Almost eight months after the start of the war, more and more Ukrainians are returning to their homeland. These include people who have sought refuge in Germany. But the latest attacks show that they are nowhere safe from Putin’s war in Ukraine – not even in Kyiv.

Little does Agata and her daughter Lisa know they are driving into the middle of the rocket fire. Five days before Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin launches a large-scale attack on Ukraine for the first time in months, the two women are on the night train from the Polish capital of Warsaw to Kyiv. “My Ukraine, I’ll be back,” says mother Agata, smiling.

Lisa, on the other hand, is 16 years old, has just settled in Poland, found people her own age, even a boyfriend. In fact, she would have preferred to stay. “Leave me alone, I want to sleep.” She crawls onto the top of a total of three bunks in the narrow train compartment and demonstratively looks at her cell phone.

Mother and daughter fled on February 25 – one day after the Russian invasion. First to Uschhorod in the southwest, from there on foot to Slovakia, then to Poland. Now the very first home visit since the beginning of the war is pending. How long do you want to stay? “Let’s see,” says Agata. Husband and son are waiting in Kyiv. Neither of them are allowed to leave the country because of martial law.

Agata only speaks Ukrainian. Although she understands Russian, she says she has forgotten how to speak it. “She’s lying,” Lisa laughs down from the bunk. “She just doesn’t want to.” The train drives through nature, outside colorful autumn trees rustle by, it is slowly getting dark.

To pass the time, Agata watches videos on social networks showing Ukrainian soldiers trying to recapture the occupied territory of Kherson in the south of the country. Then dead Russians are faded in in the recently liberated Lyman in the Donetsk region. “I never thought I’d say this, but I feel joy when I see dead Russian soldiers,” says Agata. “They have brought so many terrible things to our country, they kill, they rob.”

It has been almost eight months since Russian troops invaded Ukraine. Since then, the United Nations have registered more than 6,200 civilians killed and almost 9,400 injured, but assume the number of victims will be significantly higher. Kyiv accuses Moscow of genocidal intentions.

Despite the dangerous situation, more and more Ukrainians are returning permanently to areas that are considered relatively safe. Others, like Agata and Lisa, come to visit – to see the husband or the sick parents, or to see if their own house is still standing.

A total of four million people from particularly hard-fought areas have been taken to safer places at home and abroad with special evacuation trains in the past few months, the Ukrainian railways said in response to a dpa request. “Since the first days of the war, the Ukrainian railways have become a backbone of the country’s resistance.”

According to the state-owned company, there has been an increase in returning home to Ukraine for several months now. But there are no statistics because the returnees traveled on regular trains.

In Germany, too, there are no reliable figures on how many Ukrainian refugees have already left the country. However, a larger wave of return was observed around the start of school at the beginning of September. At that time there was a lot of discussion in refugee chat groups about whether a return was important for the children and whether it was justifiable in view of the dangers of war.

The bottom line, however, is that the number of Ukrainians seeking refuge in Germany continues to rise – albeit not as quickly as in the first months of the war. At the beginning of August, 944,000 Ukrainian refugees were registered in the Central Register of Foreigners – compared to 819,000 people at the beginning of June.

Studies show that the solidarity and helpfulness of the German population is still high, albeit a little less than in the spring. This may be related to practical problems such as a lack of school and daycare places and the general increase in the cost of living in Germany. But there are also direct attacks on Ukrainians. A video from Leipzig recently caused particular horror. You can see how participants in a demonstration against Russia sanctions insult people with Ukraine flags on the side of the road and shout “Nazis out”.

In the morning on the train from Warsaw to Kyiv, everyone is a bit crumpled. The controls at the border lasted a total of around four hours during the night. The conductor brings coffee. Agata applies bright red lipstick. Would she and Lisa just let themselves be photographed for the article? The train is already approaching Kiev Central Station. “Of course,” says Agata. “But wait, there has to be something Ukrainian in the picture.” She gets a flowered scarf and puts it around her neck. “So, now.”

The photo is just in the can when the train rolls in – and Lisa is suddenly scratched up. “Dad, Daddy!” exclaims the grumpy teenager euphorically. She discovered her father on the platform. In his hand he holds a bouquet full of blue and yellow flowers – the colors of the Ukrainian flag. “Dad, hello! My god, has he gone blind? He doesn’t even see us!” Lisa waves her arms and is one of the first to sprint off the train.

On the following Monday, the Russian army bombarded large parts of Ukraine with a total of more than 80 rockets – including the center of Kyiv for the first time since the beginning of the war. More than a dozen people die in the capital alone, and around 20 nationwide. Exactly one week later, several kamikaze drones hit Kyiv. Again there are dead and injured. Between the attacks, Lisa reports on WhatsApp: “Sorry for only now answering. We are fine thanks!”

Putin’s economic adviser Andrei Illarionov and now works as an economist in the United States. In an interview he unpacked about the economic situation in Russia. His summary: in real terms, Russia’s reserves are only enough for one year of war.

The Russian army is being pushed back further and further in Ukraine. The warfare is dividing Putin’s apparatus of power. The mobilization enrages Russian citizens. Problem after problem for the President. He is caught in 7 self-imposed traps.

Hardly anyone “reads” Vladimir Putin and the Russians as knowledgeably as the Russian writer Viktor Erofeev, who fled to Germany. Germany’s Chancellor should meet with him. And be prepared for some uncomfortable truths.