Month: July 2022

He carries on farming as shells explode. On the nearby frontline. A boom, like distant thunder rolled. Over the wheat fields due west of Slovyansk.   Perched on his seat in a combine harvester. He could see clouds of smoke. From missiles hitting an industrial area. Then another, thinner plume from ‘orcs’ on the frontline. […]

Death comes quickly in the Donbas. ‘Orcs’ shells take mere seconds to land.     Recovering dead bodies of ‘elves’ and ‘orcs’ soldiers. Killed in combat in the Donbas.   He has lost count of the bodies over the past five months. He thinks it’s more than 300, but he cannot be sure.   He […]

It was a beautiful sunny day. And she was smiling. Pushing her pink chair. In front of her.   Her pink pushchair lies on its side. Smeared with blood on a strip of grass. Outside the ruins of the Jubilee building. On 14 July.   The four-year-old was killed. On Thursday. When ‘orcs’ missiles hit […]

On the corner of Yablonska Street. He was a welder who lived a quiet life. His wife stands outside their destroyed home. “I wish ‘orcs’ had killed me too.”   On the corner of Yablonska Street. Her father stands in their destroyed home. “I felt empty when they killed him. I only wanted to die.” […]

Keeping a stiff upper lip. Dressing in black. Now is the time for us to dance our Graduation Waltz.   Keeping a stiff upper lip. Dressing in white. Here is the place for us to dance our Graduation Waltz.   Keeping a stiff upper lip. Dressing in black. Nothing can rob us of our Graduation […]

Taxi driver and father of four. He is the sole survivor in Bucha.   In the early hours of 24 February. He was driving his taxi in Kyiv and heard explosions.   He struggled to believe it was actually happening. His first thought that morning was to get the family’s IDs.   If they were […]

Be patient. Be patient. Too much patient but not enough to see you. Be patient. Be patient. On my way from home to where you have a few days. Be patient. Be patient. Too much patient but not enough to call you. Be patient. Be patient. On my way through half of Ukraine by bus. […]

A few residents are trying to survive. Among the ruins in Saltivka.   Shaking her head. A tear still under her eye. “How many have been killed now?”   “And just boys, 18 years old. They had only just begun to live.”   The frontline was less than 10 miles away. There are fears that […]

He is a sailor from Mariupol. On the morning of the invasion. His brother-in-law’s family fled their home for the port city.   Half an hour after they arrived. The first explosions the family heard far. Before even finishing their tea, they decided to leave Mariupol and escape.   “I expected the war to be […]

One missile hit close. While the other struck. The mall in the centre of Kremenchuk.     “We were working.” At 16:00 on Monday. “We thought we were far away from the frontier.”   “We didn’t invade anyone. We just want to live.” He has a shrapnel wound, concussion and multiple scratches.   His wife […]