Olga Prykhno, UCU Business School Alumni, MSc in Technology Management program (we publish the blog in the original language):
“My husband is a member of the self-organized committee for house defense. We live in a large building with 16 sections on the coast of the Dnipro river. About 10% of residents remained in the building and we are protecting a large area. We monitor the movement of strangers. There were numerous cases of people pretending to require shelter, trying to get in the parking where our bomb shelters are arranged (their efforts have failed so far). We moved all the benches to the parking, so people could sit down. Some people remain in their cars.
We are located near the junction of Northern Bridge and the roads leading to the city center. My children aged 23 and 14 arranged an observation post and take shifts in the nighttime. We record all the vehicle movement (BTR on the opposite lane, vehicle column, ambulance with the rifle sticking out) and pass the information to the Territorial Defense HQ. One half of the night my older son and another half my younger son are conducting and recording the observations.
Together with our neighbors we assessed the building plan and determined that the safest place here is the corridor. It has two 70 cm – thick brick walls and a couple of partitions. Good protection! That is why we located our shelter in the corridor. We have chairs, a rug, and water there.
It brings tears to one’s eyes when you realize how strong our women are and no war will stop us.
Before, I was scrolling through the news feed to find out how my friends spent their day, and now, I look to see how my country spent the night.
To be honest, it is not scary. It is anger for the fact that some idiot took on more than he is allowed. But history teaches us that things like that end fast. And the winner is the one who survived, got through, and never settled for the humiliating rules of the game. That will always remain true”.
