A Ukrainian teenager returned to the apartment her family fled from at the start of Putin’s invasion to find unmade beds, an unfinished cake and a phone that had been charged for a year.
Anna Malygon from Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, has shared clips of her abandoned house after returning a year after the war started.
The 19-year-old was stunned to return home only to find that everything was exactly the same as it was 18 months ago when she left to study on board.
Anna had no idea when she left home when she first left, however, as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24 last year, it became difficult for her to get home unharmed.
Once she was able to return to Ukraine earlier this month, Anna was surprised to see that the building was still standing.
Anna Malygon, 19, from Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, shared clips from her abandoned apartment after returning home a year after the war started.
Once she was able to return to Ukraine earlier this month, Anna was surprised to see that the building was still standing.
Anna’s video showed moldy dishes left in the sink and a phone still charging at her family’s Kharkiv home.
Anna told NeedToKnow.online: ‘It was heartbreaking. My apartment was dirty, cold and very smelly.
“There was mold everywhere and food in the fridge that was a year out of date.”
‘The nuts and cereals were full of worms. The water was rusty. There was unfinished coffee and a cake that my mom didn’t finish because the war started.
Anna filmed a video of her homecoming for a TikTok video, showing moldy dishes left in the sink, a phone still charging, and unwashed clothes on the floor next to the washing machine.
One of the clips showed his mother’s bed being made up after she “woke up because of the bombs”.
For the Ukrainian woman, it was a traumatic and heartbreaking experience to return to her family’s apartment and see the personal belongings she would use when living there.
Anna added: ‘I left Ukraine to go study abroad and I never thought I couldn’t come back.
Anna said: ‘It was heartbreaking. My apartment was dirty, cold and very smelly.
As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24 last year, it was difficult for her to get home unharmed.
“Thank God my house was still standing and not bombed, like many others.”
Anna was met with a heartbreaking sight when she arrived home from Toronto, Canada, where she now lives: buildings collapsed, windows smashed and familiar places reduced to rubble.
During her trip, she visited her favorite shopping mall, a coffee shop, her old school, and a beauty salon, only to find them all destroyed.
The video has since gone viral on the social media app, being viewed 25.1 million times and garnering 2.3 million likes.
She shared the video from her home to raise awareness about the impact of war on people’s lives as her tragic anniversary rolls around.
The TikToker visited and photographed her favorite places that have been devastated by Russian bombing
The 19-year-old added: ‘Thank God my house was still standing and not bombed, like many others’
The comments section shared feelings of shock and empathy for the Ukrainian people who have had to suffer the disastrous impact of the war.
One social media user commented: ‘It’s terrifying how life was abandoned one day and cut short. I’m sorry.’
A second added: “It’s only now that it’s been known that a year has passed.”
Another person on TikTok said: ‘This is hard to process.’
“It really has been a year since this started, wow,” a fourth user commented.
Anna shared the video of her home on TikTok to raise awareness of the impact of the war and touched millions who shared their condolences in the comments section.
