atmosphere of calm. and i remember we went to film in a supermarket. there was no panic buying. the shelves were full. we met a lady called tatiana, who was 7a, and very feisty. and, i remember, she almost seemed angry that we had dared to ask the question, will the russians invade all? maybe it was denial. maybe it was disbelief. i ve thought about her so often since, and i wondered, did she survive? i m a bbc ukrainian bilingual correspondent, and i ve been covering the war in my country since its very beginning. on the first day of the russian invasion, i was in kyiv. the bbc s zhanna bezpiatchuk, who s sheltering with her parents as i speak in a residential suburb in kyiv. for the moment, the whole country, all of ukraine became the front line. at some point i had to take some breaks between lives and just get out of my home and watch what was happening. if any missile strikes were in the air in the skies over kyiv. i wanted very much to do everything that it was possible
why i got up and went. i ve got a purpose in life out there. you didn t have any military experience previously? 100% civilian. from those who d never held a weapon, to experienced soldiers, british volunteers are fighting and dying alongside the people of ukraine. i did not find out until the day before he was coming. a lot of people are like, why you are here and why are you doing this? is there a kind of war tourism? as i tracked down the people who did not have to be in this war, we find stories of bravery. get me a chest seal, open the bag. ..and friendship. everyone 0k? i am proud of what i have achieved, but i m proud of the guys who i am out there with. ..of a search for adventure and of sacrifice. i wish we could have kept him here. we are on our way to the ukrainian border to meet up with a medical team that are helping to evacuate an injured british fighter, but their ambulance has broken down and they have had to get another one, so fingers crossed they will make
never held a weapon, to experienced soldiers, british volunteers are fighting and dying alongside the people of ukraine. i did not find out until the day before he was coming. a lot of people are like, why you are here and why are you doing this? is there a kind of war tourism? as i tracked down the people who did not have to be in this war, we find stories of bravery. get me a chest seal, open the bag. ..and friendship. everyone 0k? i am proud of what i have achieved, but i m proud of the guys who i am out there with. ..of a search for adventure and of sacrifice. i wish we could have kept him here. we are on our way to the ukrainian border to meet up with a medical team that are helping to evacuate an injured british fighter, but their ambulance has broken down and they have had to get another one so fingers crossed they will make it out. thousands of volunteers have made this journey into the conflict, and i am on a mission to find out what they have been up to. sharif from
meanwhile, international aid agencies say reaching survivors is proving to be very challenging. now on bbc news, ukraine: a year on the front lines. over the past 30 years or so, i ve covered conflicts in the middle east, in the balkans and in africa, but this is unlike anything that i have ever known. this is a war that we did not expect to see in europe in our time. there was a sense that the security architecture that we knew, the safety, the security that we thought we had since the end of the cold war, that was gone. i was here injanuary and february of last year, counting down to the invasion. i was sure it would come, but it turned out to be even worse than i expected. we were in mariupol, which is a port city in the east. it s only 30 miles from the russian border. but inside the city, there was this surreal atmosphere of calm. and i remember we went to film in a supermarket. there was no panic buying. the shelves were full. we met a lady called tatiana, who was 7a, a
i have ever known. this is a war that we did not expect to see in europe in our time. there was a sense that the security architecture that we knew, the safety, the security, that we thought we had since the end of the cold war, that was gone. i was here injanuary and february of last year counting down to the invasion. i was sure it would come, but it turned out to be even worse than i expected. we were in mariupol, which is a port city in the east. it s only 30 miles from the russian border. but inside the city, there was this surreal atmosphere of calm. and i remember we went to film in a supermarket. there was no panic buying. the shelves were full. we met a lady called tatiana, who was 7a, and very feisty. and, i remember, she almost seemed angry that we had dared to ask the question, will the russians invade all? maybe it was denial. maybe it was disbelief. i ve thought about her so often since, and i wondered, did she survive? i m a bbc ukrainian bilingual corresponden