A Spider of Dnipro: An Interview with Masha

Zach: Hi Masha, nice to hear from you. Can you tell me about the work you've been doing to help the frontlines?

Masha: Hi. I haven't been working since my mom got sick. Now, I am too busy to volunteer. But before, I helped in weaving camouflage nets for Army. We are a lot of people. We do it together. Up to 30 women do it together. It's a group on Facebook called Spiders of Dnipro.

A lot of women agree on a time, go to a room, and these nets are put on a frame. We tie small pieces of fabric. Depending on the season they are white, or green, or brown. And then, we fill all the gaps in these nets with pieces of fabric. These nets are in high demand among the military.

Zach: What do these nets cover?

Masha: They cover artillery, tanks, and maybe trenches. I don't know much. I am only a spider of Dnipro. I am one little spider.

Zach: What are other ways people have volunteered for the war effort?

Masha: People do volunteer in many different ways. Even here in our neighborhood, one of my neighbors bought two minivans and used them to evacuate the wounded from the battlefield. He did it on his own money completely. My husband's factory helped him cover this minivan ambulance with sheets of iron. To make it safer from bullets. To make it bulletproof. 

My husband is making drones. His first drone has already gone to the frontline several days ago. 

Zach: Is he producing them at his factory? 

Masha: He's a businessman. But right now, he's assembling drones himself at home. He's doing everything himself. If it works, he will try to set it at his plant. He wants to make mass production of drones. 

They are also trying to set up a production of "turtles." Like scooters. They can be managed like drones. Turtles can be operated by humans. They carry an explosive part, not sure how big. But if it isn't noticed by Russians, it can blow a bridge or cars or other strategic objects. 

Zach: Does he sell them to the Army?

Masha: He doesn't sell them. He uses his savings and gives it to Army. He wants to keep his business alive to get some money to make these drones and the turtles. 

Zach: What about the situation in Dnipro since the fall of Avdiivka? 

Masha: We just live our normal life. Like we have been living for the last two years. Air raid alerts are very frequent, almost daily, several times a day. We don't pay attention to them. Sometimes we have missile or drone attacks. As for the rest, we just live our life. We also have a curfew from midnight to 5 AM.

Zach: What is your view after the fall of Avdiivka?

Masha: I was very upset. But it was expected. We expected this. We all understood we wouldn't be able to hold. It wasn't much of a surprise for us, or for anyone. The main thing is that the Russians shouldn't move forward quickly. But they are.

We decided to sell as much property in Dnipro as we could to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Surprisingly, the prices are still more or less decent. We received information that some organizations started evacuating their property and stuff from Dnipro, Zaporizhia, and Kharkiv. 

Zach: Do you expect the Russians to push into Dnipro Oblast?

Masha: Yeah, our Oblast is pretty big. I don't communicate with a lot of people. I see people's opinions are divided in two parts. Some people are very optimistic and don't want to think about possible war scenarios like Dnipro being occupied. Some people think about it. Some people are more pessimistic. Even in my family, we are divided. I am more of a pessimistic person. I believe in our victory, yes. But my motto is "Believe in the Best, Prepare for the Worst."

Zach: If the Russians advance toward Dnipro City, do you have emergency plans? What would you and your family do?

Masha: I would leave Dnipro. I'll take my mom, my daughter, and my cat and drive them towards the western border of Ukraine.

Zach: What do you think could happen to Dnipro if it fell under Russian occupation?

Masha: If Dnipro is under occupation, life here would be completely different. There would be no observance of civil rights anymore. Any property could be stolen or just taken from people. People could be taken and tortured or even killed, girls and women could be raped.

Zach: It was recently the second year anniversary of the first day of the invasion. What are your memories from that day? 

Masha: I wasn't in Ukraine when the war started. I was in Slovakia. Two years ago, we were all shocked, everyone was shocked. So we knew, but we didn't believe it. We were shocked. 

Zach: What about the first time you saw war?

Masha: The first time I heard an explosion was in September 2022, when I first returned to Dnipro. I was awoken at night. I panicked at that moment. But I got used to that very soon.

Zach: What were you expecting when you first went to Dnipro?

Masha: I think we already knew what we would see. Because we followed the news, of course. I only panicked when I was woken by an explosion at night. I never panicked or was shocked after that. 

Zach: That's all the questions I have. Thank you Masha. Stay safe.