The Morning: Day-to-day life in Ukraine

May 1, 2022

Good morning. Many Ukrainians are in mobilization mode.

Valentina Mutyeva, 72, has been living in a basement shelter under constant shelling in Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine.Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

'A grim existence'

Our colleague Michael Schwirtz has covered Russia's invasion of Ukraine from its beginning. He has reported from the front on military developments, destruction inside villages and cities in the eastern part of the country and more.

We wanted to give you a glimpse of what day-to-day life has been like for Ukrainians since the war upended their country, so we asked Michael to speak with us. He did while he ate dinner after a day of reporting this past week in Zaporizhzhia, an industrial city of about 750,000 people, 20 or so miles from heavy fighting. This interview was edited for length and clarity.

Michael, hi. Thanks for talking during dinner.

When I'm eating, I'm good. It's a Greek salad. And I'm drinking a beer — it's a small thing, but in the beginning of the war there was an alcohol ban in the entire country. People were really disciplined about it. Everyone thought Russia was going to attack at any moment and they had to be ready to fight, and the ban was part of that. A lot of people had acquired guns.

I'm not sure why they decided they don't need a ban on alcohol right now. Maybe it's because the war has slid into a rhythm that people have grown to understand.

What else was the invasion like in the beginning?

It was terrifying and eerie and confusing. There were airstrikes and artillery attacks, and no one knew what was going on. Cities shut down. On the first day, I was in Sloviansk, in the east. I was looking for food around 8 p.m. Immediately, everything went black, possibly to make targeting harder for Russian artillery and aviation.

Michael Schwirtz, center, in Ukraine not long after the war began.Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

What do Ukrainians do with their time now?

Many people aren't working. There are volunteers everywhere. There's a huge volunteer operation to make sure troops are comfortable, providing food, sewing flak jackets and clothing and bedding. Some people are donating their cars. They're raising money for night-vision goggles and drones. It's a massive operation.

There's also this whole countrywide effort to help out people who can't help themselves. I came across these teenagers packing boxes that city officials were delivering to people holed up in basements. It's really impressive to see.

This is how people spend their days. There's nothing in this country other than war. If you turn on the TV, it's about the war around the clock. Occasionally, the news takes a break for patriotic songs performed by Ukrainian singers.

That sounds very patriotic.

Patriotism became more intense after 2014, but now it's inescapable. For example, I can't get the Ukrainian national anthem out of my head. You hear it in cars, in shops, in the grocery store. It's not like people stop and put their hands on their hearts. But I'm going around humming it.

What about electricity, heat, basic needs?

It depends on the place. On the front, in the east, there's very little — no power, no gas, no water. I was in Avdiivka recently, a town on the front line, where a lot of people were in basements all day long. Everyone's pooling all their resources. For power, people have generators.

In those places, how do people shower or use the bathroom?

In Avdiivka, there's no running water. Officials have to ship it in. I went to this one apartment complex where 200 people were using one toilet, and they flushed it by taking water and doing it manually. It's a grim existence. And that's not even talking about the constant shelling.

What about niceties many of us take for granted, like Wi-Fi?

In a lot of places, the internet is still working; phones are still working. In Avdiivka, city officials have put up solar-powered charging stations where people charge their phones.

There's nothing you can do in your apartment. When people did come out, they'd stay in their buildings' courtyards. They are one of the few places left to socialize in frontline cities and villages. People were cooking food over an open fire for all the neighbors.

How would you describe the mood of Ukrainians?

People miss their former life — the lives they'll probably never get back, at least not in the same way.

They're in mobilization mode. Either they're volunteering or fighting or taking care of their relatives. I don't know what people are doing in moments of self-reflection. But when they're out and about, you don't see a lot of despair. Everyone's so stoic, even in the midst of a bombing.

They seem focused.

Nobody is really talking about anything else. At one point, I was at this volunteer distribution point at an ice rink. A local official was overseeing it. He's a fan of American football, and he asked me how to get tickets for the Super Bowl. It's his big dream to go; he's turning 50 next year. That was the first conversation I had with someone making plans, and he was making big plans. It was jarring to be reminded of life outside war.

State of the War

Russia is doubling down on its costly invasion, shifting troops from its far eastern regions to bolster its faltering offensive in Ukraine's east.
Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for attacks inside Russia, but an official declared a policy of intentional ambiguity: "We don't confirm, and we don't deny."
Ukraine could get more warplanes. Slovakia reached a deal for neighboring Poland to patrol its skies, freeing up Slovak fighter jets for Ukraine.

More on Ukraine

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, as U.S. support for Ukraine grows.
The European Union will most likely give member countries until the end of this year to ban Russian oil imports.
For one Ukrainian woman looking for her missing brother, the war was reduced to a body bag and slow acceptance — and then grief.

NEWS

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MORNING READS

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THE SUNDAY TIMES MAGAZINE

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THE WEEK AHEAD

What to Watch For

Primaries are Tuesday in Indiana and Ohio. A Senate seat is up for grabs in each state.
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What to Cook This Week

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In nearly every part of the world, breaded cutlets are "a full meal, and a perfect one at that," Emily Weinstein writes. This week, she recommends trying a nontraditional fish Milanese. Among her other weeknight dinner picks: pasta with chopped pesto and peas.