“My family heard the bombs falling”: the chilling testimony of a Ukrainian expatriate in Toulouse
By Guilhem Pouiol
Published on
“Since the war broke out, I have been the situation of my country in real time watching the Ukrainian channels, what is happening is terrible”.
Nataliya Zuzuk struggling to hide his distress on the phone. This Ukrainian, who works as a guide for students with disabilities, has been an expatriate in Toulouse for 20 years. She is worried about her family who live in the city of Lutsk, in the northeastern Ukraine.
The Russians bombed an airfield a few hours ago which is located in the city of Lutsk, where my family resides. My mother and my brother were not hit but they heard the bombs falling, it’s scary. My family has decided not to leave the country, they will stay in Ukraine.
If she expected a impending Russian offensive in her country, the Toulouse woman is surprised by the violence of the attacks: “Tens of thousands of Russian soldiers were posted at the border of Ukraine, it was not to play the little soldier. I thought the tanks were going to enter my country but I didn’t expect the shelling, my family was surprised. »
A support rally on Sunday in Toulouse
Nataliya, who recently had her brother on the phone, describes the panic scenes currently taking place in his hometown of Lutsk: “People are lining up to withdraw money, dispensers are empty. There are also huge traffic jams, many people trying to escape the city. Putin wants to establish the KO in Ukraine”.
Nataliya is in regular contact with several of her fellow Ukrainians living in Toulouse via the UN. Facebook group.
Together, they decided to organize a rally in support of the Ukrainian people which should be to be held Sunday, February 27, 2022 on Boulevard Lazare-Carnot. “We have submitted the request to the prefecture, if it is accepted, we call on the people of Toulouse to join us in showing our support for the added Ukrainian people, Nataliya. We need everyone because this war concerns all Europeans. »
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