Food

This is the wonderful wholesale food market in Odesa. We are planning to go here before our next aid run to Kherson, to fill the van with basics like new potatoes, cabbages, carrots and onions. Maybe some seasonal fruit, too, if we can find any that's not too ripe, as it's going to be very hot in Kherson next week and the van will be like an oven inside...

We'll take the food to the 3 different apartment communities we usually visit. We've heard that fresh vegetables and fruit are 2 or 3 times their usual price in the few markets that are open in Kherson. This is partly because local farmers or people with small holdings can no longer grow food in the mined fields around the city, and so fresh food is brought in from Mykolaiv or Odesa, making it more expensive. Also, not many traders will want to risk coming to Kherson, which endures constant shelling.

People like the elderly, disabled or mothers of young children, may struggle to access markets. And large groups of people can, unfortunately, be a target for indiscriminate, terrorist shelling by the Russian army.

We will contribute money towards buying veg and would also like to make a shout out for donations: however small, they will make a difference. E.g. £5 will buy about 10kg of plums; £10, about 25 kilos of potatoes; £25, about  25 kilos of carrots, £25, about 50 kilos onions.

In the early hours of this morning, Russian missiles and drones pounded Odesa for a third successive night, as well as neighbouring Mykolaiv, bombarding grain facilities and port infrastructure. We know of at least 2 deaths, including a warehouse security guard in Odesa - a guy just doing his job.

Food is a theme in these attacks - food blackmail. Agriculture Minister, Mykola Solskyi, said strikes had destroyed 60,000 tonnes of grain and damaged considerable parts of the grain export infrastructure.

There is a sharp increase in the price of wheat on global markets, after Russia pulled out of a UN deal on Monday that ensured safe passage for grain shipments crossing the Black Sea. Putin has also said that ships heading for Ukrainian ports will be treated as potential military targets. 

After 3 nights of bombardment - and who knows how long Putin will continue targeting the port cities of Odesa and Mykolaiv - we have our routine when we hear the air alert at night: 

Go into our safe place, which is our hallway, because it has inner walls and an exit; close doors to outer rooms; take water and a torch, just in case; have mobile nearby to check air alert map; a book to pass the time if you can concentrate.

When there are strikes, it continues to be terrifying. As we live near the city centre we're only about a kilometre from the port area, as the crow (or missile!) flies. So we hear a lot of anti-aircraft fire, and loud bangs when missiles are hit, falling debris hits buildings or the missile hits something.

Last night, during the attack, there was a power cut for several hours, taking us back to the winter of darkness, when Russia constantly attacked energy infrastructure. In the morning there was the once familiar sound of electricity generators. Looking on the bright side, at least a lot of commercial premises have generators now. 

We've received a number of comments about how difficult and dangerous life is for us now. But we still feel privileged to be here, and to be able to go to Kherson where the need is so great, with the trust of the people there. We know the little we can do means a lot to them, because they constantly tell us.

If you are able to donate, please: 

1. Open PayPal and, when asked for name of payee or email, enter trawden4ukraine@hotmail.com. 

Or, if you live in/near Trawden:

2. Use the Ukraine collection box in Trawden community shop.