Story by Serhii Teleshev. Serhiy is 16 years old. He was born in Kyiv and grew up in the city of Brovary near Kyiv. Because of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, he had to move for several months to another city in the western part of Ukraine, where it was safer to be at that time. The first missile attack was on Brovary, later there were fierce battles for the city, and Brovary district suffered from the occupiers. The Ukrainian army restrained the occupiers and they did not invade Kyiv. Serhii says his city isn't called the northeastern gate of Kyiv for nothing. During his stay in the west of Ukraine, far from home, Serhii was in a terrible state, but he believes that this state became the impetus for his work.

Translation from Ukrainian by Svitlana Hryhorenko.

This story is part of the “Wake up, the war is here” series. The project collects, translates, and shares with the world documentary stories written by teens and young adults of Ukraine who are now living through the war. It is run by the Ukrainian cultural organization "withoutgaps" and the youth editorial team "TeenSide". You can contact us at teenside.home@gmail.com or on Instagram @teenside_bezprobiliv.