War Through the Eyes of Meduza Readers. Today We Publish a Letter from Yevgenia in St. Petersburg

Meduza — LIVE:

War. What is happening on day 1,550 Vladimir Putin accused the Ukrainian armed forces of a “terrorist strike” on an academic building and a student dormitory of a teacher training college in Starobilsk. This city is located in the Russia-controlled part of the Luhansk…

War through the eyes of Meduza readers. Today we publish a letter from Yevgenia in St. Petersburg

I am not afraid of [incoming strikes]. Everything that is happening now with incoming strikes and explosions on the territory of the Russian Federation is entirely natural and to be expected. We started the war, now we are paying for it. It was naive to think that “it won’t come to us.” I feel terribly sorry for people, both in Russia and in Ukraine. It is unbearable to know that people are constantly suffering and dying, and to have no way to influence what is happening. A sense of powerlessness and bitterness over what my country has become are the main emotions throughout these four years, a source of constant stress. However, the residents of Ukraine and Russia’s border territories have it much harder, they have no time for reflection, it is about survival. And human life in our post-imperium is worth less than a penny, both for us and for them.

It hurts to the point of tears. I wrote here out of powerlessness and hopelessness. There is absolutely no one to talk to about this, my friends either support the “special military operation,” or have left, or have shut themselves off from reality in order to “live their own lives.” I am no longer young and not especially healthy, but I very much want to live to see the end of this madness, however it ends.

You too can share your thoughts about the war with Meduza through the feedback form.

@meduzalive