I felt bad..

foto
Iryna
Skibina

Teacher from Stary Saltov

"I felt that something was going to happen... Three days before the war, my calm, gentle, kind cats Masya and Murik seemed to go crazy: they became anxious and aggressive," Iryna Skibina recalls, beginning her story for "History of the Strong." She is a teacher from Stary Saltov, Kharkiv region, a musician and a poet.

February 22, 4:25

"The morning of February 24 came... I woke up at 4:25 a.m. because it started to roar loudly somewhere... I went out to the balcony - it was burning in the distance, like a big fire. I didn't wake my son at first, I think - the Russian border was nearby, their military exercises were there. So, maybe our Armed Forces decided to conduct their own to show that they are ready to defend themselves," the woman recalls.

 

Teacher from Stary Saltov

Everything around was on fire

"Once I went to the kitchen to cook dinner, and when I stood, I saw that it was already flying to our neighborhood. It was a real hell! Shells and bombs hit industrial, commercial, educational facilities, and residential buildings. Everything around was burning and shuddering, as if under the time of the earthquake. The police arrived, the wounded and the dead were taken out of the ruins. Something terrible was happening!"