Stopped screaming “Happy New Year!”, Only “Putin - *****”

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I met Maryana in April in the Prague stand-up club, where comics_ses usually perform in Russian. Maryana was the only one who spoke from the stage in Ukrainian. In her speeches, she told how she got out of Kyiv in mid -March.

In a stand-up club, I and a colleague shot an amateur documentary , and Maryana eventually became his main character. In June, she suddenly said that she wanted to return to Kyiv. I came to visit her and shot an interview in which we talked about the feeling of a house calling her back to Ukraine. The next day, Maryana left for Kiev, a day later, on June 26, 14 missiles flew around the Ukrainian capital.

On December 31, I spent in Prague under the roar of fireworks, reminiscent of the sounds of shelling, which I heard only on the video. On the same day in Kyiv, seven -hundred meters from my friend’s house fell Russian missile. Maryana posted a video from her apartment in Storiz, shot during a deafening explosion. I wrote to Maryans that I admire her stamina and suggested telling for Doxa about how her New Year passed.

I communicate with her in Russian, Maryana always responds in Ukrainian. Below, the translation of what she told me about life in Kyiv on the last day of the terrible 2022.

• Author

  

  Author

  Georgy Mezhuev

• Editor

  Editor

  Achilles

• Illustrator

  Illustrator

  Ira Grebenshchikova

• Publication

  January 3, 2023

We already celebrated the New Year at work on Friday, drank Artyomovskoye champagne. By the way, I only found out that evening that Artyomovsk is the old name of Bakhmut . It is symbolic that we escorted this year that way.

On the morning of December 31st, I caused the clining, checked with the plan for turning off the electricity. I now plan everything on it, although Ukrainians have learned to work without light. Employees of the cleaning, if electricity is turned off, work in garlands and candlelights. Delivery at five -hour shelling is delayed only for an hour. Beauty salons have acquired their generators, so they also do not stop working. At the hotel where I went on vacation, the kitchen, all rooms, heating, jacuzzi holds on huge generators. Our streets turned into an alley of generators.

As soon as the cleaning lady left, air anxiety sounded.

When you drank a lot of alcohol in the evening, and in the morning a alarm is yelling under your window and rockets explode, this is a very unpleasant feeling

The head was split. Honestly, during air anxiety, I can’t even leave the room anymore. I can just cover myself with a blanket. I do not want to sit in the corridor in the dark, so I stay in bed.

Then I heard the explosion and then I already decided that I had to go out into the corridor. The explosion was very strong. The tenth of October was arrived in Shevchenko Park-this is two to three kilometers from me. Then there was a arrival about one and a half kilometers-the explosion was even stronger. On Saturday, when I exploded, I realized that the rocket fell very close. Then I looked on the map - seven hundred meters. Glass was knocked out in the next house.

Sit in the corridor. After the second explosion, I decided that I would try to shoot the next arrival. She stuck her hand with a phone from the corridor to the room, because it is important for me to show on Instagram how everything really happens here, from the first person. In moments of arrivals, it is actually not as scary as later. When you hear the explosions, you think: “We pile it up! These are your last convulsions! ” When everything ends, the tension subsides and you begin to feel fear. My hands shook, my heart grabbed.

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For four hours I bought tickets to the cinema, but while I was sitting in the corridor, I handed them over. In general, I am already used to the fact that plans can always change: either electricity and water will be turned off. When the alarm ended, she went for a walk. In chats I already saw that the rocket flew to the hotel near the house. I paved the route and went there to shoot the consequences. All the way went along the fragments.

Storis shot down, went shopping at the pharmacy and a store. A bunch of people: no one canceled New Year's Eve. I decided in advance that I would celebrate alone. If you go to visit, then you have to sit there until five in the morning because of the commandant’s hour, but I don’t like such long gatherings. I bought a baguette, butter, a jar of red caviar. There was no ply around. Usually the 31st everyone was in a hurry somewhere, but this time they went calmly.

This year seems to have taught us to live a moment because you never know which one will be the last

When I returned home, it was already getting dark. From the darkness, a dog ran out at me in a red overalls. It was clear that the owner lost it. After all, nothing is covered with us, we all walk with flashlights. I sat with the dog a little, and after a while the owner came out of the darkness.

I returned home. She made sandwiches, listened to music and thought to go to bed about eleven, but I could not sleep. At midnight I heard something outside the window, opened the doors to the balcony, and there people from the windows sing the anthem of Ukraine, congratulate Happy New Year, shout: “Putin-Huylo”, sing “Old Bandera”. Because of the curfew, everyone remained to sit at home, but so they shouted from the windows.

At 00:35 they announced anxiety. People stopped screaming “Happy New Year!”, Only “Putin - Huylo” remained. This time I immediately went to the corridor. The explosions were, but not so strong. In the morning, rockets flew, and at night - drones. Most likely, the explosions were because they were shot down in the air. At three in the morning my heart fell ill, so I opened the door so that, if anything, someone could get into the apartment. With open doors and went to bed. So safer.

Despite everything, returning to Ukraine is my best decision. I had a great summer here. With air anxiety and shelling, but at home. I love Ukraine. During the war, I like Kyiv much more than peaceful Prague.

I think this year we will win. It is very important to survive this winter. I hope we will supply normal weapons so that we can shoot in Russia. Honestly, I speak with you and I filter my speech a little. You see, here we are raising toasts so that on the ground it becomes 140 million less people.

This year I want to relax, go to Odessa. I would like to have a person with whom you can spend time together. And when you sit without light to the sounds of explosions, I want some support, a like-minded person. After the shelling I just want to hug.

The mayor of Kyiv Vitaly Klitschko said that on December 31, 20 residents of the Ukrainian capital were injured in a missile attack, one person died. On New Year's Eve, Russia also fired at Nikolaev, Khmelnitsky, Kherson and other Ukrainian cities.

According to the air forces of Ukraine, 45 drones were shot down on New Year's Eve.

The chief of police of the Kiev region Andrei Nebitov posted a photograph of the shot down Russian drone, on which it was written: “Happy New Year !!!”.