Four Years of War…
Did our generation ever imagine that in the 21st century we would learn firsthand what the wail of sirens sounds like, what an air raid alert in the middle of the night feels like, what dull explosions, trembling windows, and messages that make your blood run cold truly mean? That the words “shelter,” “generator,” and “Point of Invincibility” would become part of everyday life?
February 24, 2022 divided the history of our country into “before” and “after.”
Before – there was ordinary life: plans, vacations, work, children’s laughter in the yard, peaceful sleep.
After – waiting for the next alert, a packed suitcase by the door, lists of essentials, and prayers for those on the front line.
We have lost far too much. People. Homes. Cities. A part of ourselves – who we used to be.
Every family in Ukraine carries its own pain. Everyone has a story that can never be forgotten.
Pain has touched our south as well.
Our Odesa Sea Port works under shelling, lives to the sound of alarms, yet does not stop.
Despite the threats, despite the attacks, despite the darkness – it continues to live, to receive and to send, to hold the economic front. It is not just infrastructure – it is a symbol of the city’s resilience, a symbol of the strength of people who go to work every day fully aware of the risks.
But we endured.
And we have changed.
We have become stronger, even if we never wished to be strong.
We have learned patience when it seemed there was nothing left inside us.
We have learned to appreciate the light in the window, a quiet morning without sirens, the voice of a loved one on the phone.
We have grown tougher — but more united. Different — but united as one.
These four years have shown who we are.
We cannot be broken by fear. We cannot be erased from the map.
We know how to love – more deeply. To believe – more deeply. To live – despite everything.
And we believe: the time will come – and dawn will break.
A real one. Peaceful. Quiet.
And then we will remember.
Everyone.
Every day.
Every price paid for the right to live in our own country.
We will endure. Because we are Ukraine.
