二訪烏克蘭：當地人帶我直擊戰爭留下的痕跡

二訪烏克蘭：當地人帶我直擊戰爭留下的痕跡

This is my second time in Ukraine But this time I’m no longer just a traveler Locals took me to the very places where they lived through the war From the bridge they used to flee to the buildings destroyed by missiles These places were once part of their everyday life now turned into scars I try to understand how they made it through The war changed everything But they’re still here surviving rebuilding and resisting Hello everyone coucou ça va I’m in the capital of Latvia Riga But today I’m not going to introduce this place I’m here to tell you that I’m taking a night bus to Ukraine now When I was in Warsaw I had already planned to go back to Ukraine for filming and to visit other cities as well But when I applied for a second visa in Warsaw two Chinese soldiers were captured by Ukraine and taken prisoner I don’t know if this is the reason why my e-visa has not been issued Then I waited for a week I thought yeah maybe it wouldn’t be issued So I just kept following my original plan and went north But two days ago just as I arrived in Riga That night I received the Ukrainian visa So I decided to go back to Ukraine after my trip to Riga It’s almost time I’m going to take a bus now Turns out the buses in the Baltic states are pretty good most of them even have free tea and coffee After a 12-hour night bus ride I finally arrived in Warsaw But there’s no time to rest I still have to transfer to another bus heading to Ukraine This ride’s even tougher 14 hours on the road That’s crazy long But I don’t mind If I can get into the country without any trouble this time it’ll all be worth it I finally arrived in Kiev The entry into Ukraine was quite smooth this time I was not harassed by customs nor was I stuck there But taking a 26-hour long-distance bus was really tiring so I found a hostel near the bus station But the awkward thing is that I don’t know where the entrance to the hostel is now Then I contacted the person in charge of the hostel but he hasn’t replied me yet But I hope he will reply to me later Otherwise, it will be almost twelve o’clock and there will be curfew soon Hello excuse me do you speak English? Uh can you help me check the hostel address is here? Under research third floor Three Yes Which one should I press? Trying Can’t open No solution Come on Come on I don’t know where this old man is taking me Your hostel? A hostel Helping me communicate Is it here? yeah please Hello It turns out that the old man just took me to another hostel I realized something was wrong because I had already booked another one and that one can’t be refunded either So I called the person in charge of that hostel and she told me to go back to the door now Oh my goodness I finally found it I can have a good rest after checking in Hello everyone coucou ça va I’m going to take the subway to find two Ukrainian guys I met at the hostel They happen to be going to Irpen today and they can take me to visit this town that was once occupied by the Russian army Irpen is not far from Kiev about 23 kilometers northwest This was the front line of the Russian army’s attack on Kiev at the beginning of the war in 2022 Taking the subway in Kiev is actually quite convenient you can just tap your credit card to enter I still remember the first time I came to Kyiv I didn’t know how to buy tickets at the ticket machine So I went to the counter to ask the lady and she simply told me You don’t need a ticket just tap your card and go in Look at this subway don’t you think it’s super deep? Most of Kiev’s subway stations were built during the height of the Cold War from the 1950s to the 1960s At that time in addition to traffic efficiency there was another very important purpose which was to prevent nuclear war The most famous one is the Arsenalna Station which is 105 meters deep and is also the deepest subway station in the world They say it takes like five whole minutes on the escalator just to reach the platform that’s super long Hi Hi, how are you? I’m fine Hi Hi Nice to meet you Hello Isdas Chen Okay let’s go Now we’re going to a different metro station to catch a bus Let’s take the bus to Irpin The ticket costs 50 UAH about 40 TWD This car is actually quite fast It only takes ten minutes to arrive The place we are at now is the bridge connecting Irpin and Kiev which was a key place at the beginning of the war At that time, Russian forces were advancing on Kyiv from the north and Irpin became part of the front line In order to prevent the Russian convoy from coming the Ukrainian army blew up the bridge on the second day of the war Let’s go down with them and take a look they said we can get a clearer view from there Whoa! There’s a car just lying over there What on earth happened here? Let’s go ask them What we’re looking at now is known as the Road of Life It was the only route for residents of Irpin and nearby areas to escape the Russian-occupied zone Even after the bridge was destroyed people still risked their lives trying to cross the broken structure to reach Ukrainian-controlled territory Sadly, many tragedies happened here Russian forces launched indiscriminate attacks even on vehicles carrying children and the elderly Many lives were lost on this road For every Ukrainian this place carries a heavy and heartbreaking memory This is a memorial built to honor those who lost their lives People bring toys here to pay tribute to the children who died in the war On the wall, we can also see images of angels symbols of protection for the souls of the departed and a reminder that they are not forgotten This place was once packed with cars Back then, people were desperately trying to escape to stay alive Car after car lined up stretching far into the distance But nearly half of them were destroyed by Russian attacks This bridge came under heavy shelling The Russian offensive was intense their target was Kyiv They claimed they would take Kyiv in three days but that never happened Glory to Ukraine Now they’ve brought me to another spot Look there are a bunch of cars