Twitch streamer Bulochka and her sister Alina_dln are a couple of those streamers and on one of their streams, there is heavy shelling heard outside, according to a few clips. Amid the ongoing war with Russia, many streamers have fled Ukraine but there are still those like these women that have stayed behind.
The war in Ukraine has been going on for several days now with refugees leaving the country to find safety. However, others have either missed the window when they could have left, or have decided for themselves to stay in the country. Game devs like Savage Games have been helping their employees out of the country as well.
The streamers Bulochka and her sister Alina_dln are sheltered in the city of Kharkiv and frequently hold streams together. Reddit user FlamingLaps1709 posted a Twitch clip to the LivestreamFail subreddit showing the terrifying moment during their stream. In the clip, the two are casually sitting in two separate chairs speaking to one another, before a muffled explosion is heard in the distance. Bulochka seems to look out an unseen window behind the camera and pops the rest of her bread in her mouth. The second muffled explosion causes them to pause as things begin to rattle. The sound gets louder, and the girls get up, leave through the open door behind them, leaving the viewers looking at their empty chairs.
So many people in the world are watching this war not fully aware of the terrifying things happening there, only through pictures and videos on the news, but this clip conveys at least some of the details. The fear in Bulochka's and Alina_dln's faces and the sudden movement of just leaving the stream without a word shows so much of what it's like living in a country where war is just outside the door. The post comes along only days after an Escape From Tarkov streamer had to leave his stream just after the invasion began.
After seeing Arma 3 being used as accidental propaganda, things like this, especially on a Twitch stream can be even more troubling. Comments on FlamingLaps1709's post convey that falling adequately, one commenter even mentioning that they need to wait an hour before clicking on posts like this, uncertain of what they will bring. Others bring up some of the more dire questions such as how much worse this could have been considering the circumstances.
Most streams still have funny things that happen like a cat shutting down a stream, but others show this reality a lot of Ukrainians are living now. Some comments also argue that they should have left when they had the chance, but the others say is that there was only a chance within the first 24 hours of the invasion, where any time after it just wasn't safe. Streaming is possibly what is making these women feel normal and connected to other people during this troubling time, and they shouldn't be judged for it.