Dmytro Moldovanov awoke to what sounded like a loud knocking. It was 4am on 24 February 2022 and the Russian army had just invaded Ukraine. “I looked out my balcony window and saw a plane. There were explosions. I felt the pressure wave,” he recalled.
Moldovanov, who lived next to a military aerodrome in the southern port city of Mykolaiv, downed a shot of vodka and went out into the street. Neighbours were building barricades using bins and tyres. Between them, they gathered three hunting rifles and a couple of molotov cocktails – not enough to stop an enemy tank.
