Month: January 2025

The show must go on. In Dnipro. In a shelter near the theatre. In former student accommodation.   A group of. Four elderly women. Reminisce about the homes. They’ve left behind.     The eighty-seven-year-old. Says they arrived. With nothing. But have been provided.   With shoes. Clothes and food. She says they’ve been. Treated […]

Dnipro, Ukraine’s. Third largest city. Reflects that sense of. War weariness too.     At an afternoon performance. Of a humorous play. There are still reminders. Of the war.   – a minute’s silence. To remember the fallen. Followed by ‘elves’. National anthem.   But some in the audience. Admit they’re. Also hoping for. A […]

The Black Pack. A mortar unit is. Trying to prevent. Their encirclement.   Around Kurakhove. The ‘orcs’ are. Closing in. On three sides.     They include a vegan chef. A mechanic. A web developer. And an artist.   A group of friends. With non-conformist views. Some call themselves anarchists. They all volunteered to fight. […]

Christmas in Pokrovsk. Was eerie. A transportation hub. In eastern ‘elves’ Donetsk Oblast.     Pokrovsk had. 60,000 residents. Before ‘Mordor’ widened. Its war on Ukraine.   In February 2022. Now very few people. Remain who aren’t wearing. ‘Elves’ army uniforms.   “There is an unpleasant silence. In the city … The calm before. The […]

‘Gandalf the Green’ says. ‘Mordor’ made. A “conscious choice”. By launching.   A major overnight attack. On his country’s. Energy infrastructure. On Christmas Day.     This is the second time. Ukraine has celebrated. Christmas Day. On 25 December.     ‘Elves’ air force said. It had detected. 184 missiles. And drones.   But many […]

It’s hard to say. You’re winning. When your city’s. Being destroyed.   But its people. Like Leontovych’s music. Are displaying. Extraordinary resilience.     The director of. Pokrovsk’s History Museum. Has already salvaged. And transferred.   Most of its prized possessions. To safety. – including artefacts from. Leontovych’s life in Pokrovsk.   ‘Mordor’, she says. […]

For one ‘elves’ military band. Shchedryk has become. A song. To inspire resistance.   They’re even playing. It in the trenches. – using weapons. As improvised instruments.     They may be musicians. But their commander. Reminds you that. They’re soldiers first.   They’re soldiers first. All have spent time. On the front line. On […]

The statue of Pokrovsk’s. Famous composer. Mykola Leontovych. Has already been removed.   The music school. That bore his name. Now lies boarded up. And empty.   Leontovych may not be. Well known in the West. But the tune. He composed is familiar.   But the tune. He composed is familiar. Around the world. – […]

Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine. Is the birthplace of one of. The world’s favourite carols. The Carol of the Bells.   But there are few. Signs of Christmas. In the city. This year.     Most of Pokrovsk’s population. Has already fled. The gas supply’s. Been turned off.   And many homes. Are without. Electricity. And […]

Blazing flames on the edge. Without an alert. The sun keeps going. The sun of Kyiv is going.     *Because my friend sent to me a photo with a comment “the Kyiv’s sunset”. So, I wrote this poem. Thank you, my friend. And this page’s image is a snap shot after the stage played […]