Year: 2023

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 […]

Beneath his green helmet. Dark shadows ringed his eyes. He had been on his feet. All night fighting.   Like many on Ukraine’s eastern front. He is both battle-hardened and war-weary. “It’s difficult. People don’t get enough sleep.”   “They are standing for 20 hours. The fight goes on around the clock. I can’t say […]

The post suggested that a sniper had killed. The 30-year-old engineer. His body remained in a field for months. Before it could be retrieved.   “It was autumn. I knew we had no time to waste. When winter comes and snow falls. There would be nothing left of the body.”     Also from Vinnytsia. […]

“Every night I was going berserk. Knowing that my son was lying out. There in the freezing cold and. There was nothing to cover him.”   Days later. As dawn broke. Parents set off to find son. And bring his body home.   They had no plan. Just the photo, the village name. And a […]

A frigid wind whistles across. Hundreds of miles of open farmland. And a watery winter sun pokes. Through the clouds.   The sprawling facility. With its maze of pylons. Cables and imposing machinery. Feels remote and impersonal.   But around 15 million ‘elves’. Depend on it for power. It’s been hit six times. With missiles […]