A young man attempts to escape Russian-occupied Ukraine — then he goes silent
Vitaliy is a 22-year-old Ukrainian college student living in occupied Kherson. He had been sending NPR voice memos for months describing life in the city. Then he decided to leave.
Back in early February, I traveled to southern Ukraine with a team from NPR, where we met a 22-year-old Ukrainian college student who spoke nearly perfect English.
His name is Vitaliy — we're not using his last name for his safety — and he told us how nervous he was getting about a Russian invasion, especially as troops gathered in Crimea just miles away.
Weeks later, Kherson became the first major city occupied by Russia. It happened so quickly, civilians barely had time to process it, let alone flee.
I have stayed in touch with Vitaliy while his city has remained occupied, and he sends me voice memos through the encrypted messaging app Telegram about what
