The constant threat of airstrikes is being used as a tool of war by Russian forces to subdue millions of citizens in unoccupied Ukrainian cities, according to one Kyiv resident.
Sharing her experiences in this week’s Sky News Ukraine War Diaries podcast, Oksana Koshel reflects on a military strategy which continues to hold millions of Ukrainians hostage in their homes and shelters.
“For these past couple of months Kyiv has been returning to pretty much like life as normal and most of the action is happening on the frontlines,” Oksana explains.
“But Russia keeps terrorising the rest of Ukraine – where the actual fighting is not happening – with rocket strikes.
“We have this application, it’s called Kyiv Digital, and it warns you when airstrikes are possible and urges you to go hide in a safe hiding spot.
“So now it gives us the statistics of how many air raid sirens we’ve had and I’ve read that there have been 444 airstrike danger warnings since February 24 and over 477 hours of air raid alerts basically of people feeling and being in danger of a missile strike.
“We’ve discussed it with my girlfriends that unfortunately, due to all of the stress, many girls suffer from severe hair loss.”
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On 26 June, after three weeks of calm, one man was killed and six were injured when Kyiv was attacked by Russian missiles.
Then, on 27 June, Russian missiles struck a shopping mall in the Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk, killing at least 18 people.
You can listen to Oksana’s latest audio diary along with further contributions detailing real life in a war zone in this week’s Ukraine War Diaries podcast.
Subscribe to the Ukraine War Diaries on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and Spreaker
From the producers of Sky News’ multi-award winning podcast series StoryCast, Ukraine War Diaries uses first-person audio, recorded on the ground in Ukraine, to give an intimate day-to-day perspective of life in a war zone.
