Back in Ukraine

This is one of many vast fields of sunflowers, just opening, seen from the train to Kharkiv. Returning from a brief visit to England, it was the first time I completed the journey from Poland to Ukraine by train. The tracks in Ukraine are a different gauge from the rest of Europe so, first, you have to travel from Krakow to Przemyśl (which takes some effort to pronounce!), to get on the right track, so to speak. The queue at Przemyśl station for people wishing to travel to Ukraine was over half a kilometre long, and very slow - because it's actually the customs exit point in Poland. The train departed almost 2 hours late. You have to wait outside, which in weather that was not hot or rainy was OK, otherwise...

In the queue I had the first of several nice encounters with Ukrainians on this return journey, including a young woman returning from Ireland to visit her brother, who runs a restaurant in Kharkiv. Another woman was living in the Netherlands, another in the USA...Ukrainians are spread around the globe as a result of this war.

On the train to Lviv I sat in a carriage with a family returning to Bucha, a place that's synonymous with Russian atrocities. There was a 16-year-old girl and a 6-month-old baby; the middle son, aged 11, was killed in the war - unimaginable. But the mother spoke very good English and was keen to communicate, particularly about her Buddhist beliefs - perhaps unusual in Ukraine.

In Lviv I had a 5-hour wait until my connection to Kharkiv, so I met up for dinner with an old friend (it seems that way now) from summer 2022. Igor and his wife, both doctors, are from Mariupol and have managed to build successful lives in Lviv. But now they have a difficult decision of whether or not to leave good jobs, and join their daughters and grandchildren in Spain.

In Lviv it was cool and drizzly, reminiscent of the weather I'd left behind in Manchester.

I took the overnight train to Kharkiv, a journey of 14 hours and 20 minutes. I loved every minute of it, from the tea served in a nice cup in my compartment, which I shared with another woman, to going to bed with the constant sway and rattle of the train, to gazing at views of forests and fields the next morning.

Luckily, since it was such a long journey, my travelling companion, Vera, spoke fluent Spanish so we had a language in common. She has lived in Spain for 20 years, having opened a restaurant there, serving Spanish and Ukrainian food! She is visiting relatives in Kharkiv region and she became very emotional when she heard my volunteering story, even more so when she noticed my 'hoodie,' a present from a good friend in Kharkiv. Before we left the train, Vera insisted on taking a selfie with me wearing it.

This motif will be instantly recognisable to any Ukrainian. It portrays an unarmed prisoner of war, who calmly smoked his cigarette and said to his captors, “Слава Україні” (Glory to Ukraine) before being shot with multiple rounds. The Russian soldiers recorded the execution and put it online, where it immediately went viral...one of numerous human rights abuses and war crimes commited by Russia, since Putin's illegal invasion in 2022.

Getting off the train in Kharkiv, it was like walking into a hot hair dryer - 35° in the shade! The kitchen is hot, needless to say, but it's so good to be back, with an interesting new group of foreign volunteers - from Hungary, Sweden, the USA and the UK. I'm helping with the coordination of these volunteers - quite a task in the summer months, when there's a lot of interest. From the Ukrainian volunteers, who remain constant, I had the warmest of welcomes, including a present of a lovely new apron.

During the 3 weeks I've been away, life has continued to be unpredictably dangerous in Kharkiv and region. 

In one week (17 - 23 June), for example, 7 people died and at least 90 people were injured in Kharkiv Oblast (region) as a result of Russian shelling, and a child was injured when a mine exploded. On 23 June, a 73-year-old man was killed and 8 people were injured, following a Russian airstrike on Kharkiv city. 

The head of Police, Kharkiv region, has noted an increase in attacks on recreation areas and places of refuge for people forcibly displaced by the war. He describes the former Vovchansky district, bordering Russia, now under constant bombardment, as being like a 'little Switzerland' before the full-scale invasion, with forests and sandy river beaches. There were a number of recreation centres, now almost all destroyed.

Kharkiv, in warm evening sunshine, is as beautiful as ever.

It's heartwarming that people are still continuing to use the Ukraine collection box in Trawden. These donations are being shared between Bob and me, as we're now separate entities. I have just under £50 that I'll give, directly, to the "Adults for Children" charity in Kharkiv, which helps displaced/vulnerable people in the city and region.

To make a donation, 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 the community shop.