ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the author’s subjective experience of living through the Russo-Ukrainian war, her understanding of its causes, and her perceptions of the outbreak of armed combat. It considers the war’s tragic consequences for the author and her family, for average citizens of Ukraine, for her university, for her beloved hometown of Kharkiv, and for Ukraine in general and explores the author’s thoughts and fears on this universal tragedy. Further, the chapter presents the findings of more objective data obtained through the first online survey of how this war has affected the emotional life and behavior of the civilian population in Ukraine. In May 2022, a survey was carried out among 700 students and employees from four of the largest universities in Ukraine (Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and Rivne), some of whom remained at home, while others were evacuated to safer regions in Ukraine, and still others took refuge abroad. Their responses reveal how people understand this war, and how they see themselves, their situations, and their relationships to certain groups within the context of war.
