I live in a country where a full-scale war has lasted for about two years. During this long period, my community has had a lot of crises and problems. However, people try to support and help each other.

My hometown is Kyiv and I have always lived here. Kyiv is the capital of Ukraine, which is located in the center of Europe. It’s a big, old, and attractive city. There are many interesting places, like the wide Khreshchatyk Street, Maidan Nezalezhnosti Square, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, St. Sophia’s Cathedral, the Golden Gates, and many diverse parks all over the city.

We often have air alarms in Kyiv. Whenever we hear them during lessons at school, we go down into the air-raid shelters. These places are always overcrowded and schoolchildren feel the lack of air. We never have enough benches or chairs for everyone, so the schools work in two shifts and the kids take turns sitting when they are too tired to stand. Last year the autumn and winter were extremely difficult periods for the whole country because we had blackouts. There were massive shellings of Kyiv then and air alarms continued constantly 24/7. After those numerous attacks in Kyiv, people often had no electricity, heat, or water. A lot of electrical supplies (especially refrigerators) went out of order. However, my community helped each other in different ways: we were always together and organized indestructibility points, where people could drink some hot tea to get warm, recharge their phones, and cheer each other up with a sincere conversation.

Mutual support is a very important thing at difficult times. It helps people to stay strong and keep their spirits unbreakable. When human beings help each other, they become stronger together. Mutual support is also a very interesting factor that can perform amazing miracles, especially in the most challenging period. As a Ukrainian, I believe that this helpful cooperation is the most important for us now.