over there and I have no idea what happened This is a graveyard for vehicles These cars were collected from across Irpin all of them hit by Russian shelling This place holds deep meaning as it bears witness to the war and the pain it caused At one point, there were plans to clear these vehicles out but the locals insisted on keeping them as a memorial a reminder of what happened here My own car was here too It couldn’t be repaired either but for some reason it was later taken away Honestly when you lose something like that it really hurts it really painful Irpin now seems to have returned to peace and life in the town is slowly getting back to normal But if you look closely the traces of war are still clearly visible For me this is a grand tour an experience to document But for them it’s the home they once fought to protect were forced to flee and later rebuilt brick by brick I’m grateful to the young people who showed me around Irpin and I sincerely wish them peace freedom and the life they truly hope for in the days ahead Another air raid alert just went off I’m not sure if everyone can hear it A moment ago I saw a sudden flash in the distant sky and right after that, the siren abruptly stopped I thought the danger had passed but then, a minute or two later a loud explosion rang out I’m not sure whether it was an air defense missile intercepting a threat or if a drone actually hit its target The war has now entered its fourth year and it’s already the middle of the night In Ukraine even a full night’s sleep has become a luxury I’m not sure how long such nights will last I meet a friend here in Kyiv his name is Maksym Hi everyone Today, he’s taking me to see the traces of war that he witnessed with his own eyes This building was hit by Russian missiles on the very first day of the war I believe it was February 26, 2022 As you can see the building has since been repaired and life around here has returned to normal This building was also attacked by Russian drones last year, but many people are living here now They’ve come back and resumed their lives here Some of the apartments still need repairs, though I really hope they can be fixed soon We’ve already seen a few places and you can see this car for example it was damaged by Russian drones last year You see now only one car but there were many others that were also hit by the Russians but there were still about fifty destroyed cars on this street. The Russian drone attack also caused problems for people For example The road next to us was flooded at that time This building was attacked by Russian drones in 2022 There were offices of Samsung and the biggest Ukrainian energy company This building has not yet been repaired because it’s dangerous to go inside So the offices have been relocated Besides the high-rise building that was attacked he nearby residential homes were also affected After the war began a lot of military shops were opened And a few of them you can find at Keve railway station Look, there are four military shops here We can go inside one of them If you want Okay, let’s go Although this store is not big, but besides guns you can find pretty much all kinds of gear here Look, they even sell pistol holsters here and there are all sorts of helmets ballistic plates and bulletproof vests I found something very special here I haven’t seen it before Let’s ask the boss what this is Let me introduce you to this bulletproof mat It’s made locally here in Ukraine using European bulletproof fiber a type of aramid material It covers a large area and is designed to stop handgun bullets and shrapnel You can hang it over a window if a bomb or drone explodes nearby it can effectively protect you from flying fragments After leaving the military gear shop I took the chance to ask Maksym a few questions not just to satisfy my own curiosity but also to better understand what the Ukrainian people are thinking Do you think Ukraine and Russia were once a family? Ukraine and Russia were part of the Soviet Union for a while but I don’t think we are one family Do you have any friends who think Ukraine and Russia were once a family? I have some friends who used to think so But since the war they have changed their minds So what do you think of the language issue? Because I know that before the war many Ukrainians communicated in Russian Before the war many Ukrainians spoke Russian but now they speak Ukrainian more often How has your life changed since the war broke out? First there are restrictions on movement men are not allowed to leave the country Then there’s the inability to reunite with family or being forced to separate from loved ones constant air raid sirens and the ongoing stress of it all Do you think Russia will stop threatening Ukraine? I believe Russia will always pose a threat to Ukraine The only way to stop that threat is if Russia collapses as a state Would you like Ukraine to trade land for peace? No I don’t want this There are two reasons One is that Russia cannot be trusted The other is that too many Ukrainians have paid with their blood for this war Do you dislike Russia? Or do you dislike their government? I don’t like Russia I don’t like those who support Putin and I don’t like the war he started Do you believe Ukraine will win? I believe I also know that Ukraine will win There has never been an example in history where an aggressor has ever won so evil must be eliminated If you only use one sentence to describe the current Ukrainians what would you say? We are a free people For us freedom is above all else I’m really grateful to Maksym for showing me around Kiev today I’m also happy to meet you, Chan. It was very interesting today The owner of this hostel is very nice and gave me souvenirs I was really lucky to meet some amazing locals on this trip they welcomed me and showed me around their home May this war come to an end soon God bless Ukraine

二訪烏克蘭，這次不是觀光，而是跟著當地人，走進那些戰爭真正留下的痕跡。

從基輔近郊的斷橋、被炸毀的住宅，到市中心被攻擊的市政府大樓，這些地方，曾經熱鬧、充滿市民的生活氣息，如今卻殘留著戰火的痕跡。

這部影片不只是紀錄畫面，更透過當地人的親身講述，帶大家理解戰爭對這片土地的真實影響。

#俄烏戰爭 #烏俄戰爭 #烏克蘭 #伊爾平 #基輔