Zhenya Oliinyk is a Ukrainian illustrator from Kyiv with a master's degree in cultural studies, who also adds "feminist and former journalist" to her bio blurb.
A few days after the war in Ukraine started,The New Yorker published her unsettling comic about the lives and fears of the people who have been forced to hide underground since the first days of the Russian attack.
When we reached out to her, she had already tried to leave the capital. She went to the western city of Lviv, but eventually returned to Kyiv.
"I plan to stay here as long as possible. I want to forget the sound of missiles falling, but I never want to forget the sense of unity and solidarity among us and with the outside world, which we are experiencing now.
My hope persists because of the people who have done little and big things in recent days to help us survive: they protect my city and defend my homeland, they share information, send messages of support, they donate and raise money, shelter women, children, adults and animals who have lost their homes."
More of Zhenya Oliinyk's work is available at @evilpinkpics and zhenyaoliinyk.com.