Month: March 2023

“We have a joke,” he said. “‘The One’ will be made. A hero of Ukraine. For the job he’s done.”   “To unite Ukraine. To build our economy. To build our army. And to make the ‘elves’ nation great.”   Another laughed, “But yeah. The war is horrible. But it’s like the price. For our […]

The line of trees appears to fragment. And disappear as it winds its way towards. The ‘orcs’ positions on the outskirts of. The small town of Velyka Novosilka.   On this front line. ‘Orcs’ eyes are always watching. Waiting for. An opportunity to attack.     An ‘elf’ army infantryman. With the 1st Separate Tank […]

Ukraine has ordered. Some residents to leave Kupiansk. As ‘Mordor’ seeks to re-take the city. It left last year.   Kharkiv’s regional authorities said. Families with children and people. “With limited mobility” must leave due to. “Constant” shelling by ‘orcs’ forces.   ‘Mordor’ seized the north-eastern city. Early in the full-scale invasion. With Ukraine recapturing […]

On a bitterly cold Kyiv morning. The sight of him jogging with his friends. Is a moving one of. A return to a fuller life.   In May last year. He was lying. In a hospital bed. With a broken pelvis and jaw.   He was injured. While defending. The south-eastern city of Mariupol. Early […]

It was in early September last year. During Ukraine’s grinding counter-offensive. In the southern Kherson region. That his war ended abruptly.   The soldier’s tank drove. Over a mine as it headed into combat. When the 30-year-old regained consciousness. He was surrounded by fire.   “You are not thinking about. What you need to do. […]

I can only pray all the time. I can only pray all the time. My son and his team are in Bakhmut now. I cannot sleep.   I can only pray all the time. I can only pray all the time. My son and his team are in Bakhmut now. I cannot work.   I […]

The winter was very hard. But it was now over. Declared ‘Gandalf the Green’. ‘Elves’ are enjoying the onset of spring.   Ukraine still had heat. And the country was unbreakable. Was the message. ‘Elves’ are enjoying the onset of spring.     Until Thursday, Ukraine had just gone. For more than three weeks. In […]

The best way to come back alive. Is to stay low. Hugging the ground. And skimming the treetops.   Too low and you can be shot down. By machine gun fire. Too high and you can be detected. By enemy air defence systems.   For helicopter pilots. In war-time Ukraine. There is little margin for […]

The story starts. On the first day of the war. In the north of Ukraine. At its border with Belarus.   Stepping outside. For his first cigarette of the day. A 23-year-old saw a flurry. Of bright lights in the night sky.   “I remember watching the lights. Emerge from the whole forest. At first […]

Three days into. ‘Orcs’ invasion of Ukraine. It was spotted by a satellite. In the north of the country.   The very same morning. In Bucha just outside Kyiv. A 67-year-old was standing. Outside his local supermarket.   Then a huge 10-mile line. Of armoured vehicles. More than a hundred ‘orcs’ military vehicles. Rolled into […]