Ukrainian refugee in Estonia says she can’t purge terrifying memory of life under Russian occupation скачать в хорошем качестве

Ukrainian refugee in Estonia says she can’t purge terrifying memory of life under Russian occupation

(21 Feb 2026) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Tallinn, Estonia - 17 February 2026 1. Various of Oleksii Vnukov, his wife Inna Vnukova, and daughter Alisa at their apartment 2. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Oleksii Vnukov and Inna Vnukova, Ukrainian refugees: Inna: “On the ninth of March, we woke up to a dog barking.” Oleksii: “We looked out of the window. Soldiers with white armbands were walking down the street. I saw the white armbands, and that's it, I say: we're occupied.” Inna: “Our lives collapsed” 3. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Oleksii Vnukov, Ukrainian refugee: “Two (soldiers) are standing behind (me). I hear them put a machine gun to my head and pull the shutter. Everything fell inside of me. I had already said goodbye to life - because if the bullet has already gone into the cartridge, then you just need to pull the trigger and that's it.” 4. Phone screen showing journey 5. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Oleksii Vnukov and Inna Vnukova, Ukrainian refugees: Inna: “We put all the documents in that suitcase - everything we had. We had warm clothes on us, plus warm clothes as spares. Socks, towels, toothpaste, and that's it. We came here with that suitcase.” Oleksii: “We came to Estonia with one suitcase for three.” ASSOCIATED PRESS Kyiv, Ukraine - 13 February 2026 6. Oleksandra Matviichuk, Head of the Nobel-awarded Center for Civil Liberties, at her office 7. SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian) Oleksandra Matviichuk, Head of the Nobel Peace-awarded Center for Civil Liberties: “They have the right to live at home for a certain amount of time, and then, as non-citizens of the Russian Federation, they have to leave. And this, of course, leaves almost no opportunity to refuse a Russian passport. Especially since a Russian passport is tied to a whole range of other things. You can't find a job, you won't get medical care, your children don't get educational services. Well, you're simply excluded.” ASSOCIATED PRESS Tallinn, Estonia - 17 February 2026 8. Inna Vnukova, and daughter Alisa at their apartment STORYLINE: Even now, safely in her new home in Estonia, Inna Vnukova says she can’t get rid of the terrifying memory of living under Russian occupation in eastern Ukraine early in the war and her family’s harrowing escape. They hid in a damp basement for days in their village of Kudryashivka after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. In the streets, soldiers waving machine guns bullied residents, set up checkpoints and looted homes. There was constant shelling. "When there was heavy shelling, we had a cellar, and in March the ground water rose, and we constantly covered it with pallets. The more water that was pumped out, the higher the water rose," Inna told the Associated Press in Tallinn. With troops seeking out Ukrainian sympathizers and civil servants like the Vnukovs, Inna decided to flee with their 16-year-old son, Evhen and other family members, even though it meant leaving her husband behind temporarily. They took a risky trip by car to nearby Starobilsk, waving a white sheet amid mortar fire. Many Ukrainians like Inna fled the invading forces. Those who stayed risked being detained — or worse — as Russian forces eventually took control of about 20% of the country and its estimated 3 million to 5 million people. Oleksii Vnukov, a court security officer, stayed behind in the village for nearly two weeks; he believed that he had to keep an eye on family's home. Russian soldiers twice threatened to kill him, including an instance where he and a friend were dragged off the street by soldiers. But Oleksii survived and soon also escaped the village. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...