My name is Myroslava Hartmond, I am 32. I am a writer and a curator. I was born in Kyiv, but left in 1995 to live with my father in Oxford. I grew up in the UK and have British citizenship. I always feel more British when I am in Ukraine, but emphatically Ukrainian when in the UK.
I graduated from Oxford University in 2014 with an MPhil in International Relations, writing it as the Euromaidan (or Revolution of Dignity, as we call it here) was unfolding. I felt terrible that I couldn’t be with my people at this pivotal time, so as soon as I graduated, I decided to return to Kyiv.
I wanted to make a difference in a society that was open to new ideas and people from abroad. This I did by running Triptych: Global Arts Workshop, a hybrid space — both a commercial art gallery and a cultural centre.
Our gallery sadly has been shuttered since March 2020, when the pandemic started. Covid-19 has been very difficult on cultural institutions around the world, but Ukraine was very badly affected, because tourism stopped entirely. We were hoping to reopen soon, but the war put the final nail in the coffin of Triptych Gallery.
My mother woke me up in the middle of the night, around 4am, on Thursday, February 24, with the words: “Get up, sweetie. It has started.” We heard sirens blaring in the distance, it was the most terrifying sound I have ever heard. Since then, everything has changed completely. A Russian missile hit a residential tower block in Kyiv. Without provocation, the Russians began their “special operation” of violently “liberating” the people of Ukraine from their “neo-Nazi” government — all blatant lies.
I am now fully clothed, except for my boots and coat, 24/7. Packed and ready to go at a moment’s notice. We constantly listen out for sirens and check the official Telegram channels. We spend our time moving between our flat and an air raid shelter nearby. We have not been to the shops, but have been rationing our supplies. We should have enough for at least another week. Luckily, I have no appetite. Sometimes we spend the entire day or entire night in the shelter because of constant Russian attempts of aerial bombardment. We do not go near windows and observe a blackout policy in the evenings.
I’ve found that simple things, like breathing mindfully and washing my hands and face allow me to reset when anxiety takes over. I am really into journaling, but have found it very hard to write these past days. My Orthodox Christian faith has been my sword and shield during this time. I have tried to keep God in my heart all the time, even when I am too exhausted to pray, and to read the Bible when I am able. I have found that in times of distress, the meaning of every verse is amplified. I have also been reading Céline, whose sardonic style resonates well with the absurdity of what we are experiencing in Ukraine today. And of course, my mother and I have each other. It makes things easier. We are used to working together and living together, and find that we are a team even in these horrendous circumstances.
A constant source of support has been the daily presence of President Zelenskyy with his addresses to the nation. He was very present throughout the pandemic, especially in the beginning, calling on everyone to remain calm and to look after each other. In this new crisis, we at least knew that the Ukrainian government had a familiar, human face. His resolve and tireless advocacy of Ukraine has ensured his place in our nation’s history, whatever the outcome of this war. Our armed forces and special services, as well as the territorial defence army that has been called up among civilians, are fighting bravely day and night to defend OUR sovereign country.
The experience of this war is completely unprecedented, because we have the internet. We have smartphones to report all the atrocities that the Russian aggressor is committing on our soil, to coordinate our defence, to stay in touch with friends and family around the world. The world knows the truth about what’s happening, despite the best efforts of Russian propaganda.
People of India, you surely know what it is like to assert, again and again, that you are “old enough” to look after your own interests! Putin and his criminal regime have repeatedly negated the very existence of Ukraine as a sovereign state, have repeatedly expressed hatred towards the idea of a distinct Ukrainian culture. According to him, we are “one nation.” A feeble-minded younger brother that must be brought back into the loving embrace of Mother Russia but any means necessary.
Our people have repeatedly expressed our political will to be independent, first from the Soviet Union in 1991 — with the student Revolution on the Granite, then of Russia — in 2004 in the Orange Revolution and in 2013-2014 with the Euromaidan, during which over a hundred peaceful protesters were assassinated. The illegal annexation of the Crimea followed, as well as a hybrid war waged by Putin in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the east of the country by the hands of Kremlin-financed terrorist groups that proclaimed “independence” from Ukraine. We are expressing our political will to exist as an independent country again in 2022, this time in defensive warfare. We have nothing to lose but everything.
My mother and I want to leave Kyiv as soon as it’s safe. We are hoping for a ceasefire to be called as a result of negotiations, or a humanitarian corridor to be opened. We hope to take a train to Poland, then make our way to family in the UK. My sister Kateryna Marina is a DPhil student at Oxford University, where she is also the president of the Oxford University Ukrainian Society. Since the start of the war, she has been campaigning and fundraising constantly — organising two large protests in Oxford and meeting with the Prime Minister’s team at Downing Street. We have also contributed £1000 worth of art from our family collection to an upcoming charity raffle that will raise funds for the Ukrainian Red Cross. It has been amazing to see so many protests in support of Ukraine around the world, including New Delhi and Chennai. To me personally, it has given strength and courage in these past dark days.
Meanwhile, to keep myself sane, and for practical reasons, I started a fundraising campaign to allow my mother and myself to escape Ukraine and start a new life in the UK. The pandemic and a critical illness in mid-2021 made it very difficult for me to seek any kind of work these past two years, so our savings are depleted. Luckily, I have some art in storage in Oxford (which was awaiting an exhibition that was postponed indefinitely due to the pandemic), so I’ve been reaching out to my network asking them to adopt my babies. Many of these artworks I bought from local artists to support them, some were given as gifts. They are treasured memories, but I must think ahead to the future. There will be a time to reflect on all this, but now I must focus on what is immediately in front of us. Returning to the UK will be another homecoming, one that involves expenses, uncertainty, but also new opportunities. I intend to continue promoting my country’s considerable cultural heritage wherever I find myself next.
You are welcome to review the catalogue here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1noNSo2dA6tN11IBuchl1BLE1ny3UdCu8/view?usp=sharing
I urge anyone reading to condemn Russian aggression by any possible means. It strikes at the very foundations of modern civilisation. It is illegal, immoral, and unjustified. This senseless killing has already taken the life of an Indian medical student studying in the city of Kharkiv, as well as hundreds of civilians in Ukraine.
I encourage you to follow official Ukrainian sources, such as those listed below, to avoid Russian disinformation:
I ask you to donate to the Ukrainian defence effort, or to organisations giving support in the midst of the greatest humanitarian crisis in Europe since the Balkan War. This is a website set up by Oxford graduates on behalf of the Ukrainian government: https://www.defendukraine.org/donate
I ask you to pray for peace in Ukraine, because in this war against existential evil, prayers have a special power.
With love,
Myroslava HartmondKyiv,
Ukraine, 03.03.2022
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