Russia Destroyed Sumy but Now Shops Are Open – Hoping for Normalcy to Return

Shops reopening in Ukraine after more than a month.

(Photo courtesy: Chetan Bhakuni/ The Quint)

Producer: Varsha Rani

Video Editor: Purendru Pritam

I am a professor at Sumy State University, Ukraine and and things in my country have been very different from how they were before. The last few months were filled with anger and despair.

I have been in Sumy for the last 1.5 months. I did not go anywhere. The city of Sumy is located very close to the Russian border. The Russian troops were here on the very first day, but they did not stay here and went closer to Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.

Map of Sumy.

We were under constant shelling and bombing for several weeks at the beginning of the war. We were spared from direct shelling. Russians were bombing critical infrastructure such as power stations and water supply facilities. We were out of electricity and power from time to time.

One of the biggest problems was that many foreign students were stuck in Sumy and for the first two weeks, we were really worried about their safety from shelling, food, and water.

I somehow managed to evacuate my wife into one of the evacuation buses. Luckily, the evacuation system worked well, and she was able to leave the country. But I decided to stay back.

Hoping for Normalcy To Return

Shelling and bombing continued for several weeks, but in the first week of April, they stopped. It’s been 10 days and we haven’t heard anything.

We have bunkers here, so every time there was any kind of air strike, we would just run there. I was there for a couple of weeks.

Now, the city is getting back to normal. More shops are open, buses are running, vegetable markets are open, and more and more people are going to the market now.

But from time to time, there are red alerts. I still keep my mattress and sleeping bag in the bunker because we aren't sure that the Russians wouldn't return. We will be ready.

(All 'My Report' branded stories are submitted by citizen journalists to The Quint. Though The Quint inquires into the claims/allegations from all parties before publishing, the report and the views expressed above are the citizen journalist's own. The Quint neither endorses, nor is responsible for the same.)