is crying and her friend runs with her chainsaw into the building.

It was scary.

But also funny, because she was running with her saw.

When shells fell next to our car, right next to us, that was a sign to leave.

Two days later, we packed up and left.

I told her to just look down at the floor, to lay on the back seat and to keep her head down.

The right side of the street was on fire.

Dead bodies were on the ground.

I don't know, I just wanted to drive to freedom.

To freedom.

[Myroslava mother] [speaks indistinctly] The constant hugging, it started after we left, to always hug and kiss, to be close to me at all times.

Right?

[Myroslava] I never knew what war is at all.

I'd never seen it.

I hadn't even read about it.

I didn't even know the word "war".

Russia and Ukraine were good friends before, and then Russia got nuts, that's it.

[Myroslava mother] What about your knees?

What about my knees?

[Myroslava mother] She is the copy of her dad.

Dad and Mom did their best to give her beautiful legs.

-You count!

-You count!

[Myroslava mother] One, two, three!

[Myroslava] Come to me!

Do it, do it!

[Myroslava] No, come closer!

No, closer!

Do it, do it!

[chuckles] I am proud of my dad.

[interviewer 2] [speaks indistinctly] Because he went to fight!

-He was good.

-[chuckles] Strong.

What else?

Kind.

Fun, positive.

Beautiful.

The greatest show in the universe!

[Myroslava mother] The last time my daughter heard from him was on May 7th.

I didn't get to talk to him.

On May 13th, I started searching for him and then they told me that he was no more.

[♪♪♪] [Myroslava mother] She probably doesn't understand to this day.

She is in her own world now.

Even now, I talk about her dad, but she... She has gone into herself.

She... ...pushes it away.

"He will come back, Mom, he will definitely come back."

[birds chirping] He is alive.

He will come back.

Maybe he just hurt himself badly and forgot who we are.

Maybe he just has a concussion.

That's it.

Mm.

[speaks indistinctly] [munches] [speaks indistinctly over video] [♪♪♪] [instructor] Now, show me how well you can control your face.

[Maksym] My name is Maksym.

I live in Bucha and I am ten.

[instructor speaking indistinctly] [Maksym] I remember going to the cellar.

I was so scared because.

while we are walking, a missile landed really close to us.

There was blood there.

Boom, boom, boom.

Boom, boom, boom.

It was very frequent so we had to evacuate.

I was afraid that something might happen.

So, I took a toy with me, Mom's present to sleep with it.

[♪♪♪] -[distant explosion] -[screaming] [car alarms blaring] [Maksym's mother] The scariest memory for me is evacuation.

We have two cars and my husband insisted we evacuate in both.

But I said no because if we were to be killed, it's better to die together.

What we saw during the evacuation is beyond imagining.

[♪♪♪] [Maksym] When we got to the first checkpoint, I realized that these were not our checkpoints but Russian.

And there was a bend in the road with a checkpoint and a tank behind it was pointing its nose there.

I was afraid they might say "Drive through" and then they would shoot us anyway, and I was just praying for nothing to happen.

[piano playing] When it's totally dark, he can't sleep.

He often calls for Mom at night because he is scared.

When we hug, I feel how loudly his heart is beating.

He says he sees explosions and bombings.

[indistinct music playing] ♪ You are my sun, you are my sky ♪ [Maksym's mother] I dream of peace so they won't have to take up arms.

I fear that they will have to take up weapons to protect our country.

I don't want my children to kill anyone.

[♪♪♪] [teacher 2] What is the chronology?

[student 1] Chronology is... [announcer] Prepare for a minute of silence.

[♪♪♪] [♪♪♪] [sirens blaring] [Ivanna] Everything is in slow motion, as if in a movie.

Unfortunately, a piece of iron was sticking out of his right rib.

A fragment of rocket has hit him in his side.

Deadly?

Apparently so.

He was not breathing.

We have come such a long way together.

God, please open your eyes!

Heart massage, mouth-to-mouth respiration, nothing helped.

They can't believe their eyes, it's not possible.

He is not breathing.

Why?

Why?

We still have much to do.

It's not true.

It's some cursed dream.

No, my friend, it's not a dream.

[woman sobbing] [♪♪♪] [dog whimpering] We don't want to throw them away, so we put them in bags and leave there on the table so people can recognize them and take them.

It all hurts.

There are kids and people in these photos who are no more.

They are gone.

[♪♪♪] [girl 2] That white spot on the eighth floor was the entrance to her room.

When Dad opened Sonya's door, there was no room already.

[interviewer 4] Aren't you scared?

[girl 2] Not anymore.

To die is scarier.

[♪♪♪] ULIANA (2014 - 2023) IVAN (2021 - 2023) [sobs] [church bells dinging] [mourners sobbing] [♪♪♪] [man 1] This missile attack on Uman destroyed a section of the building.

That terrible morning, the Russian missile killed six children.

[mourners singing in Ukrainian] More than 600 Ukrainian children have been killed since Russia attacked Ukraine.

[Ivanna] Let them be bitten by mosquitoes.

Let their huge blisters itch a lot.

Let their boogers become stones so that they have to pluck them out with pliers.

[distant explosions] [Ivanna] I drew a picture of Watermelon standing on a Russian's head and hitting him with a hammer.

Tomato throws a fork at the Russian, Pumpkin hits him.

It's the Watermelon coming back to life.

And this is the Pumpkin, singing.

I painted most of the drawings during the occupation so I would not let my spirit be broken and continue believing in Ukraine.

I began to think differently.

I have a different idea about life now.

That you don't need a lot to live.

You can live without lots of things, without a phone or something else.

The main thing is to have something to eat, a place to sleep, a place to live, that's all.

And to see the sky, flowers.

[♪♪♪] [Ivanna] That's all.

Or rather this is not the end, to be continued... [♪♪♪]