Stoves collected.....and the lights went out...

Today Putin rained missiles down on Ukraine's infrastructure once more, which many have concluded is a war crime against a civilian population. Not that Putin, in his comfort, will be worried. 
We are on the way back from our aid run and find ourselves in a city with no electricity. This is the first time we have met this situation.

The reality goes far beyond the domestic. Trams and much transport doesn't run. Shops are closed as card machines don't work and there is no light. Cash machines don't work. Some chemists remain open using generators. No traffic lights, no pedestrian crossing lights in a busy, dark city. Strange, though, the beautiful church of the city remains lit awhile.

This new unconscionable action by Putin will challenge Ukraine anew, knowing that winters can be very harsh here -10°C is not uncommon. This is not about high prices...this is about not having electricity. As ever, we think Ukraine will rise to this challenge. And we will have to wear more clothes.
We finished our aid drops yesterday. The women involved in receiving the aid spent today sharing the aid around. They also try to support the disabled community. They also sent us some photos which are too upsetting to put here. We will see if there is anything we can do to help.
Today we went to another part of the city to collect stoves, funded by a Polish organisation. These are vital for a range of situations and will be transported to their final destination next week, on another aid run. You can't believe some of the places Google maps takes us....and the kind people who try to work out where the heck we should be.... all this with no common language.

It was also suggested today that we might be being used...it wasn't said in a harsh or unkind way, just an observation. We reflected on this and thought, this is our purpose. Being used. Sometimes the things we transport have more use than others... we're aware of this. We try to look at the bigger picture. For example, stuffed toys....we have worked with organisations who have told us that if they ever see another stuffed toy they will weep...there are mountains of stuffed toys but they keep coming. Same with COVID gowns...but this is what it is....the give and take of humanitarian aid. Some fit for purpose, some not so much.
So, yes, we're being used....long may it last.
But we're not fools.

And, finally, funny photo of the day... before darkness descended we had a walk in the park and we came upon this....why would we be surprised?

Also, a train we think was probably a fun train that went round the parks, but probably long obsolete, although you can still see the rails in the park...painted in the national Ukranian colours.

And an amazing mural on the side of an apartment block in Kyiv.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Third Christmas of the War.

Image
I remember when we first went to Ukraine, we thought we'd better hurry up and get over there to help before the war finished, and there'd be nothing for us to do. How naïve were we? The situation in Ukraine at present has got even worse, especially in the areas in close contact with the Russian forces, although with the constant Shahed and missile attacks nowhere is safe. Kherson has become particularly difficult, and delivering aid there is a direct threat to life. Any vehicle or person can be targeted by Russian small killer drones. This week, a vehicle that is used to deliver aid that we have sometimes used, was attacked and badly damaged beyond repair. Miraculously, the driver, a person I know survived but suffered injuries.  The occupants of a bus were not so fortunate. It was attacked, 3 people died and several more injured. It's really terrifying.  What's really sick is that the Russian's then post o...
Read more

The killing goes on.

Image
Time diminishes things. News cycles bring new, more pressing concerns. But the war here in Ukraine grinds on, with deaths a daily occurrence. The killing seems to have become more incideous and heartless.This weekend in Kherson, delivering aid, under the fairly constant sound of artillery and drone attacks, I heard and saw the inhumanity of this senseless war. There is now a real tangible fear about going out in your car in Kherson. Over the last few months, individual cars have been targeted by Russian drones. These carry small bombs or grenade type munitions. . A car is targeted. An initial bomb dropped. The man realises he's  being targeted and tries to drive away at high speed. He then stops suddenly, hoping to get away. Opens his door to run away, but about two metres away from the car a small bomb explodes. With the door open, nothing seems to happen, then as in slow motion, a man falls from the driver's seat onto the road. Dead. It...
Read more

Krakow to Lviv

Image
We left Krakow at 3am because we had heard that there have been up to 3 hour waits on the Poland-Ukraine border. The balance has changed to more people returning to Ukraine (to the relatively safe western Lviv region) than leaving Ukraine. As it happened, we drove through the fairly haphazard border controls with no hold up. The first thing we noticed on the Ukrainian side were miles (literally) of lorries lining the side of the highway, which was only 2 lanes so made for fairly scary driving. On the Polish side was an equally long line of parked cars, waiting to be sold. We also noticed more potholes on Ukrainian roads than even East Lancashire! The purpose of our visit to Ukraine is 2-fold: firstly, we drove our friend, Romana, home to Lviv (in her car) with her 4-year-old daughter, as she decided against coming to England in order to be with her husband and family. Secondly, w...
Read more