"There seems to be no one left in Ukraine who hasn't been woken up at 4 a.m. by bombs exploding... I'm no exception. I'll never forget that day. Pain, fear, panic and the uncertainty of what when Next will happen, will there be a new day, will we survive... Every day rockets flew, every minute people died, someone ran into the unknown and left their happy life in the past... Life had become futile . I realized what it means to be a refugee. Everything I loved, dreamed about, fought about - everything stayed in my previous life. Life will never be the same. And you never will be the same anymore. Never."
Kostya K., 4th year student, Kramatorsk district
"The Ukrainian nation has survived on its own for centuries, proving its right to independence through the sheer faith that creativity has awakened in us. At all times and in different circumstances, Ukrainians have had an indestructible spirit and unity that has preserved our culture. We are strong and invincible as long as our spirit and our word - WILL, HOPE and INDEPENDENCE - are with us."
Olga K.
"A century-long struggle for Ukrainian independence. The Cossacks have fought for freedom and independence since ancient times.
Ukraine, with its borders, has been an independent state since 1991. Today, because of numerous missile bombings, our country suffers. Soldiers of our army daily defend Ukraine and its independence from attacks of ...ocia. I believe that Ukraine will win, and my generation was the last to see war..."
Anna B., 20 years old
"Even in the embraces of your most loved ones it is dangerous. No place is safe. Whatever choice you make, you risk your life everywhere. I felt it, as most of us do. Despair and fear that will live in the memory forever."
Alina P., 23 years old
"Anger. Indignation. A thirst to fight back. These feelings arose on the morning of February 24th and still live on, burning inside, knowing no compassion or peace. Pain and anger are always together.
But we will resist no matter what. Let us take revenge and be reborn!"
Anastasia L., 20 years old
"Millions of people across Ukraine have left their homes. Their lives will never be the same again. No one knows how long it will last and how many innocent people will lose their lives, their homes, their loved ones. We can only hope, pray and fight for our country, our freedom, our independence. Art helps to conquer fear, anger and hopelessness."
Angela G., 21 years old
Gleb, a fourth-year student, 27 years old, took part in the liberation struggle in the ranks of the AFU, was wounded and is now in hospital. His work is based on photographs he took himself.
The first poster is the point of moral irrelevance that a soldier goes through. When he sees something that does not fit into his world view. Children raped, civilians executed. A point where compassion, pity and fear death. They are replaced only by anger and disregard for the enemy. The enemy is no longer human, it is dung. Something that must be physically destroyed before it wipes out everything you hold dear. Stop the genocide of the Ukrainian people at any cost. Even at the cost of your own humanity.
The second poster is the point of no return for the heroes. People who gave up their peaceful lives and became instruments of the struggle for Ukraine's existence. They left their families, their homes, their everyday lives, their jobs. Truck drivers from Poland, IT workers, teachers, businessmen, students, engineers, taxi drivers. Each of them has consciously chosen to be Ukrainian and to assert their right to own this land. This militant minority, the descendants of the buckwheat farmers who reached the walls of Moscow in the days of Sagaidachny.
For some, the training ground was the first and last place they fired their weapons, for others it was just the beginning. In 21st-century warfare, you don't usually see the enemy kill you.
"The morning of February 24th. All the people slept peacefully, a new day was to come. It came with the sound of explosions all over Ukraine. War had come to our homes!
Sitting under the bombs was very scary. Destroyed houses, dead people... no strength from fear.
We took water and food and drove away from this terrible war. We stood at the train station, it was very cold. We will return home, dear city."
Inessa A., 22 years old
"War... How scary that word sounds. How scary it is to wake up to explosions and not immediately realize that this is not a military drill or a thunderstorm. This is a war that takes human lives. For the survivors, the companions are fear, pain, despondency, hopelessness. But that was at first. Now we are all united, more united than ever. Our troops on the front line are fighting step by step for our freedom and independence. People on the home front, united, are doing their best to win. My dream is the victory of our country, so that people would learn about the war and its disastrous consequences from the history books."
Anastasia S.
"On 24 February we woke up to the shelling of Ukrainian cities. It is frightening to imagine that all this is happening in the twenty-first century, when most people were just dealing with their domestic problems, working, studying and enjoying life. Today it is not only homes that have been destroyed all over the country, but also the fates of millions of people that have been broken. Most have lost loved ones and been left without family. But one thing is certain - we are fighting for freedom and independence of our country, for democracy and freedom of speech, for a peaceful sky over the whole of Ukraine."
