A young man attempts to escape Russian-occupied Ukraine — then he goes silent

https://www.npr.org/2022/08/09/ [login to see] /ukraine-kherson-russia-invasion-escape-crimea
"Back in early February, I traveled to southern Ukraine with a team from NPR, where we met a 22-year-old Ukrainian college student who spoke nearly perfect English.

His name is Vitaliy — we're not using his last name for his safety — and he told us how nervous he was getting about a Russian invasion, especially as troops gathered in Crimea just miles away.

Weeks later, Kherson became the first major city occupied by Russia. It happened so quickly, civilians barely had time to process it, let alone flee.

I have stayed in touch with Vitaliy while his city has remained occupied, and he sends me voice memos through the encrypted messaging app Telegram about what life is like under occupation: What he is worried about, what he is hearing from his friends — anything really.

His messages come almost daily.

For a while, Vitaliy was fairly upbeat. He was worried, of course, but aware that the fighting was worse in other parts of the country, and that Kherson was relatively calm since it was already occupied and the battle had moved on. But as the war drags on, his messages have been getting more desperate".