“I Hid an Earbud Behind My Hair and Listened to Ukrainian Songs”: The Story of Yuliia from Crimea Becomes Part of the Museum of Civilian Voices Founded by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation

 Nineteen-year-old Yuliia spent almost her entire childhood in occupied Crimea. Her parents and older sister moved to government-controlled Ukrainian territory before the full-scale war began, but they did not manage to take their younger daughter with them: first, the pandemic stood in the way, and then the full-scale war. The girl stayed with her grandmother. She finally found the courage to leave the occupied territory in 2024. She shared her story with the Museum of Civilian Voices founded by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation.

Her father could not travel to collect his daughter, as crossing the border would have been extremely dangerous for him because he had helped ATO servicemen. In 2023, he was killed near Bakhmut by blast trauma. The family concealed the truth about his death because it could have put Yuliia and her grandmother at risk. They would have been interrogated about their ties to the Ukrainian army and forced to apologise for them. The girl says that she rarely spoke to her mother and sister but never lost her connection with Ukraine.

“I really wanted to come here. We would have video calls with my parents, but only on holidays, birthdays, New Year’s, and Easter. Sometimes I would look at families who were all together and could not understand that this was even possible,” Yuliia says.

As the full-scale war began, it became increasingly difficult for the girl to conceal her pro-Ukrainian views. At the age of 14, she faced persecution because of her social media posts. Russian police came to her home, placed her on a watchlist, and warned her that she would face a fine of 200,000 roubles if she made similar posts again.

“I found myself in a rather unpleasant situation at the very beginning of the war. I wrote that they were bad, that they were killing us, Ukrainians. I forgot about staying safe, and then the police came to my home,” the girl recalls.

After that, Yuliia became more cautious. But she did not give up the Ukrainian language or culture. She studied the language using YouTube video lessons and listened to Ukrainian music, trying to preserve her identity.

“It was very frightening. I remember moments when they gathered us at school for an assembly and forced us to sing russian songs, the russian national anthem, and the anthem of Crimea. Meanwhile, I would hide an earbud behind my hair and listen to Ukrainian songs. I studied the language in the same way,” Yuliia recalls.

As soon as she had a chance to leave the occupied territory, Yuliia took the courageous step. Finally, after six years apart, she was able to hug her mother. She is now studying graphic design and has also joined the pilot project “Young People Choose Ukraine”. With the support of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, Yuliia is building her future in Ukraine.

Watch her story here: https://bit.ly/4hU88in

The Museum of Civilian Voices founded by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation has collected more than 145,000 stories about the war. It is the world’s largest archive of testimonies from Ukrainian civilians affected by russian aggression.