This is a strong testimony that France Bleu Picardie offers you: that of Valentina, a 37-year-old Ukrainian, who arrived in Amiens this weekend. More than 2 million Ukrainians have fled their country since the beginning of the Russian offensive almost 3 weeks ago. It is estimated that 13,500 of them arrived in France. Valentina is one of the first Ukrainians to arrive in the Somme. Here is the story of this young woman, a resident of kyiv, of the first bombings on February 24 when she arrived in Picardy. France Bleu Picardie wishes to express its gratitude and thanks to Lisa, who provided the translation of this interview, and without whom this interview could not have taken place.
A two-day journey, by – 20 degrees
February 24, 2022 is a date that will remain etched in the mind of Valentina : “My neighbor woke me up very early, saying “It’s war”. We saw the bombardments, we didn’t know what to do. It was barely 7 a.m., people were already queuing in front of the stores, there were traffic jams“, says this resident of the capital kyiv. After hesitation, Valentina decides to leave kyiv, with a friend, the husband and their young daughter: they find refuge for two weeks in a small village. “I slept very badly, we were afraid that the Russians would come into the houses to kill us, continues Valentina. I didn’t feel safe with the bombardments: I tried to leave through a humanitarian corridor, but I had to try twice. A woman took me in between“.
Valentina recounts the extreme cold – -20 degrees outdoors -; the few clothes that were too light, which she barely had time to pack. After a few exchanges with her relatives, including her parents still in Ukraine, she embarked on a journey to France: “The carpools were full, the trains too: when I managed to get into a car, I was shown a space in the hallway that was 60 centimeters. This is where I traveled, by land, for two days“.
After a passage through Slovakia, Austria, comes a flight to France: Valentina finds her sister three days ago in Amiens, between relief and deep sadness: “_Ukraine is always in my heart… but I had to flee to survive!_explains this thirty-year-old, who works in the restaurant industry. I want to work, start a family, see my children and grandchildren grow up… That’s why I had to leave Ukraine!“
“My parents would not survive a trip between Ukraine and France”
Since her arrival in France, Valentina obviously remains very marked by the war in her country. : _“During my first two nights in France, I was awakened by noises: I thought they were bombardments_s. But it was just a car. I said to myself “Phew I’m in France“. Because if the bombings are far away physically, they are everywhere in Valentina’s phone, especially in the messages of her relatives back home: “A friend’s house blew up recently, thank God she wasn’t there. I don’t show anything on my face, but I’ve got all this horror inside of me“, details the young woman.
Because during this interview, the rare moments when Valentina’s eyes mist up is when she talks about her elderly and in poor health parents, who remained in Ukraine: “My parents would not survive the journey I made: two days without water or food and traveling on the ground and in the cold.“, indicates the young woman. She therefore follows the war from a distance, wondering how this is possible in the 21st century. And this restorer by profession wonders: “We Ukrainians, what have we done to the Russians? Or rather to the Russian president?”
Now that she is in France, Valentina would like to volunteer, help her people from a distance: “I hope that peace will soon return to my country. And I also wish the Ukrainians that they will be quickly awakened by the chirping of birds, and no longer by the sound of bombings.”