One day in Kharkiv


We were last in Kharkiv (Ukraine's second largest city) in winter 2022, delivering aid. Then, it was very cold, -27°C,  and the streets were deserted, many civilians having fled and businesses - cafes, bars, restaurants, etc. - closed. Yesterday, on a warm spring evening, Kharkiv had the feeling of a fairly bustling, cosmopolitan city - young people out, enjoying themselves, people shopping - even one fashionable young woman in high-heeled boots, with lots of brand name shopping bags, posing in the middle of traffic for a photo! And nearly getting run over. 

But nearly everywhere you go, the beauty of this historical but modern city is juxtaposed with buildings that have been gutted by bombs.

There is a fairly constant threat of air raids; sirens sound frequently throughout the day, often one straight after the other, so you end up losong track of them. It's a huge city so the risk of injury or death is minimal, but the attacks are random. Today, a woman died after a private house on the outskirts of the city was bombed, and a tram carrying passengers was damaged. Yesterday, at least eight children were injured in the town of Derhachi, Kharkiv region, when Russian guided bombs struck near a sports club where they were training.

There are scheduled power outages, although one never seems to be quite sure of the schedule! 

This morning Bob introduced me to some of the Ukrainian volunteers he met on his recent visit, including Svitlana, who makes camouflage netting for local army regiments, to order, in her small house on the edge of the city - an area that's often targeted by missiles and shells. She said that she's so busy she sometimes has to take the netting to work with her. 

When we arrived at her house there was a power cut, but she continues by torchlight. The material to make the netting needs to be cut into strips....

 This material is expensive and we were able to leave Svitlana with a generous donation - thank you, Derek. Svitlana has received awards from the army for her work and she is sent many photos, showing the effectiveness of the netting.



Because of their connections with the military, we left some of the aid we brought with Svitlana and some with our translator, Dima.

At the end of the day we went for a walk in the local Schevchenko Park, which has a lovely water feature.

Tomorrow morning is our first shift in Hell's Kitchen.  

People here really appreciate the continued support that Trawden and others make. Please continue to support if you are able to do so.

To make a donation:
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.





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