From our special correspondent in Ukraine – Daryna, 25, began her adult life in a Ukraine at war. Since the large-scale Russian invasion, his daily life has oscillated between air alerts, nights in the metro and power outages. Despite the uncertainty of each day, she strives to maintain normal life in kyiv. France 24 met this young woman, symbol of a generation learning to live under bombs.

Published on: 07/11/2026 - 10:31 Modified on: 07/11/2026 - 10:32

She grew up way before her time. Too fast. The war left him no choice. Daryna was just 21 years old when the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began. Nearly five years after the start of the conflict, the Kievan is clinging as best she can to what has become a dystopian normality. “Some foreigners think that people are driving tanks through kyiv, that it's an open front line,” says the stunningly beautiful young woman. “Others look at my life on social media and think that I have a completely normal life because I go to the gym, read books and party on the weekends. But my life is not normal at all.”

Installed in a 19th century building in the very bohemian district of Podil, Daryna has tastefully decorated her apartment. “I chose it because it was beautiful, old and so different from all the Soviet buildings and apartments I lived in as a child,” explains the young woman from Rivne, in northwestern Ukraine. “I wanted to make it as beautiful as possible because it is important to surround yourself with beauty and things that bring you well-being during war.”

In the large living room with green walls, culture is everywhere. Art books, novels, copies of the famous American magazine The New Yorker… And music. Lots of music. An impressive collection of vinyl records stored in a wooden crate rests delicately on the varnished parquet floor, not far from an electric piano. A small speaker broadcasts the captivating voice of Thom Yorke, songwriter of the British group Radiohead.

“When I think about all my books, my vinyl records, my piano and the idea of ​​losing everything in an explosion, it makes me incredibly sad. Some people started buying less things when the war started,” confides the young woman with hazel eyes tinged with deep melancholy. “At first, I did the same, then I needed more objects to feel at home.”

Sitting comfortably in an old wooden armchair, Daryna recounts how the apartment of one of her friends, not far away, was damaged by an explosion a few days earlier. “It was a street considered safe. A drone fell in the garden, then exploded. The windows were blown out by the violent shock wave. She had everything repaired, but she still found shards of glass everywhere… I think that the glazier profession is the most profitable activity today in Ukraine,” she adds with a burst of laughter.

Daryna interrupts. Audible signal. His cell phone makes a shrill sound. “There's an air alert. It's a yellow alert, which means kyiv is under attack by drones. I think we need to check where the drones are going,” she explains, looking at her Telegram messaging. “Oh, it's just going towards the city center. But everything should be fine, I think. It's not that close.”

The phone aside, the journalist specializing in cybersecurity resumes her explanations. "We also have red alerts, meaning there is a risk that the city will be attacked by missiles. When the war started, there were only red alerts. They applied to both drones and missiles. But recently the authorities have changed them to distinguish between them. This is very useful, because it lets you know how much the population should worry and what level of anxiety they should prepare for."

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These alerts can last from a few minutes to several hours. At any time of the day or night. They are preceded by a siren broadcast over loudspeakers, the sound of which resonates throughout the city. It is then recommended to take shelter as quickly as possible. "For a while, I slept in my dressing room. I had my mattress and pillows there. But one night, during an explosion, I received a piece of the ceiling on my head. I also tried to sleep in my bathtub, but that was also dangerous, because there is a mirror in my bathroom. Since then, I mostly sleep in the hallway of the apartment, considered the safest place."

Also read: Ukraine: in Pavlograd, under Russian bombs, the population refuses to give in to Putin

Permanent psychological pressure. Growing stronger and stronger. Some red alerts are worse than others. On October 21, the Kievans experienced a night of terror. Three waves of 21 missiles were launched by Russia on residential buildings, energy installations, shopping centers, etc. Many residents went to shelters, parking lots, metro stations. Others remained prostrate at home. To feel the walls shaking. Watching for shock waves. To hear the charges explode.

Unlivable, or almost. The capital has become almost as dangerous as the towns located near the front. A strategy assumed by the Kremlin to create panic, or even a mass exodus from a capital that it was unable to conquer at the start of the large-scale invasion in 2022.

If looks sometimes reveal fear or weariness, many Ukrainians no longer even react to the shrill sound of the alerts. An attitude that can be surprising when you are a foreigner. Or even destabilize. But how do you go down to the shelters when the alerts keep coming? You have to work, study. Or just sleep. Danger has become part of their daily lives. This defense mechanism obscures a threat which nevertheless remains very much present.

Also read: A “house of torture” in kyiv? How a child's photo was used by Russia

Even without reading it, the comfort of having a book with you

Like almost all Ukrainians, Daryna has already spent the night in the metro. And more than once. "I have an emergency bag that is always ready in my wardrobe: I put my ID papers, a little money, some snacks and water, a blanket, a small pillow. I try to take a book most of the time, although I never read on the subway because it's too uncomfortable. But just having it with me helps me feel better. I also have a sleeping bag if I'm going to sleep in the shelter, during the attack or before it begins."

