LVIV, UKRAINE – Our coverage of Stories from Ukraine continues. Our team traveled across the Polish border into Ukraine. They share how people in Lviv are trying to live as much of a normal life as possible.
Other than just a checkpoint or two along the way, driving through the western Ukrainian city of Lviv looked just like a normal day.
We saw several people play in the snow, grab groceries and be out and about. But there were some very noticeable irregularities.
“I used to think that nothing could stop me because I work online these days and now we’re having problems with the electricity,” said Jade, who lives in Lviv.
This English teacher said after the Russian missile strike from two days ago, electricity has been unreliable. Even in a restaurant we briefly popped in, diners had to eat in the dark.
“We haven’t had it since today morning and actually tomorrow might be the same and I’m not sure if it’s on a regular basis or a temporary situation,” said Jade.
And even though the fighting is predominantly in eastern Ukraine, they said nowhere is truly safe. They’ll still hear the air alarm sirens often, which signals to people they need to find a bomb shelter or a place to hide for sometimes up to four hours. Hiding out in those safe places could disrupt their work or daily lives.
“Yes it’s scary especially since the recent events happened like the day before yesterday with those tragic events,” said Ivana, a musician who lives in Lviv.
But for this family, they are temporarily calling Lviv home because it feels safer for them than Kharkiv.
“Comparing life to Kharkiv to Lviv, we feel Lviv is more calm and safer in Lviv but beside the fact that there is no electricity in the city after recent events,” said Mikhail with his family. “But we try to be happy everyday and enjoy every day because we’re happy to have each other and feel safe and that’s what matters for us.”
