In places regained by the Ukrainian army, police units look for saboteurs and collaborators, search for abandoned weapons and clear roads. The man has a winter hat pulled over his head. At eye level, it is wrapped in duct tape advertising a logistics company and cafes selling croissants. Policemen in military uniforms walk around the man. One of them pulls Russian license plates from Crimea from the …
You don’t need to read the news in a field hospital. The wounds of the patients show what is happening at the front. One of the doctors perched on a stretcher. A group of medics was also waiting at the entrance. This hospital, formerly civilian, was first abandoned due to the ongoing war, and then occupied by medical units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. They had earlier …
The wide and mighty Dnieper river separates the two warring armies, which fire missiles and rockets at each other. On the right bank is positioned the Ukrainian army, which had recently recaptured the city of Kherson and a large part of the Kherson oblast. On the left bank–the Russians are on the defensive. It was the sound of the Dnieper’s water that Roman heard when, during the Russian …
The inhabitants of Kherson do not want to think about the problems they will face. Today they want to enjoy their regained freedom. First, there were problems with electricity in the city–more and more frequently, until there was a complete lack of supply. It was the same with water and communication. Ukrainian telephone networks have not reached here for a long time, and now Russian ones have …
The inhabitants of Kherson greet the Ukrainian soldiers who have recaptured the city after more than eight months of Russian occupation. They also tell stories of Russian violence. Our correspondent, Paweł Pieniążek, is one of the first foreign journalists on the spot. Loud music, dancing, shouts of joy mixed with tears. People gathered in the central square of Kherson wave blue and yellow flags, drape themselves in …
During the war, the Ukrainian railway has become one of the pillars on which the state rests. It evacuates civilians, transports weapons and brings hope. Only two letters remain from the inscription at the station: “BA”. Beside it there is a haunting hole, probably made by the shock wave. The platforms are empty. There are wagons, probably stuck here for a long time. At least for half …
Everyone would like to call and ask how their loved ones are doing. In vain, because usually after a few words the connection cuts out. The Central Square looks like a hurricane has come through. Some buildings have their roofs torn off, and the ground is covered with rubble. It’s a wonder that most of the lampposts have survived unscathed. On the building housing the city council, shot …
After six months of Russian occupation, the inhabitants of Izium regained their freedom. Two 74-year-olds, Lyubov and Lidia, look along the street. Lidia previously worked in a hospital. Her simple commanding posture, hands clasped behind her back, and calm and composed voice, reveal that Lyubov was a teacher. She had formerly taught Ukrainian in one of the local schools. The rays of the setting sun fall on the …
To this day, Serhiy does not know where his mother hid it. Volodymyr hid it in a cupboard. Julia in a shoebox. Now they proudly parade in the streets with the flags. He doesn’t even know how the old tattered flag got there. For as long as 17-year-old Serhiy can remember, it hung at the gas station where his father worked. The latter was the one who …
The American University of Afghanistan and Me II Here is the second of a series of excerpts from the diary, recording my reflections on my online experiences with faculty and students in Afghanistan and exiled in Doha, Qatar, and around the globe. For the first entry see here. The Fall Semester, December 2022 My first semester is now winding down. I have been teaching one course, “Civic Engagement …
