Ukraine has been at war for over three years now. How does a young teenager deal with daily life in the capital, Kyiv, under such conditions?
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00:00Hello, everyone. My name is Anastasia. I'm 16 years old. I was born and raised in Kyiv.
00:07Now I'm in the 11th grade. Let me show you my Kyiv.
00:18Good morning. Come on in.
00:20Welcome to my apartment.
00:33Let me introduce you to my dad.
00:37Good morning.
00:39Like most Ukrainian youths, Anastasia lives with her parents. Her mother is already at work.
00:46Anastasia's day usually starts at 7 a.m. If she hasn't slept in, she'll eat the breakfast her father has made.
00:54Now we're going to my favorite place at home. This is my room.
00:59I usually wake up in the morning to finish my schoolwork.
01:04Because during the day, I just don't have time to do it.
01:08This morning, I already did chemistry homework.
01:15Anastasia lives in the south part of Kyiv, in the Terimki neighborhood.
01:22She can walk to school in less than 10 minutes.
01:28I'm very glad that I can go to school in person.
01:32We have shelters at school.
01:33We go down there during air raid alerts.
01:36There are two shelters.
01:37Around one-fifth of Ukraine's schoolchildren must learn from home, because their schools don't have air raid shelters.
01:46Anastasia has attended school for 11 years.
01:49Now, in her last year, she'll soon write her finals.
01:52This is my biology classroom.
01:54We're doing practical work now.
01:56Meet my classmates.
02:00And here's our biology teacher, Ms. Svetlana.
02:03Since the war began, concentrating on studies hasn't been easy.
02:09Bomb alerts have become a scary part of school life.
02:14The war is also influencing Anastasia and her classmates' future plans.
02:19Many guys think about joining the army and going to defend Ukraine.
02:28There are graduates of our high school who did that and went to defend Ukraine immediately after leaving school.
02:35Now we help them as volunteers.
02:39After graduation, Anastasia plans to study applied chemistry.
02:43Almost every afternoon after school, she goes to the National Technical University of Ukraine.
02:48In the lab, she works on her own research project.
02:54My first project, which I've been working on for two years, is a photobioreactor that's able to purify and moisturize the air.
03:02We use green algae that absorbs carbon dioxide.
03:05She hopes that her filtration system can help to improve air quality in Kiev.
03:12A mentor from the university is assisting Anastasia with her project, which has already won several competitions.
03:21When Anastasia wants to go into the city center, she takes the subway.
03:25It's the most popular mode of transport in Kyiv.
03:28But since the war began, its underground tunnels have taken on a new meaning for the city's 3.5 million residents.
03:37It serves as a shelter during rocket attacks, when air raid alerts can last three to four hours.
03:50Here, people sleep and eat.
03:52They have their seats or chairs.
03:54The parks are very cool.
04:05Teenagers like to spend their free time here.
04:08Because it's free, there are beautiful landscapes and cafes where you can drink good coffee.
04:13But even in historic old Kyiv, the war is ever-present.
04:25Here at St. Michael's Square, the government puts wrecked Russian tanks on display.
04:32She's always conscious her country is at war.
04:35It's part of everyday life.
04:37Ukrainians remember their war dead with a daily minute of silence.
04:40A quarter of her fellow students plan to leave Ukraine and move abroad.
04:46Anastasia isn't one of them.
04:50I will stay in Kyiv, live here and plan my future here.
04:54It's my city.
04:55It's a combination of history, crazy rhythm, incredible landscapes and parks.
05:02That's why I'm planning to stay here and help restore our country.
05:10It's my city.