Author: Kurama

“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 […]

From every family. From every household. There were people present. In the tiny village of Hroza.     A missile attack killed. 52 people on Thursday. People from every family.  In the tiny village of Hroza.   An eight-year-old boy. Was among the victims. When a cafe was hit. During a wake.     From […]

“It’s like playing with death.” “It’s like playing with death.” She says a sniper’s role in war. Has been romanticized.     In the eastern Donbas region. A sniper is involved. In the counter-offensive. Right now.   She is acting-up. As a female commander. Of an all-male unit. “A sniper’s image is romanticized.”   “… […]

“I came to my commander. And I asked him. ‘What can I do the best?’ He said: ‘You will be a sniper.’”     She carried out the role. On the front line until recently. She ran a jewellery business. Before the war.   She says female snipers. Have been romanticized since World War Two. […]