Andrei Krivoruchko is a classical guitarist and conductor at the music school in the city of Mykolaiv, less than 60 kilometers northeast of Kherson.

Before the invasion, his life revolved around music and both his wife and two daughters play various instruments.

- Before the war, we played a big concert with our symphony orchestra that I conducted.

For me, it was a very special event because we had spent a lot of time on the rehearsals, says Andrei Krivoruchko to Kulturnyheterna.



The war put an end to music

On the same day that Russian troops crossed the Ukrainian border, Andrei would teach his students guitar and then rehearse with the orchestra in the evening.

But the war put an end to all his plans.

Andrei says he still can not understand that what is happening is reality.

- When I look through my old feeds on social media and see how much everything has changed in such a short time, it feels unreal.

I try to tell myself that what is happening is not true;

this would never have happened, this is not happening right now.

Great agreement among the population

Andrei says that the war has created a colossal unity among Mykolaiv's people and that everyone wants to help with the defense of the city.

His wife and two children sew camouflage nets, while he himself fights in the National Guard.

- My family and I were faced with two choices.

To escape or stay and defend our city.

We chose the latter, he says.

Artists defend the city

Andrei is not alone in music and cultural life to take up arms.

Olexander Dobrovolskij is the director of the Philharmonic in Mikolaiv and says that several of his employees have been mobilized.

- Several of our artists have gone out into the field to defend our city.

Some serve in the Territorial Army and others do volunteer work such as driving out sandbags to protect the city's defensive positions and cultural heritage, he says.

According to Olexander Dobrovolsky, the city's concert hall has not been damaged, but he says it could be a matter of time.

- Recently, Mikolaiv's city hotel, which is a few blocks away, was destroyed.

Fortunately, no one was inside during the bombing, says Olexander.