The night still seemed like any other, one more within the tension that was breathed in the Ukrainian cities, until at five in the morning, everything changed. The bombs began to fall on the main population centers throughout Ukraine and what until now seemed impossible in the eyes of many, became a reality: the sky lit up with the smell of gunpowder.
The scene, to our Western eyes, may seem more typical of a century ago than of today’s society. But unlike the last great wars experienced on the European continent, a tool changes the game when it comes to putting a face, sound and images to the terror of armed conflict: social networks.
It is not difficult to put yourself in the shoes of the Ukrainian citizens who have been attacked and invaded by Russia in the last few hours. They have not hesitated to document what was happening to them on networks like Twitter, Instagram or Tiktok. His day – or rather, his night – was no different from that of any other European until the war, by Russian decision, began.
A life interrupted by Russia
Although the conflict was latent and it was conceivable that it could break out at any moment, the expectations were set that, in any case, an armed conflict would not develop. But it’s already here: Europe is at war with Russia, which has already taken control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and is moving towards the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. All for annexing two regions of Donbas, although the official justification offered by Russian President Vladimir Putin is to “demilitarize and denazify Ukraine.”
Fighter planes are already torpedoing civilian residences, and the tanks crossing the roads where buses and trucks full of supplies used to circulate. The crackling of crystals echoes as they resist the attacks… but they end up being reduced to shards.
And, meanwhile, all Ukrainian citizens who have been unable or unwilling to leave their homes and leave everything behind are now collecting water and supplies before there are supply cuts.
“A friend who lives near Kiev wrote to me that she was scared, she was shot, she saw bright flashes. The worst are the sounds…”, wrote a user on Twitter. “I live near the airfield in a military town, the planes have been flying here for an hour and there have been some explosions, and they write on Facebook that the plane is on fire, it’s very scary. The flashes are visible right in the window”, recounted another.
Thousands of Ukrainians are experiencing the worst day of their lives, a black day that will hardly be erased from their retinas. The fatalities among the civilian population already number dozens and the majority of the population in large cities is opting to pack their belongings and leave as soon as possible, although in some places they are no longer allowing men to leave, who are appealed by the Martial Law that is in force in Ukraine from this Thursday.
The gestures are quite common, according to the protagonists themselves in their social network accounts: look into the air at any sound, intermingling of the sirens of police vehicles with the traffic of people trying to flee and all with their mobile phones at the readyto follow the news up to the minute.
Source: Lasexta
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