Images from the kyiv metro, one of the capital's main refuges, flooded social media from the start of the war. Mattresses, pillows, sleeping bags and now tents. Residents often go down to these shelters before curfew, but must wait until the end of the service to take their seats. "We try to maintain privacy, but some stations are too small. When I arrive late, it's really difficult to find a place to sit." Cohabitation is not always easy. Promiscuity. In these crowded spaces depending on the night, you have to accept the sound of videos watched without headphones, phone calls made on loudspeaker, the cacophony of alerts received... and the sound of alarm clocks.

See alsoWar in Ukraine: air raid shelters are missing in kyiv

“The war made me realize how much you can adjust to so many things and integrate them into your routine. And sleeping in the subway or in the shelter is one of them,” says Daryna. part of our routine and reality."

At the end of this October day, the coolness is beginning to set in in the Ukrainian capital. A small electric radiator warms the air in the large living room. In kyiv, power cuts are daily and load shedding is organized by district, according to a more or less reliable schedule. "They just turned the power back on. I don't know how long it's going to last. We've had outages after outages. The schedules don't usually hold up. It can go from one second to the next or stay for several hours. A few days ago, I only had two hours of electricity. The outage lasted 24 hours. It was very hard."

In Ukraine, the cold has become a weapon. The winter of 2025-2026 was the harshest since the large-scale invasion. Massive Russian strikes on energy infrastructure have caused energy shortages, leaving Ukrainians without electricity and district heating. In homes, radiators powered by heating networks inherited from the Soviet era remained desperately cold, while temperatures reached up to -27°C in the capital and -30°C in certain regions of the country. Enough to push many residents to flee kyiv.

"I hope this winter won't be as cold as the last one. I didn't have heating in my apartment and it was 9°C here. I could barely survive while wearing thermal clothing all the time. I really thought I was going to freeze to death. I even promised myself that this would be the last winter I would spend in kyiv. Obviously, that's not the case."

On September 22, after a meeting with Donald Trump at the UN General Assembly, President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed an “energy ceasefire” to Russia, subject to reciprocity. A de-escalation that has remained a dead letter to this day. The same scenario is therefore looming for this winter. The deliberate attack on civilian infrastructure is nevertheless considered a war crime and a crime against humanity, according to an independent UN commission.

Read alsoUnderground gas pipelines and tunnels: in Ukraine, a new war sheltered from drones

“A part of your personality disappears”

Daryna makes a brave face against bad luck. To put on makeup or get dressed, she uses a headlamp. For light, she lights candles or a rechargeable table lamp. She also invested in a portable power station. "It's very expensive [more than 57,000 hryvnias, or 1,300 euros at the peak of demand, the equivalent of more than two months of average salary in Ukraine or almost eight times the minimum wage in the country Editor's note], but it helps a lot. I think most Ukrainians my age have one. You can plug in your router to have Wi-Fi during power outages. It's more than enough to recharge the laptop, my phone I also have several external batteries", specifies the Kievienne, who works from home. But when she has to decide between the objects to load, it's her electronic piano that she chooses. Daryna holds it like the apple of her eye.

"I keep playing during power outages. It's very helpful, because it entertains me and allows me to do something just for me. When you're going through a war, you feel the difference between living and surviving. Sometimes you have to do both. Being without power or water, sleeping in a shelter, missing the food you love, or need, or want, is survival. But going to a party, going to the gym when there are drones exploding outside, choosing to doing normal things is living. You have to find this perfect balance in Ukraine, we have this expression of 'war-life balance' ["balance between war and daily life", Editor's note].

Also read: Ukraine: why Russian data centers have become targets

As for the possibility of a ceasefire with Russia, Daryna does not believe in it. Not now and especially not as long as Vladimir Putin is at the head of the country. "Russian influence is so great and so persistent. It's a force that you can't just destroy with a cease-fire or with any agreement," she explains. of things to go through before returning to a life that people can call normal. I'm not sure that my generation will ever have a normal life. The war takes so much from you. And even if that's not the case, it's a part of your personality that disappears. Rebuilding Ukraine as it was before the war will be difficult.

Daryna grew up too fast. Way before time. The Ukrainian woman who survives the war will no longer have the same identity. Who was she before the war? She doesn't know anymore. Who will she be next? She doesn't dare think about it. "It scares me. Making big decisions, planning my future, seeing my future is difficult. It seems so easy for someone who isn't going through war. A European or an American my age can plan a vacation for next spring or summer. Personally, I don't know how my evening is going to end. It totally depends on how effective our air defense is."

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