Voices from the frontline: The people of Ukraine

ITV brings together voices from across Ukraine after more than three weeks of war which has devastated much of the country and sparked the evacuation of millions


The toll of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on its people has been immeasurable, and the suffering, unimaginable.

Millions of people have become refugees or been displaced in their own country, while others have joined a growing resistance across the country, determined to defend their homeland.

ITV has been speaking to those surviving the devastating war for a special documentary.

Through eye-witness footage and testimonies, Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians alike have been telling their stories.

Jhanna

Jhanna is living in occupied Kherson with her young daughter. She built a bunker to protect them from the bombings. 

On the onset of the occupation, she said: "I was so scared that I could feel my heart through my back, because my heart was pumping so hard.

"I prayed like never before. Because I am worried about my child."

Her fear is palpable. She told ITV: I believe in the bomb shelter, it will save us.

Jhanna built a bunker to protect herself and her young daughter from the bombings.  Credit: ITV

Denis

Denis was originally based in the north-east Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. Credit: ITV

Based in Kharkiv, Denis retreated to a bunker at the start of the war as his city faced bombardment. He has an 11-year-old son, and lives with his girlfriend and her young daughter. He is now is now a refugee in Austria.

On his memories of the first day of the invasion, he says: "It was just a usual morning. I heard sounds of explosions, this was very scary.

"These rockets were flying everywhere, destroying everything. I thought only about how to save my boy."

Korrine

Korrine is a medical student and vlogger who fled for Lviv with her fiancé. Credit: ITV

Korrine, a British medical student and vlogger living in Dnipro with her fiancé was planning their wedding just two days before the invasion began. They fled for Lviv. “When we set off we were scared but we just thought you know it’s now or never.”

"If you looked outside there was nothing that reflected a war coming. It was just overnight – everything had changed."

She and her fiancé waited two days in the car queue at the Romanian border with no access to shops or toilets but says the welcome she received in Romania restored her faith in humanity.

"There were hundreds and hundreds of Romanian people assisting, from charities to churches, to families offering people accommodation.

"It was just so welcoming and it gave me faith in humanity that there are still a lot of good people despite all the evil."

Nikita

Nikita is part of a team helping to distribute aid and support in Kharkiv. Credit: ITV

Nikita is part of a team distributing aid and support in Kharkiv. He was filming himself when a rocket struck behind him. He luckily survived – but only just.

“How we survived I still don’t know. "I didn’t have time to feel scared,” he says. 

Artem

Artem is a journalist based on the outskirts of the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol. Credit: ITV

Artem is a journalist based on the outskirts of Mariupol. In the programme he says the city was "flourishing but it's now dying before our eyes".

Appalled at the attack on the maternity hospital which shocked the world, he realised then "it wasn’t a war of military on military when they started bombing residential buildings."ITV's Ukraine: 'Voices from the Frontline' will air at 10:20pm on Sunday March 20 on ITV and is available after on the ITV Hub.

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