‘It was like a horror movie’: Ukrainian woman sharing scenes from invasion garners massive online following

Yaroslava Antipina watched Russia's invasion of Ukraine from her front window in Kyiv, all the while documenting the experience on social media as a way to show “how an ordinary woman operates in chaos.”

Many Canadians are experiencing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine from a distance, watching the horrors play out on television or their smartphones.

Yaroslava Antipina watched it unfold from her front window, all the while documenting the experience on social media as a way to show “how an ordinary woman operates in chaos.”

Antipina’s legions of followers on Twitter know her as ‘Strategy Woman.’ She tweeted as the first bombs dropped over Kyiv. The noise woke her up at around 5 a.m. from the apartment she shared with her 19-year-old son.

At first, she thought it was fireworks, something she said she’ll now forever be afraid of.

“I saw in my window a lot of people running with their children, with their huge suitcases and it was like a horror movie,” she told CTV News Winnipeg from Ukraine.

Kyiv doesn’t sleep. There’re explosions in some parts of the city. We’re here ready to protect #Ukraine #Kyiv

She sent out a tweet on Feb. 23, vowing to protect her city. The chief strategy officer for a software company had about 10 followers at the time. Her front window became her main vantage point to the invasion and the subject of many of her daily photos shared with her growing audience as part of her 'Twitter war diary'.