War in Ukraine: the daily life of a mother and her daughter, hidden in the metro for a month

A mother and her daughter hide 20 meters underground in the Kharkiv metro (Ukraine). They settled down as deep as possible, living in darkness for more than a month. “It’s safer here because in the corridors of the metro above, you can hear the shelling. Psychologically, for my daughter as for me, it’s better”assures Svetlana. Thanks to her mother, the 8-year-old girl never heard the bombs in a month of war. “My life here is good with the animals, but I still dream that the war will end quickly and that the Ukrainians will win”says the girl.

Usually Svetlana works in a bank. Corn now his everyday life is to protect his daughter. That day, she goes back to the corridors of the metro car a show for children is announced. Children have fun and share a balloon battle. It’s a touching moment for parents, even hearts are heavy. “On the other side, I know that people are suffering, I am very torn”says Svetlana. But then you have to quickly come back down. The mother and her daughter go to the bathroom, where there has been no shower and no shampoo for a month. “Sometimes there is a long queue for the toilets, today it’s fine”, explains the mother. Svetlana is determined to stay in the bowels of the subway until the bombs stop.