Under siege in Kyiv, Ilyas endures his longest blackout. Military volunteer, Seva, sources chainsaws for comrades in the east and in her mind, Oksana visits the rooftop of her apartment block to offer a god-like view of a Ukrainian capital under siege.   OUR DIARISTS   Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland. As of December 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family...

In the dark of Kyiv, Ilyas fears for the under-fire Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, knowing how the 1986 Chernobyl disaster continues to impact lives in Ukraine to this day.  With new orders, military volunteer Seva, prepares to go on assignment in southern Ukraine, but not before an unexpected meeting with two soldiers involved in the recent liberation of Kherson. And feeling helpless overseas, Oksana desperately tries to reach her family in the midst of yet another devastating missile...

On the road in freezing temperatures, military volunteer Seva, reflects on Russia’s latest mass attack on the Ukrainian energy network. And looking out across a darkened Kyiv - after a Russian missile knocks out the power in his apartment block - the ramifications of winter become very real for Ilyas, but so too enemy soldiers. OUR DIARISTS Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking...

In Kyiv, a sudden restaurant blackout forces Ilyas to consider the reality of winter in a city without power and increasingly isolated.  Injured by an anti-tank grenade, Seva accompanies a close friend to one of Kyiv’s trauma units.  Meanwhile, against the backdrop of conversations about a future evacuation, Oksana readies to return again to the Ukrainian capital. OUR DIARISTS Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife...

From his apartment in Kyiv, Ilyas watches and listens as Ukrainian air defence armoury targets yet another onslaught of Russian missiles. Meanwhile, military volunteer, Seva, sets off on a lone assignment to the frontlines in Donetsk where his thinking is challenged by an embattled tank battalion. OUR DIARISTS Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland. As of November...

From the window of his Kyiv apartment, Ilyas witnesses a drone strike that results in the death of a pregnant woman and her husband. On military assignment in Western Ukraine, Seva’s thoughts turn to his father who is about to undergo major surgery in a hospital within the compass of continued Russian strikes. Meanwhile, Oksana readies to return to a Kyiv that looks set to be plunged further into darkness. OUR DIARISTS Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv...

After escaping Russia’s single biggest one-day attack on Kyiv, Oksana catches her breath in Madrid, where she tries to second guess what Vladimir Putin’s forces are going to do next? Meanwhile, recording in the basement of his Kyiv apartment block during an air-raid, Ilyas outlines what he - and many Ukrainians - are being told in respect of a nuclear attack. OUR DIARISTS Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv and...

In Kiev, Ilyas watches in horror as Russian rockets rain down on his city— the deadliest attack on the Ukrainian capital since the beginning of the war. Having left for Poland just hours before, Oksana escapes the attack, only to find her exit route to Warsaw targeted by more enemy missiles. Helpless, and on military assignment in Ireland, Seva takes stock of what’s to come. And with the dust now settling somewhat in Kyiv, Ilyas returns to record a final reflection on one of the most...

Recording on assignment, military volunteer Seva weighs the cost of fallen colleagues against Ukraine’s greater ambition to liberate the entire country. In Kyiv, Oksana expresses her horror at billionaire Elon Musk’s controversial peace plan - which involved getting Twitter followers to vote on possible outcomes — and at a world failing to grasp the threat of an apocalyptic conflict.  Meanwhile,encouraged in part by the continued nuclear threat, Ilyas wonders about a spike in marriage...

In Kyiv, spooked by the threat of nuclear attack, Oksana’s close friend moves her family to western Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ilyas finds hope in what he sees as desperate Russian measures. And Seva is left astonished by conversations with fellow military personnel on the frontlines. TIMECODES - 0.00 - Oksana 4.45 - Ilyas 8.07 - Seva BACKGROUND - Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv and has remained in the Ukrainian...

Military volunteer, Seva, greets news of the Russian mobilisation decree to call up of 300,000 army reservists with glee. Thousands of miles from home Oksana finds an unexpected show of solidarity. And in Kyiv, Ilyas reflects on the recent grim discovery of mass graveyards in liberated lands close to Kharkiv. BACKGROUND   Seva, 40, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to...

In London, Oksana seeks out an antidote to the horrors discovered by Ukrainian forces during this week’s counter-offensive. Returning from assignment in Ireland, military volunteer Seva makes a roadside pitstop in Poland to reflect on the Ukrainian army’s breakthrough. Meanwhile in Kyiv, for the first time since the Russian invasion, Ilyas can see a clear road-map to victory. BACKGROUND-   Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in...

