Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, social networks have been flooded with videos from both sides. Mobile phones in hand, soldiers and civilians are documenting the war as it happens. Social media has become part of the battlefield. And so far, Kyiv is winning.
Ukrainian photographer Valeria Shashenok usually posts videos of her travels, fashion shoots or nights out with friends on her TikTok account. But since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the twentysomething now tells of her daily life under bombardment in the city of Chernihiv, about 100 kilometres north of Kyiv. Set to music and with a dash of dark humour, she describes “an ordinary day in an air raid shelter” or offers advice on “what to buy in a supermarket during wartime” to her 300,000 followers.
