The borsch was good...

...although I mistakenly called it soup, and was clearly informed that it wasn't soup but borsch.

This was all a bit surreal as, at the same time that we were deciding on the correct word, we could hear artillery gunfire from Russian positions, about 1 kilometre away, on a regular basis.

So, today we set of from Odesa to our final destination, Antonivka, about 10 kilometres east of Kherson. Along the way we tried to ascertain the level of shelling in the area, and were informed that it was quite OK, then.....

We arranged to see our friend, Svitlana, who would take us as far as Kherson and then pass us on to another volunteer, who would take us to Antonivka. 

On the way from Mykolaiv to Kherson we saw many destroyed communities; in some, not one home hadn't been damaged. Yet they were being repaired, a lot with blue plastic sheeting and plywood. People determined to live in their own homes. Some homes, however, beyond repair  Not one petrol station was left intact.

Unfortunately, when we arrived at our rendezvous point in Kherson, the people who were going to take us to Antonivka thought that it was too dangerous to go. Fortunately, Svitlana stepped up and said she would go with us. In Kherson we heard the sound of shelling, but nothing near. The building where we met in Kherson had been damaged by shelling.

We arrived in Antonivka where we were able to unload the aid, including a generator, about 300 power banks, candles, warm winter clothes, baby food and baby clothes, pet food, medicines, food, paraffin wax and wicks, torches and batteries. We were also able to take 10 propane camping stoves.

Unloading the van was scary, with shells being fired on a regular basis and being told to run under cover (Fi said, "run like the clappers."), as we could heat the whistles of approaching shells. One came quite close but failed to explode. A lot of Russian ordnance is old and fairly rubbish, but several did explode. Amazing how quickly you can unload a van!! When empty I was told to park it behind a wall where the Russians couldn't see it.

This random shelling of civilians is both frightening and brings death to the civilian population. I never really understood what terrorism was. The Russians are those terrorists. They sow fear into ordinary people. There are no military targets where we were. Only civilian homes. And yesterday there were 5 civilian deaths in the Kherson region. Antonivka had 15,000 living there. Now only 1000 remain. How they live with this, is testament to the Ukrainian spirit.

And so, back to the borsch. We were sat around a table with people who were no longer strangers, Mrs T, D, her son and others, friends against a common enemy. Eating and discussing. D, with his good English of which he was rightly proud, acting as translator. With the sound of shelling outside. D asked us to sign his Ukrainian flag, which he has in his bedroom. We were proud to do so. 

The final challenge was going back to Kherson. The Russian position on the other side of the river, only 1 kilometre away, has a clear sight of the road for about 1-2 kilometres we would drive along. I was informed that I needed to drive very fast across that bit of road as they sometimes took potshots. This was where the Russians, when they were fleeing Kherson, blew up the Antonivkyii bridge. 

So, after saying our goodbyes, with the words "stay strong," we sped across this open road. I felt like a sitting duck. I'm not sure I have ever been so scared.

And then Kherson itself. We drove through it at about 60mph. A deserted city, with people there but not really out in the open. Many shops closed. Schooling hit and miss. A city but not as we know it. But people stay and life goes on, although it's incredibly hard.

Below on the way home to Mykolaiv.

Finally a return to Svitlana's house in Mykolaiv...a short walk and then a fine supper, and conversation about our favourite foods. I promised to make seafood risotto on our next stay.

This aid run was made possible by the work of the Polish organisation Paszki dla Ukrainy. Our many thanks for sending us here :)....

At the end of the aid run we were able to have a quiet walk to reflect on the day, and took the photo below. A day of such contrasting emotions.

And just as I finish writing this, at about 20:00 the electricity goes off.... probably till tomorrow morning...a city once more in darkness.