After two months of clear calm, the month of May marked the return of anti-aircraft alerts in kyiv. Eight in a fortnight, according to the official count. More than a year after the start of the war, the inhabitants of the Ukrainian capital, certainly tired, do not always go to take refuge in the shelters.
The night of Monday May 15 to Tuesday May 16, was trying for the inhabitants of Kiev, among the most difficult since the beginning of the war, in February 2022. Some 18 missiles and Russian drones were launched almost simultaneously on the Ukrainian capital .
In his small shop, Alex continues to prepare his lattes, even in the event of an air alert. “When there are really big missile attacks with explosions nearby, yes, I see people running, taking refuge in the shelters. But no, I’m not going there.” Annabel, also in her thirties, laughs almost embarrassed. She’s not going to take shelter either.
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Do not “wear out” psychologically
At the beginning of the war, she had organized a shelter in the basement. All the people of the district came to take refuge there. Today, when the explosions ring out, like all her neighbours, she stays at home so as not to “wear out”. She explains: “It usually takes me a while to get back to sleep because of all this adrenaline rush in my body. After the explosions, then I feel kind of tired. I feel irritated too…”
During these explosions, the young woman “Try to concentrate on something else because, very quickly, this state of fatigue and irritation can make you go into a kind of sadness”. A sadness, she continues, “which can lead you into a kind of depressive state… So, I try to make sure that these feelings don’t have a hold on me”.
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Achille, delegate for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), has been in kyiv for several months. This humanitarian is also accustomed to explosions, but this night, he did not count one or two, but twenty. “I’ll go down to the nearest shelter”he said wearily.
“Frankly, I can’t take it anymore. Psychologically, I took a little hit.”
Achille, humanitarian in kyivfranceinfo
But “Fortunately”, he adds, “I’m going to find a colleague who lives next door. We’ll go to the shelter together”. Most of the time, the air defense manages to intercept Russian drones and missiles. But debris from these machines can cause damage by falling to the ground. Russia’s objective: to fatigue Ukraine’s anti-aircraft defense systems so that its missiles can once again reach their targets.