As of February 24, Russia began to invade Ukraine. With the attacks of Russia, many cities of Ukraine were under attack. Davut Cemallıoğlu, a preparatory class student in the bunker, reported his experiences to our newspaper. Cemallıoğlu pointed out that the attacks continue and expressed their anxiety.
“EVEN WHEN WE ARE IN THE BUNKER, WE HEAR EVERY MORTAR”
Stating that they tried to protect themselves by going down to the bunker with 32 students from the same university, Cemallıoğlu noted that as of yesterday, when the evacuation process of Turkey's citizens began, two of his friends were on their way to the address specified by the embassy. Cemallıoğlu said, “The attacks started at 5 am on February 24. With the beginning of the attacks, we went down to the bunker with our friends in order to protect ourselves. Even though we went down to the bunker, we heard the sound of every mortar thrown.”
“WE HEAR THE SOUNDS OF BOMBS DROPPED AND MILITARY VEHICLES PASSING”
Emphasizing they heard the sounds of Russia's attacks in the bunkers, Cemallıoğlu noted that there were frequent bombardments.
“We hear the sounds of artillery and missiles at one hour intervals since the beginning of the attacks, and in addition to this, we constantly hear the sounds of the guns. Since the beginning of the attacks, we have been spending the day in the bunker. We listen to the sounds of frequent bombardments and passing military vehicles. We anxiously await what will happen. Two of our friends set out to evacuate from the addresses determined by the Turkish Ukrainian Embassy,” Cemallıoğlu added.
“OUR REGION IS NEAR TO THE RUSSIA BORDER”
Stating that the Kharkiv region they are in, is a region close to Russia, Cemallıoğlu said, “Our location is a region 30 kilometers (km) away from Russia. It is a transit route due to its closeness to the border. After the bombardment started, we settled in the bunkers under our dormitories. The time we go to ATMs early in the morning to withdraw cash and go to shops to buy supplies, we saw convoys of 5-6 vehicles belonging to the Russian army. They were on the road and did not attack any civilians. But we still continue to hide in the bunker and protect ourselves.”
“RUSSIAN UNITS HIT BASE STATIONS IN KHARKIV”
Pointing out that the attacks increased more after the invading Russian troops entered Kharkov on the 4th day of the attack, "As of the night that connected February 26 to February 27, the sounds of gunfire and bombardments reached closer points to us. We were told that Russian troops had hit the base stations. We were faced with communication problems after the base stations were hit," Cemallıoğlu added.