The First Refugees of the Great War: Stories of Mass Evacuation in February 2022

February 2022 marked the beginning of severe trials for millions of Ukrainians. Fleeing from russian aggression, the first refugees of the full-scale war left behind everything they knew and loved. Their testimonies of losing loved ones, of families torn apart, of those killed who never had the chance to evacuate, and of the shock and despair they endured serve as a stark and honest reminder of the enemy’s cruelty and the fragility of human life.

They survived, they endured, and now they seek justice. Many of them have returned home. Residents of the Kyiv region, who were forced to flee their homes during those early weeks of the war, shared their memories with The Museum of Civilian Voices by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation.