The Subway That Saves Lives: EAST SOS Shares Stories from Kharkiv for World Metro Day

When the full-scale russian invasion began in 2022, the Kharkiv metro became one of the biggests bomb shelters in the city. Thousands of residents took refuge underground during shelling to escape rockets and artillery, sleeping on platforms and in corridors, setting up living spaces, following the news, and keeping track of attacks. Just to survive another night of war.

For World Metro Day, marking the launch of the first subway in London in 1863, EAST SOS shares stories of Ukrainians who sought shelter in the Kharkiv metro at the start of the invasion in February 2022. Names have been changed for safety reasons.

Caught by surprise, residents had no time to evacuate, so the metro became their temporary home and one of the few safe places. Viktoriia recalls spending three days underground with her family:

“We lived in the metro for three days: with our children, with our pets, and with my mother. Our car was in the garage, but we but we couldn’t risk going there with the bombing ongoing. The garage was a bit further from the metro and the shelling never stopped. We had about ten liters of fuel left. So we stayed in the metro for at lEAST three day, my husband was extremely worried. He feared that if the fuel ran out completely, we’d be stranded in the fields, and in winter with no way to know what could happen.”

During the first week of the war, Kharkiv residents turned the metro into a temporary home and a safe refuge, bringing food, medicine, and essentials for survival. Mariia recalled:

“Most people were staying in the metro. They set up their tents and beds there. Volunteers went out during breaks between air raids to bring food, water, and medicine.”

Thousands of people, including children, spent days underground. Returning home exhausted did not guarantee safety, forcing them back underground for shelter. Anna recalls:

“We went into a metro completely full of people. At that moment I realized we hadn’t even brought a bottle of water to drink, nor any food. We found a free corner and waited for my husband. He arrived about half an hour later, as the bombing had caught him at home. Once it calmed down a little, he ran toward the metro. The first night, from February 24 to 25, we slept on the floor. It was 11 PM, and the children were very hungry. My husband ran home to grab whatever we could take: water, apples, cookies. We all slept on the floor, on pieces of cardboard – whatever we could find. At 5 AM, , it calmed down a bit, my husband went outside to check the situation in the city. I remember it clearly, when we returned home, it was dark, no electricity, snow underfoot. We fell into our beds and just slept. Around noon, we woke again to the sound of Grad rockets hitting Northern Saltivka. At 3 PM, there was another alert, so I grabbed the kids and ran back to the metro. We spent another night there and returned home at 6 AM.”

Conditions in the Kharkiv metro were tough – mattresses laid directly on the floor. Still, it gave them what mattered most: a sense of relative safety. The early days of the invasion and the necessity of living in the metro seriously undermined people’s health, particularly among those already suffering from chronic health issues. Volunteers provided essential medicine. Aleksandr shared:

“We spent an entire week living in the metro. During the first days, we ate what we had brought with us. The metro was no longer running because people were staying there. We slept in the train cars and on the concrete floors at the stations, using anything we had. I brought a mattress from home. Volunteers distributed medicines if anyone felt unwell, mainly for blood pressure. My wife has consistently high blood pressure, so having access to medication was a relief.”

The reliability of the Kharkiv metro gave residents a sense of security, preventing panic even under constant threat. Metro staff worked tirelessly to make the stations as comfortable as possible for extended stays. Over time. Residents adapted over time, turning the metro into a shared space for survival and mutual support. Volodymyr recalled:

“Our house was near the metro, so we used it as our shelter. It was better than a basement – more space, more comfortable, and safer.There were many people, and at first, we didn’t even have space to lay out our things or a sheet to sleep on. We just sat, stood, and talked. The atmosphere was unusual, but there was no panic. Being in the metro with its excellent sound insulation helped; we barely heard what was happening outside. The only shock was seeing so many people. Yesterday, we were commuting to university via this metro, and today we had to sleep here because of the war. Metro staff even provided power strips so we could line up and charge our phones. Mobile internet worked well, allowing us to stay connected. We had a way to check outside and understand the situation. Four people took turns stepping out for a few minutes to get fresh air and gauge how loud the city was, since we heard almost nothing inside.”

Documentation of war crimes by the EAST SOS team is carried out under the project “Support for War-Affected Vulnerable Groups and Residents of Remote Territories in Ukraine”, funded by the European Union. Its content is the sole responsibility of the foundation and does not necessarily reflect the EU’s position.