Ukrainian teenagers use TikTok to give the world a glimpse of their life in a war zone. Some of the videos are lighthearted, others heartbreaking, but each offers a painfully honest look inside the horrific circumstances Ukrainians live in every day.
Matilda Boseley, journalist for Guardian Australia, released a series of videos that teenagers and young adults shared from Ukraine. “I don’t mean to be cutesy, but it’s really moving to see young people in Ukraine still finding ways to be funny and silly while their city is destroyed by bombardment,” she wrote. “My feed is full of videos like these.”
There are TikToks like this below, which offers a glimpse into bomb shelter life and some glimpses of a war-torn city.
I don’t mean to be cutesy, but it’s really moving to watch young Ukrainians find ways to be funny and silly as their city is destroyed by bombing. My feed is full of videos like these. pic.twitter.com/a0oiKcXecu
— Matilda Boseley (@MatildaBoseley) March 5, 2022
Another TikTok shows a teenage girl saying goodbye to her father, who is staying in Ukraine as she crosses the border into Romania.
This video isn’t funny, but has been viewed 15 million times on the app, a platform larger than most news channels. I just find it interesting how much history will remember this war through the lens of young people and especially young women on TikTok. pic.twitter.com/5XKgMrzAQb
— Matilda Boseley (@MatildaBoseley) March 5, 2022
Ukrainian travel blogger Alina Volik shared a glimpse of her new daily life, which includes carrying an emergency backpack, closing all the windows and falling asleep dressed in street clothes in case a alarm would sound in the middle of the night.
More from Alina Volik, a small Ukrainian travel blogger who regularly posts about how the country has changed in the past week. pic.twitter.com/YRtTuUTg2C
— Matilda Boseley (@MatildaBoseley) March 5, 2022
A young woman, using the username @Valerisssh, shared a tour of her bomb shelter. Another showed up with other girls crossing the border in the middle of the night.
More Valerish pic.twitter.com/RvbtPHJxUo
— Matilda Boseley (@MatildaBoseley) March 6, 2022
The Toronto Star reached out to Valeria Shashenok (@Valerisssh) to learn more about recording her experiences during Putin’s invasion. “Near my house, the buildings are all destroyed,” she explained in an interview. “One of the reasons I’m going out (although it’s not sure) is that I wanted to show people from another country.”
She added: “Yesterday I went to the supermarket to find water, but I can’t find any… In the future, I want to leave my country for another country. I need money for the future to survive.
Shashenok encourages people around the world to donate funds directly to support the Ukrainian military. “We are a very strong country,” she concluded. “We are protecting our country from one of the greatest countries in the world.”
