Dnipro to Mykolaiv - and new home in Odesa

We drove from Dnipro to Mykolaiv on a hot day, down a dusty road that didn't exist, according to Google maps, because it had previously been damaged by bombing but has since been repaired. Not far out of Dnipro we drove past a missile that had landed on the highway but, fortunately hadn't exploded -  two huge segments on either side of the road.

It turned out to be the smoothest road we have driven on in Ukraine, going through Zelenskiy's home town of Kryvyi Rih and some beautiful countryside. The quiet lake areas were a bird spotter's paradise.

The final place where we stopped for a cup of tea was several kilometres off the highway, down a bumpy, unmade road. It was a scene of rural idyll that could almost have been from a Constable painting. A couple of women were milking cows and another woman was taking buckets of milk away on a bicycle.

We went for a walk and stopped to speak to the two women milkers, who were concerned that we'd got lost as they'd never seen foreigners in these parts before! We got by with a mixture of Ukrainian and Russian. They said there were about 100 people in their village and 31 cows. The older of the two commented on Bob's varicose veins and said that he should get them treated. She said that she had hers done in Kryvi Rih!

We asked if we could take their photos.

This was a nearby village that may have been theirs, with beautiful purple flowers...

At one of the service stations we gave this little dog some dried dog food, from a large bag that we bought with donations. She was very scared, which seemed to be a sure sign of ill treatment, and very hungry.

Today was International Children’s Day. A child was amongst three people killed in an early morning missile attack on Kyiv. Nearly 500 children have been killed since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. As well as death and injury, children suffer other consequences of war, such as being separated from their parents and having to grow up sooner than they should. And who knows what psychological damage.

We made a small aid drop in Mykolaiv  - some thermos flasks and a fire extinguisher, destined for soldiers, and some knitted hearts, made by the Penparcau community in Wales. 

Our Ukrainian friend, S, who is a passionate volunteer aid driver, was taking aid somewhere in Donbas, previously to Bakhmut where her husband and son are fighting. So we left the aid with her children and a friend who lives with them. These teenage children are often left to manage on their own, which they do very well. But they have responsibilities beyond their years. We think they're amazing.

Over the next 3 months, whilst based in Odesa, we're hoping to give as much support as we can to children in the Kherson area, as well as continuing to deliver aid.