The killing goes on.

September 02, 2024

Time diminishes things. News cycles bring new, more pressing concerns. But the war here in Ukraine grinds on, with deaths a daily occurrence.

The killing seems to have become more incideous and heartless.This weekend in Kherson, delivering aid, under the fairly constant sound of artillery and drone attacks, I heard and saw the inhumanity of this senseless war.

There is now a real tangible fear about going out in your car in Kherson. Over the last few months, individual cars have been targeted by Russian drones. These carry small bombs or grenade type munitions. .

A car is targeted. An initial bomb dropped. The man realises he's being targeted and tries to drive away at high speed. He then stops suddenly, hoping to get away. Opens his door to run away, but about two metres away from the car a small bomb explodes. With the door open, nothing seems to happen, then as in slow motion, a man falls from the driver's seat onto the road. Dead. It's barbarous.

We have taken all the red cross signs off our vehicle, as they are first in line for targeting. Even getting into Kherson is really difficult for foreign aid workers, as the army is concerned about the safety of foreign aid workers. Without my co-worker Sveta, I'm not sure I'd get in. Also it has to be said, that, from what I saw, the amount of aid going into Kherson has dropped dramatically. Where there used to be a fairly constant stream of vehicles going in, this weekend I didn't see one other aid vehicle.

On this aid run, we decided to return to supplying food products and fresh fruit and vegetables. We took the decision to support local food sellers and producers in Kherson, but it doesn't make for a comfortable experience going to the local markets. Loud explosions rang out around the small market whilst we were there. I would like to show some photos of these markets, but given the situation, we have decided not to identify where these markets might be.There are still individuals determined to continue the work of supporting their community. I can only imagine the toll that is taken, psychologically and physically of living in Kherson.

As well as the food delivery, we were also able to support a local dog and cat sanctuary run by one woman. 60 dogs and, well who knows how many cats.

The situation in Odesa is also not easy. Random attacks continues. A bigger challenge is the shortage of electricity. It's not unusual to have 12-15 hours a day without electricity. This is not easy to manage, even in summer, and with summer fading it seems more daunting..the noise of the generators in the street can be deafening and annoying. Nevertheless, by and large, life goes on. Probably a bit like the blitz with F* ck Hitler, there's a bit of F*ck Putin going on.

My work as a teacher of English goes on. It was really heart warming last week when I was given, completely out of the blue, a certificate from a foundation for my services. There's a lot of laughter in the classes. Ukrainian humour is very similar to ours, and can be downright scathing of politicians.

The work in the kitchen goes on it's quiet way, still preparing about 500 meals a day. Not sure I'll ever get used to the occasional Buddhist chanting in the background.

I like to finish on a lighter note. I was contacted by a volunteer in Kharkiv, to as if I could help find someone to move an 7 metre boat from Krakow to a Marine battalion in Kherson, that had originally made it's way from England. And against all the odds, a solution was found, by using a Polish contact. The networking here never fails to amaze me.

Odesa is a city of cats, many just living on the street. They particularly appear to like the market stalls, where the owners of the stalls, seem not in the least bit concerned to share. I particularly like the cat in army fatigues.