It feels like forever since the war in Ukraine began, but it hasn’t even been a year; Russian tanks rolled across the border in February, just ten months ago. Yet what was once headline news has now blurred into the background for most of us, a conflict that for the rest of the world is now simmering three scrolls down the front page of a news website.
For the tens of millions of people still directly affected by the war, though, little has changed! Ukrainians are still under siege, their lands still invaded, their armed forces still locked in a struggle against a nation that within living memory was still considered a superpower.
And while the last few months have seen Ukraine gain the upper hand on the frontlines, Putin’s growing desperation has also led to a switch in tactics. With swift battlefield gains now a thing of the past, Russia has begun attacking Ukrainian cities with drones and missiles, hoping to not only knock out the nation’s fragile power network (world leaders pledged nearly $US500 ($694) million just this week to help keep the lights on) but also inflict terror on the civilian population.
Amidst all this, Ukranians are still trying to live their lives. Including Frogwares, the developers best known for their work on the Sherlock Holmes series of games. We’ve written about their situation before, first for a miraculous Switch release given the circumstances, then for some much-needed help “relocating employees to safer areas”.
Today, the team have shared a number of images and stories on Twitter showing what the war looks like in December 2022 for those who don’t have luxury of ignoring it on the news. I’m sharing them below, but if you’d rather see them as the HellSite intended, you can find the thread here.
After a summer of relative “calm” and the ability to create some sort of routine, the wave of missile and suicide drone strikes that started in October have taken quite a toll on us mentally. pic.twitter.com/qbvQp3vnQ8
— Frogwares (@Frogwares) December 22, 2022
When it happens, you gather your family and pets and go huddle in basements, shelters or bathrooms. Surrounded by a sea of air raid sirens, anti-aircraft fire, and missile blasts, all you can do is sit there, wondering if this is your time. pic.twitter.com/UuhIgYIuh4
— Frogwares (@Frogwares) December 22, 2022
But they eventually do stop. Then you go about checking the news, the team Discord channels and your messaging apps to see where was hit and if anyone you might know could be one of the casualties that day. pic.twitter.com/BR7NmFuAsW
— Frogwares (@Frogwares) December 22, 2022
Then come the rolling electricity cuts for hours on end. The hits to the internet connectivity. The interruptions to water and heating. pic.twitter.com/gC3dFiZ79A
— Frogwares (@Frogwares) December 22, 2022
The worst part is, you don’t know when the next wave will come, but you begin to see the pattern with the major ones. pic.twitter.com/hI1K5uwO76
— Frogwares (@Frogwares) December 22, 2022
Useless cowards who have run out of ideas how else to win a war they started so they resort to trying to demoralize, freeze and starve ordinary people. pic.twitter.com/Q0DSCsINqJ
— Frogwares (@Frogwares) December 22, 2022
You can’t put a rocket through my grans living room, shell my nephew’s school and bomb the hospital where my mom worked and then expect me to talk to you. pic.twitter.com/j9c6NcU4M1
— Frogwares (@Frogwares) December 22, 2022
To everyone who has been with us through in some way this horrid time, thank you. We hope you all have a good holiday break and we’ll see you all soon in 2023.
— Frogwares (@Frogwares) December 22, 2022
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