Close to the front line of his country’s cyber war with Russia, Ilyas discloses some of how Ukraine’s ‘IT Army’ are waging war. Meanwhile in London, Oksana considers the feelings of guilt that follow a protracted conflict. Seva is away on assignment.   ADDITIONAL -   *The Starlinks service referred in Ilyas' diary is a satellite communications network provided to Ukraine by Elon Musk and Space X to maintain and support the internet.    BACKGROUND -   Ilyas is an IT specialist and married...

Recording while on assignment for the Ukrainian army, Seva shares conversations with soldiers and friends with knowledge of the threat to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. In Kyiv, Oksana prepares for another adventure. And estranged from his family once again, Ilyas retreats into the memories from his last visit to Poland. BACKGROUND Seva, 40, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical...

In Poland combat stress bleeds into Ilyas’ peaceful surrounds, before he steels himself to say goodbye to his family and return to Ukraine. In Kyiv, Independence Day is marked for Seva not by traditional marching bands but a concerning phone call from his sister in Dnipro. This week, Oksana is away. BACKGROUND Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland. As of August...

It’s almost six months to the day since Russia invaded Ukraine. Throughout that time, Ilyas, Oksana and Seva have been documenting their personal lives in a country at war. In this edition of Ukraine War Diaries they ask what the future holds for them now? BACKGROUND Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv and has remained in the Ukrainian capital since the war started.  Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left...

After months of war Oksana begins to experience vivid destructive thoughts. Recording while returning from the frontline, Seva shares important news about his father. Meanwhile, Ilyas is given clearance to make a special journey to Poland. BACKGROUND Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv and has remained in the Ukrainian capital since the war started.  Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to...

Seva learns that his friend is quitting his job as a lawyer to become a full-time soldier. Returning by road from Belgium, Oksana dodges a series of air strikes. Meanwhile, Ilyas reveals how he and fellow Ukrainians are combating the Russian disinformation war. BACKGROUND Seva, 40, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern...

Despite being thousands of kilometres from Kyiv, war with Russia continues for the refugees who Oksana meets in Brussels. In Kyiv, recording in the middle of an air raid alert, Ilyas offers yet more insight into the war through the eyes of his grandmother — a survivor of World War II. And in Poland, Ilyas’ wife Natalia goes to therapy. BACKGROUND Oksana, 34, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv and has remained in the...

Against the backdrop of further Russian advances in the east - and while returning from another mission - Seva reflects on a significant supply drop to the frontline. In Kyiv, despite soaring temperatures, |lyas begins to worry about the winter to come. Meanwhile, Oksana charts an emotional, and wandering, first journey beyond the borders of wartime Ukraine - recording this week’s diary from Brussels. BACKGROUND Seva, 40, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he...

Ilyas wrestles with issues of personal and national identity while at the same time trying to figure out ways to see his sons in Poland. Meanwhile, Oksana finds inspiration in the simple but significant actions of an 11-year old girl. *Seva is away. BACKGROUND   Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. Right now his wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland. As of July 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family...

Ilyas has a near miss when Russian missiles strike his neighbourhood and discovers a new way to connect with his son in Poland. Seva is given permission to leave the country for the first time since the war started - an experience that leaves him with a new perspective. Meanwhile Oksana measure the toll of unrelenting air raid sirens on her and her girlfriends. BACKGROUND- Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. Right now his...

Against the backdrop of fierce fighting in the east and a growing feeling that international interest in Ukraine's plight is now waning, Seva experiences a surreal dining experience in a Kyiv now flip-flopping between conflict and a strange kind of normal. Meanwhile, Oksana hears from two friends who fled to Canada and Belgium respectively, about the challenges of starting again in a new country. And an unexpected parcel from Poland stirs up old feelings for Ilyas. BACKGROUND- Oksana, 34,...

In Kyiv, Oksana finds a bittersweet escape from the war. In Poland, Ilyas’ wife, Natalia speaks for the first time about her experiences as a refugee trying to make a functional life for her and her children, alone. Meanwhile Ilyas, writes something of a love letter to his wife Natalia and the two sons he still cannot see. BACKGROUND- Oksana, 34, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv and has remained in the Ukrainian capital...

Ilyas seeks an escape from the war. Seva begins to prepare for a long and protracted conflict. And Oksana explains the Queen's popularity in Ukraine. Ukraine War Diaries uses first-person audio, recorded on the ground in Ukraine, to give an intimate day-to-day perspective of life in a war zone. BACKGROUND - Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. Right now his wife and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland. As of May...