After Russia invaded Ukraine, Antonina Berezovenko stayed in Kyiv in spite of the constant shelling. She is one of the few people left in her building, sheltering in the basement during air raids. Listen to her story.

Professor Berezovenko taught Ukrainian in Columbia University’s Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures for nearly ten years, until she returned to Kyiv in 2008. She is currently a professor in the Department of Ukrainian Language, Literature, and Culture, Faculty of Linguistics at Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. She is also a former Visiting Scholar at the Harriman Institute.

About Voices of Ukraine: Since Russia invaded Ukraine, we’ve been hearing a lot of firsthand accounts of lives upended by the war. Listen to our new podcast, Voices of Ukraine, featuring the voices of Harriman community members who are in Ukraine or deeply connected to it. Listen to the trailer and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon,iHeart Radio, PlayerFM.

This episode was written and produced by Masha Udensiva-Brenner and edited by Lisa R. Cohen. Trailer edited by Daniel Alarcón. Music by Ivan Nebesnyy. Art by Victoria Tentler-Krylov. Editorial help and production assistance from Jordan Waller. Thanks to Marko Andryczyk and Nathan Schiller for feedback on the episode.