‘The longest and loudest shelling in Kyiv since the war began’
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK
Journalist Mansur Mirovalev woke up to the sound of loud bangs in Kiev as Russia unleashed a heavy airstrike on the Ukrainian capital.
Kyiv, Ukraine – This was the longest and loudest shelling in Kiev since the beginning of the war. I woke up to a loud bang that shook the windows of my downtown apartment.
It felt very close, but the sound made me realize it was the “good” bang of air defense systems hitting drones or missiles in midair. Within a few minutes, at least 10 more blasts followed, with points of light from air defense missiles appearing in the darkness.
I was too sleepy to count them. This isn’t the kind of fireworks that will have you running to the window to enjoy the view, let alone video tape. I watched them through the blinds that were still in my bed.
What you really need to do in such situations is to cover yourself with a blanket as protection against the glass shattered by a shock wave.
After a short pause, more explosions followed, some further from the city center. They all sounded “good”. I didn’t panic, didn’t get out of bed. I didn’t even look at the clock and tried to go back to sleep.
I’ve known for months that—statistically—the odds of a drone or missile hitting my apartment are hundreds of times smaller than my death in a car accident. Naturally, each shelling fills you with adrenaline and irrational fear.
But the worst part is that, unlike the sound of church bells, the shelling doesn’t feel “finished.”
There is a silence that reverberates with the echo of the explosions. You expect another one, and your imagination imagines it louder and stronger.
After almost 15 months of war, I think too rationally. Only in my sleep do I see a serpentine missile slice open the wall of my apartment, ruining my books and vinyl records. I never die in these dreams.
What really annoyed me? Minutes after, yes, the final blast, there was another sound: the buzzing of a mosquito. It seemed as weak and doomed as Russia’s attempts to frighten Ukraine into submission.
I got up, turned on the light, killed the mosquito with a pillow and fell asleep again. It didn’t sting me once, it didn’t taste my blood. Neither does Russia.