The stories of Ukrainians who stood up to defend their country during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Some of the storytellers had never held a weapon before the full-scale invasion, while for others it was a profession. These stories are not just about war, but about who they are besides being ordinary people, students, workers, priests, teachers and doctors, professors, managers, actors, artists and musicians, pensioners, parents, and children, and so on. In addition to the reconstruction of events, here is also the comprehension of events by the people who are active creators of the history. They talk about the biggest terrorist attacks not only as military men, but also as ordinary people with their own experiences. The narrators talk about different periods of the war in different cities and have different views of what is happening. Their views combine to create a picture of the war's world and the image of a human who stood up to defend his country during the bloodiest war of our time. AUTHOR: Oksana Melnyk is a speech writer, former journalist, and media analyst. 27 b/w illustrations