This article contains distressing content
Outside the underground shelter in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, the city's buildings still bear fresh scars from rocket attacks and deadly shellings. Inside the bomb shelter, people look for relief from the tensions of war and a laugh with comedian Anton Tymoshenko, even if for a little while.
Anton has posted his set on YouTube. It’s his first time performing in English, and maybe his last time “because of the Russian bombs,” the text overlayed on the video reads.
“I wrote it in a week, so sorry if it’s not funny. I was in a hurry to avoid death,” the caption adds.
He's hoping the set of English punchlines will connect with a Western audience and compel them to reach into their pockets to support the Ukrainian people.
"I am making this stand-up video trying to collect some money from the world to help my country in this war," the 28-year-old begins.
"This is such a strange feeling. Last 10 years of my life I was raising money to have a flat in Kyiv, now I’m raising money to win a war!"
Anton Tymoshenko performs in the bomb shelter.
Equally, he also makes digs at his target audience, including a reference to the , saying if actor Smith came up against their comedian turned President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, (instead of comedian Chris Rock) he wouldn’t stand a chance.
Other jokes, though, are a painful anchor to Ukraine's reality.
“I don’t understand why they don’t use every sanction right now,” another joke starts. “Why do we always need to ask the West and the West answers us like it’s an internet provider? Like, ‘Yes Ukraine, if you want to get a new package of sanctions, please upload more .’”
Reports in early April said more than 400 residents in Bucha had been killed during a month-long occupation by the Russian army. Bodies were found in mass graves. Others were lying on the streets.
Russia has denied involvement in the killings, calling allegations its army had executed civilians in Bucha a "monstrous forgery."
Anton speaks to The Feed from his Kyiv flat. He says Ukraine's "main comedian" (the president) is busy, so we're stuck with him.
The performance he posted online, which is approaching 70,000 views, was his third in a bomb shelter. He says while he and his audience weren't in hiding at the time of filming, they're safe venues just in case the air sirens sound.
Shows in unorthodox settings have become common enough. Some local comedians and even U2's Bono have given performances in the refuge of Ukraine's metro train stations.
Initially deciding to perform was a difficult decision, he shares.
"I was afraid it's not what people need now."
Nonetheless, Anton tested the water on Twitter and Instagram and many Ukrainians returned positive feedback.
"I started to understand that my jokes [are] like very cheap psychotherapy, the real one is very expensive," he says.
"People are a lot more open ... it’s a difficult time, but it doesn’t mean we have to cry all the time of the day.
"We can smile and this smiling helps us to feel free in this situation for a moment maybe."
Though he shares a laugh with his audience, he says the writing process is heavy as he tries to forget the weight of the news for a minute and make something light of something so painful.
He sometimes wonders how he can write jokes while friends with combat skills are fighting. It's a feeling shared by many others, Anton says, and has even led the local army to make videos reminding civilians that they are a vital part of the war effort.
Now, he views his comedy as information warfare and knows the relief it has brought to other Ukrainians. It helps him to press on.
"When you laugh in the face of your opponent, it demoralises [them] and helps our people to feel better."
Asked how his life has changed since the invasion, he says that he doesn't know how to put it into words.
“It’s strange to say that war and normal life can go together,” he tells The Feed. Of course, conflict is something he would rather not experience, but more than 70 days into Russia's invasion, supporting the war effort and trying to survive is almost routine to him now.
"Every Ukrainian will have some kind of schedule ... You go to work, you go to the gym, and you go to dinner with your friends. In Ukraine, you have now something like that. But also you add some new steps to your schedule.
"For example, you need to find some kind of weapon or aid for your army. If you have free time, you need to collect money for your army.
"You have to hide in a basement if you hear the air sirens or some kind of rocket shooter. You need to sometimes think about nuclear war."
Just the other day he took delivery of 30 tourniquets, sent from a friend in France, which he passed on to his country's military.
Under his video, two links direct viewers to donate to Ukraine's military - a proposition he knows is more confronting to foreigners than offering humanitarian aid.
Anton stands alongside other comedians in an underground venue on the night he filmed his comedy set to raise money for Ukraine. Credit: Supplied
"The United Nations gives us thousands of blankets ... what are we going to do with the blankets? Put the dead bodies in the blankets?"
Anton has stopped making plans further out than two weeks. While his eight-year career was starting to pick up right before the war, with gigs in comedy writing, tours, and a radio stint, his dreams have been cast aside for the moment.
“I have dreams like Netflix or HBO will contact me and say 'oh, Anton we saw your stand up. Yeah, your English is really bad, but we can do something? Maybe you can write a special.'"
As for his country, he believes they'll have the strength to protect themselves and the value of democracy. He awaits the day Ukraine will be in "good company" when it joins the EU.
In the meantime, there are some silver linings to performing comedy during the war.
"There are no hecklers, people are just really polite to you," Anton says.
"Nobody wants to heckle because maybe we [will] say 'oh, he's from Russia'."
However playful his jokes and demeanour, Anton's goal couldn’t be more serious. The set ends with a sobering plea to both those living and those watching the war.
“[Some say] 'the war is really far from me. I can always run away to Australia'... It’s false because our planet is an ellipsoid. It’s a circle. So if you start to run from one point, someday you will get back to the place you start.”