Nikita K.
"I could have never imagined that I would live through something like this. Every day, watching the news, I understand that it will never be like before ..... How much grief this damn war has brought. I have faith in our hardworking people, in our army and in our country. Everything will be Ukraine!"
Katerina S., 18 years old
"Basically, from the beginning of the war and most likely until the end of their lives, anyone who witnesses the war will shudder at sounds reminiscent of explosions. Explosions at five o'clock in the morning of February twenty-fourth... explosions near places familiar from childhood, explosions everywhere, even in my head. Explosions creeping up to your fingertips, paralyzing your imagination and dragging your head into your shoulders. I will live and laugh in the face of the horror, because I have an iron armor by now, I will persevere, even if it is very terrible. There is no other way. I am now in the Kharkiv region in relative safety with my family and in my home. But I shudder at the blasting sound of the siren, which turns the world upside down in my head."
Sophia, 19 years, second year student.
"I am a 1st year student. I wanted to study so much, because student life is full of new experiences. I made plans for the future, but the war ruined everything...
I left the war with my mother in another country. I really believe that Ukraine will win. I believe in our warriors. I believe in the future."
Margarita, 17 years old
"The war has united everyone, everyone has become an equal between the authorities and the people. People are ready to hold the defence of Ukraine with all their might. The blue hands symbolise the defenders and the resistance holding back the missile threatening Ukrainian soil and civilians.
Despite the fact that most people were not prepared for war with the Russian occupiers, they immediately started the resistance with almost their bare hands. The drawing symbolises the heroism of the Ukrainian people fighting with all their might against the invaders.
The whole world was shaken by the horrors in the town of Bucha. People's lives, in which they were engaged in habitual affairs, had goals and hopes, believed in a bright future, came to an end. For the invaders, the lives of these people did not matter, and so it must be recalled that they were not just traces, but people who had names and lives. These are not dots, but exclamation points. And we - the living people - must speak on their behalf. On behalf of all those who died."
Jana K.
"The war in Ukraine is a significant event in the life of every Ukrainian. An event that radically affected and changed the outlook of many people and will forever go down in Ukrainian history.
The world will be different and we will be different."
Daniel M., 22 years old
"It is scary, very scary. We are sitting in the basement, no Internet. We saw the war in the movies and heard from the stories of grandparents. And now you can see and feel it in real life, and it's much scarier."
Veronica, 17, 1st year student, Donetsk region.
"War comes unexpectedly. It leaves us with wounds, tears, and loss of loved ones.
War brings pain and suffering, it harms all mankind....Everyone on this earth wants peace, goodness and clear skies over their head."
Andrei S., 25 years old
"It pains me a lot to see what is happening in Ukraine, my city is under attack and I am very worried. I don't know when I will be back home, when I will get to my room, or if I will even get there, but I really want to believe that I will be able to go for a walk in my homeland again, and I want everything to be like it is on my poster: intact, unharmed houses, sunshine and smiles on people's faces!"
Ljubava K.
"There is a war going on in our country right now. My home is suffering, people and animals are suffering, our whole land is suffering. I believe that the day will come when the war is over and my city will blossom, people will learn to live and be happy again.
Everything will be Ukraine!"
Katerina Z., 17 years old
"....We have no internet and no cell phone connection, I go to the LNR to send tasks. I do not know if I will be able to return soon, because there may be military operations where I live...."
Lisa, 17 years, first year student.
"The most terrible nightmare. I could never have imagined that this was possible in our time. My house was bombed and I don't know if I will ever return to my hometown. The fear, the hopelessness, the helplessness, the injustice! We go through all of this in this hour and every day. But we must have wings of hope that live in our hearts. Sitting in the basement in Balakleya (Kharkiv region) since February 24, went to Dnepr on May 25."
Lisa, 18 years, first year student.
"I believe that all this will soon come to an end. My country will survive, even if it is still very difficult. We are strong in spirit and brave. We will overcome everything. We will rebuild everything the enemy has done to us and our heroes will always be in our memory."
Anastasia M.
"Stop the War! We are students wishing for peace and stability for the future generation in our country, to fulfill our unfulfilled dreams with a peaceful sky over our heads! We do not want the bloodshed of peaceful citizens. Ukrainians in their land, the truth is with us, God is with us!"
Nastya, 17 years, first year student.