Valeria Shashenok, 20, is a photographer in the Ukrainian city of Chernigov.
A week ago, she did not find this person on the whole network, and the Tiktok account she operated had only tens of thousands of views, and most of the videos she took were her own travel videos...
Or, take a picture of your customers.
As the city of Chernigov fell into war, Valeria's calm routine was shattered.
She and her parents and a dog moved to an air raid shelter under her father's company, which had no windows and limited supplies.
But she's still making videos.
Valeria shared her "bomb shelter life diary" on Tiktok, and the real shots coupled with the bitter spit suddenly became popular on the whole network, with more than 60 million views.
Most people have never experienced a war, and through her lens, you can know what it is like.
In one of the videos, Valeria describes the environment of the bomb shelter.
The bomb shelter is only 10 minutes from their home and is to be shared with another family.
There are bathrooms and toilets, and there are even two toilets.
But the living room, kitchen and bedroom are all mixed together, and her father is still working in the bomb shelter.
Valeria joked, "Daddy just used the office as an air raid shelter."
An oval stainless steel basin was converted into a bathtub by them.
She teased, "This is a Jacuzzi just for hot girls."
There was almost no private space, and the toilet became Valeria's reading room.
"It's a great place to read!"
The hair dryer was also not available, and after the shower, the whole family used a hot air gun to blow their hair.
They didn't bring much food, but thankfully there was a Xiaoice box to store canned food and fruit.
For breakfast we had yogurt, bananas and milk chocolates.
"That's right, that's the troop breakfast." Valeria joked.
Lunch and dinner with canned mangoes and bagged croissants.
"Croissants, exactly like Emily in Paris!"
Fortunately, Valeria brought an induction cooker and flour with her when she was evacuated, and sometimes they could have a hot meal.
Valeria also showed her mother's cooking process.
Because there was no real kitchen, when using the induction cooker, she could only cook on the ground.
"Eat Vareniki (Ukrainian dumplings, made with flour and mashed potatoes) tonight by first getting the induction cooker and saucepan ready!"
"Bring the water to a boil and put in something I don't know either." Then open the plastic bag in the plastic bag, which is about Ukrainian specialty, put Vareniki in it and cook. ”
"Wow, it feels fresh and delicious."
In this way, my mother also made Brigini crepes and sirniki (scones made from milk residue).
"There is no doubt that we are here in a Michelin restaurant." Valeria wrote, "Praise the Brigney pancakes. ”
There was still some rice and pasta in the bomb shelter, and Valeria didn't know how to cook, but she barely cooked the pasta.
"Cook pasta in an air raid shelter and fantasize about yourself in Italy."
It is not okay to stay in a windowless air raid shelter all the time, there will be psychological problems, and there will be insufficient materials.
As long as there was no fighting outside, her parents would let Valeria go out and get her things.
On the ground, she would run as fast as she could to the house, filling up with clothes and groceries.
After handing things over to her parents, she ran to the supermarket and waited in line for two hours to go shopping.
Supermarkets in Chernihiv are still open, but most of the goods were sold out a week ago, all shelves are empty, and the rest of the goods are either too expensive or not good.
"In wartime Ukraine you wanted to buy something, supermarkets were like that."
Valeria was particularly interested in buying eggs and milk, which the family relied on to keep their nutrition, but they were no longer seen in the supermarket.
Eventually, she had to buy expensive sunflower milk, and the cheapest yogurt she could find.
The other day, the mineral water in the bomb shelter was almost exhausted, Valeria went to the supermarket to look for water, and after a few hours of queuing, found that the water was gone.
"I wanted to buy water, but couldn't find it. After that, as long as I can get to the ground safely, I will come and see it as soon as possible. ”
When she gets to the ground, Valeria can't help but see the traces of war, which is also a major theme of the video.
One day when she went out, she found that the cinema in the city of Chernihiv had been blown up, and she ironically extended her thumb in front of the ruins of the broken wall.
"It was awesome... The cinema was blown up..."
"This cinema survived World War II, but not the 9K720 ballistic missile launched from Russia."
"The windows of the surrounding houses were also shattered by the shock wave."
"I spent my childhood in this cinema and didn't expect it to be like this."
On the seventh day of the Outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian Conflict, Valeria was walking on the road and found that her friend's home had also been destroyed.
"Through the broken window, you can see the living room and kitchen inside."
"I can't imagine how people felt during World War II..."
"Now I live in an environment where I fear for my life."
The city's hospital was also destroyed.
Valeria's videos are styled with a lot of black humor, and she can often be seen posing funny, like introducing tourist attractions, introducing bombed buildings.
"One perspective: When you live in Ukraine, pray every day that your house won't blow up."
But sometimes, people can also see a real 20-year-old girl, and her real fears.
In a video titled "An Ordinary Day in the Uckers," Valeria is walking on the ground when she suddenly hears a war siren.
Probably the closest she had come to danger, she immediately ran to the bomb shelter, crying as she ran.
The days were not easy in wartime, but fortunately, the family maintained an optimistic nature, even in the bomb shelter, to make themselves laugh.
Yesterday, March 8, it was International Women's Day, and Dad bought flowers for the mother and daughter.
Mom is keen to study how to make the most hearty dish with the fewest ingredients, and whether the experiment is successful or not, she laughs.
Valeria likes to watch her mother cook when she has nothing to do, or find an opportunity to run to the ground to spread joy.
Keeping a smile when it's tough is also a kind of strength...