Year: 2023

Soldiers, of course. Have the advantage. Of armour. Civilians do not.   And around Kupiansk. The city ‘elves’ recaptured last September. ‘Orcs’ guns are again. Shelling people’s homes.     Helping get people to safety is. A volunteer with the charity “I am Saved”. The words are written across his T-shirt. And have a double […]

“Everything will be fine.” “Everything will be fine.” You realise they are more than. Simply words to this family.   “Everything will be fine.” “Everything will be fine.” They are an enduring act of faith. The war has not destroyed.     The children are struggling to sleep. For at least the last week. The […]

“We have to be strong. We have to live. We will make it. We are good people.”   “Who deserve to live in. A peaceful and flourishing Ukraine.” “Who deserve to live in. A peaceful and flourishing Ukraine.”     He shows you round the ruins of his home. In the village of Pavlo-Marianivka. “Here […]

“We will make it, rest assured.” Her dairy farm in Afanasiivka. Was engulfed by water. After the Kakhovka dam burst in June.     When she heard about the dam collapse. She knew it was only a matter of time. Before her village, Afanasiivka. Would be flooded.   In the end it took two days. […]

The sound of someone playing the recorder. Floats down the corridor. As a 10-year-old sits in front of. A laptop in what was once a classroom.   Appropriately enough. She is doing an online lesson. With the school. She can no longer physically attend.   She came here, in an old school. With her mother […]

It is still dark. When an early train pulls. Into the station. In central Ukraine.   And aid workers crowd expectantly. Around one of the carriages. The doors then open. And a small child steps into the platform light.   Hands stretch out to help her down. As her mother follows. Carefully passing her baby. […]

A 17-year-old ‘elf’. Who was moved. From Ukraine to ‘Mordor’. Found out recently.   He was facing the prospect. Of being conscripted. Into the army fighting against. The country of his birth.     Originally from the ‘elves’ city. Of Mariupol. He tried to return to Ukraine in March. But was stopped by ‘orcs’ border […]

‘Elves’ legion of amputees. Is growing. Mine by mine. And shell by shell.   How long can Ukraine sustain these losses? And continue to fight? And how well can the growing ranks of amputees? Fit back into civilian life?   ‘Elves’ legion of amputees. Is growing. Mine by mine. And shell by shell.     […]

Her only thought. When her husband was wounded. Was to get to. His bedside.   “I just wanted. To be with him. To touch him. To say that he’s not alone.”   “In situations like this. When a person needs support. I would touch. Their hand.”   But when she reached him in hospital. That […]

As a result. The town of Avdiivka. Has turned into a symbol. Of ‘elves’ resistance and resilience.     As ‘orcs’ missiles shatter. The town of Avdiivka. She is desperate to escape. But her elderly mother refuses to leave.   “I can’t leave her. She said she wanted to sleep. In her own bed. She’s […]