Only 2 days left out of the 21 I stayed at home. I thought I was lucky because I didn’t experience many drone attacks on the city. Well, there were some, but not in my part of the city. There was one, but it happened on the night when I was returning by train from another city after visiting relatives. In the morning, I only saw a few bombed buildings nearby and broken windows in my apartment.

So, only 2 days left. It was 2 a.m., I took a shower and was getting ready to sleep when suddenly – a very loud deep explosion right outside the window, very close. I jumped up and ran to the bathroom – the only room without a window – pulling my pants on the way. My mother and relatives always told me to go to the shelter, and I knew I should run there now, but I needed a couple of minutes to gather my thoughts and decide what to take with me. I decided to do that in the bathroom.

The explosions and gunfire didn’t stop, fear paralyzed my whole body, and I couldn’t act. So, I just followed the news on my phone. Every minute felt like an hour. The sounds of weapons came from different directions but always nearby. It felt like the gods were playing Battleship, and my ship had not been found yet, but could be at any moment. That moment could be the end of my life. A very strange and terrifying feeling. This lasted about 15 minutes. Then I heard a big explosion. And everything went quiet. The end?

Then I heard the sound of a “moped” (that’s what Ukrainians call drones because of the sound they make, moped means scooter in English), very close. It was like an annoying fly. Everything was close. I had the feeling that these mopeds surrounded only my apartment and were looking through the windows. Gunfire started again. After a while, silence. I used this moment to grab my passport and run to the shelter. I knew where it was, but I had never been there before. I went down – there were two doors, one slightly open. I saw people and went inside.

A black dog, like a shepherd, on a leash with a muzzle, jumped at me and barked. I jumped back; the owner held him. When I realized he was not dangerous, I looked around – about 10 people were there. I didn’t expect so many people in our small yard. I said hello and sat on a bench by the wall. Nobody replied.

To my left, a couple – a boy and a girl. The boy, a typical mama’s boy, told the dog owners that he had a dog trainer friend who could help, because it’s bad when a dog jumps at people for no reason. The dog owners – mother, adult son around 30, and grandmother – thanked him, but it was clear from their faces they would not use the advice. I also found the advice inappropriate because the situation was tense, and the dog was reacting to that.

The dog barked at everyone entering and leaving. The mother and son felt uncomfortable, trying to calm the dog, give commands, hit the muzzle. It helped for a short time. I felt sorry for the dog; I could see fear in his eyes. He tried to hide under the water table, then scratched the wall. Everyone was on their phones, following the news. My internet was bad, so I looked at my neighbor’s phone on the right; I could see the map of where the missiles were flying.

Everyone was quiet, not talking or sharing. People came and went without greeting or saying goodbye. I thought I was stupid for not taking more things with me – like my camera with photos and videos for my project, my bank cards, my second passport with my German residence permit.

Mama’s boy left with the dog barking and returned after a few minutes with his mother, who scolded the dog inappropriately for reacting to strangers. The dog owner tried to calm the dog with force because he was embarrassed he couldn’t control it.

After a few minutes, the mother asked the girl next to her: “Any news?” She said they were flying to Chornomorsk (not our area). “Ah, okay, then I go!” – she left under the dog barking, followed by the boy, while the girl stayed quietly. A man in the far corner had only his phone; he didn’t speak at all and left soon.

The news came that drones were flying to southern Odesa, but could reach the center – stay in the shelter. My neighbor with good internet started talking to the dog, saying poor thing, this is happening, and comforting him. The dog owner’s son offered her to pet the dog. I asked: “Does he always behave like this or because of the situation?” The son said always, the mother said no, grandmother agreed with the mother. I said animals usually feel the atmosphere and tension better than humans, so the dog reacts to the fear in the air.

After that, the situation calmed down, and the dog also relaxed. Maybe because the drones were gone. When the dog owner went outside, the dog whimpered and watched him like he understood danger might be there.

I stayed 1.5 hours. At the end, only I and the woman with good internet were left. She told me about visiting relatives in Italy and how people live there without war. She said it’s easier to handle night drone attacks in summer because it gets light early, unlike winter.

Then we went outside and smelled strong smoke nearby; something was burning, and I remembered my windows were open. My apartment was full of the awful smell, and I couldn’t air it. I couldn’t sleep, so I started writing this story about going to the shelter. It felt like the psychological stories in books about people trapped by fate in a confined space. I always liked such stories.

I wrote for about an hour, and then another air raid started at 4:30 a.m. This time, I wanted to take everything I thought of before – camera, laptop – everything valuable. My backpack was quickly full. But after 10 minutes, the news came: drones were not heading our way. I left the backpack by my bed and fell asleep. At 8:30 a.m., I had to get up and go about my day.

4 August 2025