I am in Lviv. Last night, I was woken shortly after 4 a.m. by a roar and a loud bang. A missile had passed close by.
Minutes later, another followed. The hissing approach, the whistling descent, then a thunderous crash. It was eerie.
From my window I saw people rushing through the street. I dressed, grabbed my phone and a few essentials, and went down to the hotel’s air-raid shelter in the breakfast room.
It was already crowded. Guests sat in silence in the dark, staring at their phones; a few whispered, children whined. According to my alert app, the air-raid alarm had been active nationwide since 2:50 a.m. The map showed dark red – drones and missiles. A hotel employee brought me a chair.
Hours passed. The warning did not change. By dawn, some regions had turned grey, Lviv remained red. People slowly returned to their rooms. I followed, exhausted.
Later that morning, during my Ukrainian lesson, my teacher gave me figures: 574 drones and 39 missiles were launched against Ukraine last night. Among them were two ballistic missiles and four of the Kinzhal type. Air defences intercepted 546 drones and 19 missiles. 28 drones and 20 missiles hit their targets.
She also forwarded reports from Lviv and Mukachevo, where missiles hit an electronics plant. I was shocked to learn that drones had hit buildings in the street where I am staying in Lviv – Oleny Stepanivny. Three dead, many injured. It could have been me.
After class, I went to see the damage. Just a short distance from the hotel, police had cordoned off the road. Drones had slammed into various buildings, leaving gaping holes and charred façades. Rubble lay on the street, and windows in the neighbouring houses were shattered. The Red Cross had set up tents nearby. The scene was surreal. The strike had happened three hundred metres from where I slept.
I do not write this to seek sympathy or admiration. I came here voluntarily, at my own risk. But given the ongoing negotiations, I had not expected attacks of such intensity.
Today is August, 21. 57 years ago on this day in 1968, Warsaw Pact troops invaded Czechoslovakia under Moscow’s orders to suppress democratic reforms. Three and a half years, Ukraine has faced a war of aggression by Russia-unprovoked, relentless and in blatant violation of international law.
This morning, I watched a trailer for a Czech documentary: Velký vlastenecký výlet, The Great Patriotic Trip. A filmmaker (Robin Kvapil) had travelled to Ukraine with people who question or deny Putin’s war. One woman insisted there were no attacks in much of the country.
That is a lie. There are attacks everywhere. Nowhere is safe. This is the daily reality in Ukraine.
